Less is more

INTERVIEW/John Paul Manning, Build4less.ie: IF CO WICKLOW builder John Paul Manning had started his new online business two years ago, it would probably have bombed. But now, in the teeth of a recession, the timing is perfect.

"It would have fallen flat on its face," he says. "The construction industry was too busy, suppliers would have regarded any new proposition as a hassle, and a lot of them didn't understand computers anyway, and didn't want to. But that's all changing now."

Like his father Noel, John Paul Manning (30) is a carpenter by trade. For the past decade, he and his brother Darrell have run a medium-sized property development company, Manning Residential, with a healthy turnover of about €15 million in 2007 - though like everyone else it is now feeling the effects of the downturn.

But last year Manning came up with an idea that could have come straight from a business innovation textbook. He decided to set up a website that would give anyone involved in a building project, from an individual to a construction company, direct one-stop access to competitive quotes from suppliers all over the country. It seemed so simple he wasn't sure it could work.

That was last September, and today Build4less.ie has 800 builders' suppliers categorised by county, offering 8,000 products - with detailed quotes available within 24 hours.

The site is attracting about 5,000 hits a month, and interest is growing at about 2,000 hits a month. Manning expects to break even this year, and to make a profit of about €150,000 on a turnover of €1.2 million in 2009.

A second website aimed at the UK market will go live in the middle of next year. Some 2,500 British suppliers have already signed up for Build4less.co.uk, impressed by the success of the Irish website.

"From a supplier's point of view it makes sense because it costs nothing to get listed and it costs nothing to provide a quote through the site in response to a customer inquiry. The only charge is when an order is agreed between a customer and a supplier, at which point the supplier is charged 2 per cent," says Manning.

"Believe it or not, in the early stages some suppliers would look askance at that 2 per cent commission fee and I'd have to point out that this was additional business for them - and that they were benefiting to the tune of 98 per cent."

According to Manning, many suppliers did not realise the selling power of the internet at first.

"They thought it was unnecessary," he says. "I remember early on having to point out to one guy that he had received queries for business worth a total of €100,000 over the previous month, but he hadn't priced the work, hadn't given the quotes. It wouldn't happen today."

From a customer's point of view, the benefit is being able to get competitive quotes quickly. "I know from my own experience how hard it is to get quotes from suppliers and reps. In our own building business we used to have someone chasing quotes full time. It was an absolute joke," says Manning.

"That's why we're becoming popular too with quantity surveyors and with architects - they like our efficiency, and they also like our price averaging system, which is automatically updated as quotes come in."

Build4less.ie is also in the process of incorporating Microsoft Projects into the service, which, Manning says, "will alert you in advance that you need to order for the next phase of your build, and then automatically select the products you'll need and send them to the suppliers for pricing".

The firm has started setting up websites for some of its individual suppliers as well.

So as recession kicks in, business is looking good. "It's been a massive plus for this website that the economy has slowed down," says Manning. "Suppliers are hungry. They want to do deals and get stock out. And when things pick up again, using us will be the norm."

ON THE RECORD

Name:John Paul Manning

Company:Build4less.ie

Job:Founder and chief executive

Age: 30

Background:A carpenter by trade, he went on to study construction technology at DIT. He set up Manning Residential with his brother, Darrell, and is also a director of his father's company, Firebar.

Inspired by: His father, Noel C Manning, also a carpenter, who set up construction company Manning Brothers in the 1960s and later the specialist fire engineering company, Firebar. He is also inspired by Richard Branson because of the diversity of his business interests.

Challenges:Expanding Build4less into the UK in 2009.