Your contractors know where to get materials. The question is whether they'll call you first.
DBM has the relationships, the inventory, and the fleet. What's missing is the layer that makes those relationships sticky at the software level — a reason for contractors to open DBM before anyone else.
📞
Counter calls all morning
Every material quote requires a phone call to your counter. Your team spends hours fielding requests that could be handled automatically — and contractors who can’t get through go elsewhere.
Hours of counter time per day
🚛
No delivery visibility
Contractors don’t know when their materials are arriving. That uncertainty means more calls, more friction, and crews sitting idle on a jobsite waiting for lumber that’s two hours out.
Lost productivity every delivery day
🔓
Nothing keeping contractors here
A contractor’s project history, saved lists, and pricing relationships exist in their head — not in a system. When a competitor calls with a deal, there’s no switching cost. Nothing holding them.
Every relationship is at risk
💻
The current portal is read-only AR
The Epicor portal at dufrene.epicor-inet.com lets contractors check their balance. That’s it. It’s not a tool — it’s a statement. No contractor opens it unless they have to.
Zero engagement, zero stickiness
2 How It Works
One portal. Seven touchpoints. Every contractor, every yard.
From natural language project description to a priced materials list, a placed order, and a live delivery ETA — all in one branded DBM experience built on your existing Epicor data.
01 · LOGIN
🔑
DBM Credentials
Contractor logs in with their existing DBM account. No new signup, no friction. The portal is branded DBM — not a third-party tool.
02 · DESCRIBE
✏️
Describe the Project
Contractor types a natural language request or uploads plans. “2,400 sqft slab ranch, treated framing, Cut Off, LA” is enough to start.
03 · AI ESTIMATE
🤖
AI Generates Takeoff
AI parses the project, matches DBM’s live inventory, calculates quantities, and generates a complete priced materials list in seconds.
04 · ORDER
📋
One-Click to Order
Approved quote converts to an order in Epicor automatically. No re-entry, no fax, no phone call. The contractor is done in under two minutes.
05 · TRACK
📍
Live Delivery Tracking
Real-time fleet integration. Contractors see exactly where their load is, the ETA, and the driver — without calling your counter.
06 · ACCOUNT
💳
AR Dashboard
Live balance, invoice history, credit limit, and payment links — far beyond the read-only Epicor portal. A full account view in one place.
07 · ALERTS
🔔
Pricing Alerts
Subscribe to species and dimensions. Get notified when pricing shifts before bids go out. Contractors lock in at the right price — from DBM.
3 The AI Engine
Natural language in. Priced materials list out. One click to order.
The estimating engine is the core of the portal. A contractor describes a project the way they’d describe it to your counter — and the AI generates a complete takeoff priced against DBM’s live inventory.
What the AI understands
F01
Project dimensions & square footage
Parses sqft, height, slab vs. pier, roof pitch
Live
F02
Species & grade preferences
SYP, treated, spruce, LVL — matched to DBM inventory
Pilings, crane mats, vessel deck boards → Triple Son lane
Next
F05
Blueprint PDF upload
AI reads the plan set and extracts dimensions automatically
Next
F06
Saved project templates
Contractor saves their standard build — reuse for next project
Next
AI Estimating · Powered by Pillar
What no competitor has built for their contractors.
Every independent LBM dealer in Louisiana is working off the same playbook: phone quotes, fax orders, and a read-only AR portal from the early 2000s. DBM has the Epicor base, the inventory depth, and the contractor relationships. The only thing missing is the interface that makes those relationships live in software.
Contractor describes project in plain language — no spec sheet required
AI calculates quantities against DBM’s actual inventory at the nearest yard
Priced takeoff generated in under 60 seconds, PDF-ready for the GC
One click sends the order to Epicor — no re-entry, no phone call
AI Estimating · schema-validated response
4 Live Demo
Select a project type. Watch the AI build the quote.
Each scenario mirrors a real contractor request. The engine parses the project specs, matches DBM inventory, prices every line item, and returns a complete materials takeoff — ready to order.
Check live stock at nearest yard · flag substitutions
Waiting
📐
Calculate Quantities
Board-feet, sheet count, beam count — per item, per assembly
Waiting
💲
Price Against Live Inventory
Apply contractor pricing tier · flag any out-of-stock items
Waiting
📄
Generate Materials Takeoff
Build line-item quote · PDF-ready · one-click to order
Waiting
✅
Quote Ready
Saved to Project Vault · one click sends to Epicor as order
Waiting
5 The Portal, Complete
One platform. Six features. All aimed at DBM.
The AI estimating demo you just ran is the flagship. Surround it with live delivery tracking, saved project history, pricing alerts, Triple Son routing, and a white-label SaaS opportunity — and DBM has something no competitor in Louisiana can match.
01✓ Launch Feature
AI Estimating Engine
Contractor describes a project in plain language — or uploads plans — and the AI generates a complete priced materials takeoff against DBM’s live inventory. One click converts to an order in Epicor. No phone call required.
Ready to demo on your first contractor account in one working session.
02▶ Next · 2 weeks
Live Delivery Tracking
Real-time fleet integration — contractors see exactly where their load is, the ETA to the jobsite, and the driver name. Eliminates the #1 category of counter calls. Crews stop sitting idle waiting for lumber that’s 45 minutes out.
Cuts delivery-related counter calls by 60–80% on day one.
03▶ Next · 2–3 weeks
Project Material Vault
Every quote, order, and delivery — saved by project. A contractor’s full history lives in the DBM portal. Once three projects are in there, they’re not going anywhere. Project memory that lives in DBM’s system, not a competitor’s.
Every saved project is a switching cost your competition can’t match.
04▶ Next · 3 weeks
Lumber Pricing Alerts
Contractors subscribe to the species and dimensions they buy. When DBM’s pricing shifts — or futures move on SYP or treated — they get notified before their bids go out. They lock in at the right price, from DBM, not a competitor’s quote sheet.
Turns your pricing into a contractor intelligence service.
05▶ Next · 3–4 weeks
Triple Son Quoting Lane
When a contractor’s project requires custom timber — cypress pilings, crane mats, offshore vessel deck boards — the portal detects it and routes the request directly to Triple Son Wholesale Timbers with a separate custom quote workflow. One portal, both companies.
No one else in the Gulf South offers standard + custom timber in one portal.
06⚡ SaaS Opportunity
Yard Intelligence — White-Label Platform
Once it’s built for DBM, the platform has a second life. Pillar white-labels it as Yard Intelligence and sells it to independent LBM dealers across the South — every one of them has the same problem. DBM is the founding customer, the proof of concept, and the first mover.
$500–$2,000/mo per dealer · 50 dealers = $25k–$100k MRR · you’d be the case study that sells it
Which feature goes live for DBM first?
The AI estimating engine is ready to deploy on your first contractor account in one working session.
Every order. Every project. Every contractor — queryable.
Every quote, order, delivery, and pricing alert writes one row to the contractor’s account. Your sales team sees active bids in the pipeline before a contractor even calls. Every session is intelligence.
Account #GCB-0041 · Cut Off Yard · Credit Limit $85,000 · Available $62,400
Open Orders
3
Active Projects
5
YTD Purchases
$148,320
Recent Activity
View All Projects →
Date
Project
Type
Amount
Status
Jul 17 · 9:14 AM
Lockport Ranch — Lot 14
AI Quote
$22,408.60
Order Placed
Jul 16 · 2:33 PM
Lockport Ranch — Lot 14
Delivery
—
In Transit · 1h 20m
Jul 14 · 11:08 AM
Golden Meadow Duplex
AI Quote
$31,175.00
Delivered
Jul 11 · 4:02 PM
Dock Repair — Bayou Blue
Triple Son Quote
$8,400.00
Sawmill — In Production
Jul 9 · 8:47 AM
Thibodaux Office Reno
Pricing Alert
—
SYP Down 4.2% · Alert Sent
Every contractor. Every session. Visible to your sales team.
The portal doesn’t just serve contractors — it surfaces intelligence for DBM. Active quotes that haven’t been ordered yet. Projects heating up at a specific yard. Contractors who’ve been dormant for 60 days. Your sales team sees the pipeline before the phone rings.
dbm.pillar.contractor-intelligence · 5 active signals
Which contractors have open AI quotes that haven’t been ordered in the last 7 days?
AI Q&A on the portal activity — surfaces follow-up opportunities for your sales team automatically.
Date
Contractor
Activity
Project
Signal
Yard
Jul 18 · 8:22 AM
Gulf Coast Builders
AI Quote Generated
Galliano Commercial — Phase 2
Unordered · 1 day
Cut Off
Jul 17 · 3:44 PM
Bayou Construction
Pricing Alert Viewed
Houma Warehouse Roof
High Intent
Houma
Jul 15 · 10:11 AM
Treen Brothers LLC
Project Vault Access
Napoleonville Residential
Ordered · Delivered
Thibodaux
Jul 14 · 2:08 PM
South LA Framing
Triple Son Request
Offshore Platform Deck
In Production
Golden Meadow
Jul 12 · 9:30 AM
Duet Brothers
AI Quote Generated
Morgan City Storage Bldg
Unordered · 6 days
Morgan City
6 Impact
From phone calls to sessions. From relationships to records.
The portal replaces the highest-friction touchpoints in the contractor relationship — and turns every interaction into data that makes the next one better.
11
Locations, One Portal
Every DBM yard connected — contractor uses the same app regardless of which location they’re buying from
<60s
From Request to Quote
Natural language project description to a fully priced, PDF-ready materials takeoff — in under a minute
0
Delivery Status Calls
Live fleet tracking eliminates the single largest category of counter calls — where is my load?
∞
Project History Stored
Every contractor’s order history, saved lists, and quotes live in DBM’s system — creating switching costs no competitor can match
7 Go Live
Four steps to launch.
The engine is scoped and ready to build. Going live requires one contractor account to pilot, one Epicor integration call, and two to three weeks. The AI estimating feature ships first — everything else follows on a rolling basis.
Pick a Pilot Contractor
One contractor account — ideally a high-volume buyer at a single yard — becomes the first user. Their feedback shapes the experience before it goes to the full network.
Pilot contractor · Cut Off or Thibodaux yard
Epicor Integration Call
One working session with your IT team or Epicor support contact to establish the inventory feed and order creation endpoint. The portal reads live inventory and writes orders back to Epicor.
Epicor API · inventory + order endpoints
Brand & Launch
The portal goes live at contractor.dbmlumber.com — fully branded DBM, not a Pillar product. Your contractors never see a third-party tool. They see the Dufrene Difference, in software.
contractor.dbmlumber.com · 2–3 week build
Roll Out to All 11 Yards
After pilot validation, the portal extends to every DBM location. Each yard gets its own inventory feed. Contractors at every location get the same experience. Then we talk about Yard Intelligence.
11 locations · one platform · one login
The portal is ready to build. Which contractor goes first?