House-Hasson gets tech-ready for market

With use of the CipherLab hand-held ordering system at House-Hasson Hardware dealer markets growing rapidly, House-Hasson is responding to dealer interest and requests by scheduling a CipherLab seminar at its upcoming summer dealer market.

Knoxville, Tennessee-based House-Hasson’s summer 2015 dealer market is schedule for June 18-20 at the Sevierville Events Center at the Wilderness of the Smokies Report in Sevierville, Tennessee. The seminar is set for 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 18.

Other topics to be covered in the seminar are how dealers can make the best e-commerce use of their own websites and House-Hasson’s E-Toolbox program.

“A couple of years ago we had a few dozen dealers using CipherLabs to order directly from our dealer market floor,” said Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson Hardware, America’s largest independent regional hardware distributor. “That number is now approaching 400, and we anticipate we’ll be leaving that number in the distance very quickly.”

Hasson said CipherLab’s technology of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) eliminates ordering paperwork and time lags, and gives dealers a real-time electronic breakout of exactly what they ordered, with the entire purchase completed and in the House-Hasson warehouse and delivery system before the dealer leaves the market floor.

“My grandfather was in a wagon with mules up front delivering hardware items,” said Hasson, head of the 107-year-old, family-owned company. "Today we’re in a technological environment of which he couldn’t dream, and that just a few years ago might have been considered science fiction.

“It’s all about dealer profitability,” Hasson added. “The faster and more efficiently we can make dealers’ use of these devices more effective, and the more help we can give them in understanding the full benefit of their use, the faster it will make them even more profitable.”

The E-Toolbox and dealer website e-commerce seminar components will show new expanded online offerings, said Ron Yatteau, House-Hasson’s director of online services. Subjects will include speeding up ordering and receiving and how to do a physical inventory using etoolbox.net.

“We want dealers to be able to make the most of these tools,” Yatteau said. “The E-Toolbox section principal subjects will be ordering, receiving and managing inventory, and in e-commerce we’ll discuss the new face of retailing in a digitally connected transparent world and how House-Hasson is helping dealers develop and deploy their omni-channel retail strategy.”

House-Hasson Hardware serves some 2,000 hardware store and lumberyard dealers in 17 states and the Caribbean.