Author, Eric Knox, Director of LBM Sales, Do it Best

In many independent lumberyards, the owner is deeply involved in the day-to-day business. They are buying lumber, reviewing inventory, putting together quotes, completing material take-offs, meeting with contractors, and managing employees. In some cases, they are even making the final sales presentation on larger projects.

That level of involvement is one of the reasons independent dealers are so successful. Owners know their customers, understand their market, and stay closely connected to the business.

And among all of those responsibilities, lumber purchasing remains one of the most important.

Many of our dealers are excellent lumber buyers. They have built successful businesses by understanding their market, developing strong supplier relationships, and making smart purchasing decisions over time.

For many owners, buying lumber is more than just another responsibility. It’s something they genuinely enjoy. There’s a challenge to it. A strategy behind it. A level of experience and instinct that has been developed over years in the business.

And to be clear, this article is not about telling owners and leaders they should stop buying lumber.

The question is bigger than that.

As businesses grow, owners and leaders have to continually evaluate where they personally create the most impact. Where is their time creating the greatest return for the business? Where are they uniquely positioned to help the company grow?

That’s a leadership conversation.

And it’s one I’ve found myself having more frequently with dealers as we discuss our Lumber Replenishment Program.

The Challenge Isn’t Just Buying Lumber

The challenge is everything that comes with it.

Managing lumber inventory takes time, focus, and experience. It requires constant attention to the market, inventory levels, pricing, supply trends, and purchasing decisions. Even for experienced buyers, there’s a mental weight that comes with trying to stay ahead of the market while also running a business.

For many independent dealers, the owner is still heavily involved in buying decisions. In some cases, they are the buyer.

That’s understandable. Lumber is a high-dollar category, and trust matters. Owners want visibility. They want control. They want confidence in the strategy. They want to know inventory is being managed correctly.

The reality is that lumber buying is not something you can casually hand off to just anyone.

• Can you find someone with the expertise?
• Can you train them effectively?
• Can you trust them to manage millions of dollars in inventory?

Those are legitimate concerns.

At the same time, there’s another important question worth asking:

What opportunities are being missed because so much time is being spent managing lumber inventory?

The Best Operators Create Value in Different Ways

One thing I’ve learned from working with dealers over the years is that the most successful operators understand leverage.

They know they cannot do everything themselves forever.

As businesses evolve, leadership becomes less about personally managing every decision and more about focusing energy where it creates the greatest impact.

For many owners, that impact comes from areas like:

Building Stronger Contractor Relationships

The dealers winning in today’s environment are constantly finding ways to make business easier for their contractors.

They’re investing time with customers. Understanding their needs. Solving problems faster. Strengthening relationships. Creating reasons for contractors to keep coming back.

That kind of engagement drives long-term growth far more consistently than trying to perfectly time the market.

Developing Their Team

Strong businesses are built by strong teams.

Leadership requires time. Coaching requires time. Developing future leaders requires time.

One of the challenges many owners face is that they spend so much time managing daily operational responsibilities that they have less capacity to invest in their people.

Over time, that becomes limiting.

Businesses grow when owners create more leaders around them, not when they personally carry every responsibility themselves.

Focusing on Strategy and Growth

Most dealers have opportunities inside their business that never receive enough attention because daily responsibilities consume so much of their schedule.

• Strategic planning
• Operational improvements
• Sales growth initiatives
• Expanding categories
• Improving processes

These are the things that move businesses forward long-term.

But they require time and focus.

And that’s where the conversation around replenishment becomes interesting.

This Isn’t About Giving Up Control

One of the biggest misconceptions about our Lumber Replenishment Program is that dealers are handing over control of their lumber business.

That’s not the case.

In fact, the dealer remains fully in control of the strategy.

• They establish the inventory parameters
• They help determine the buying philosophy
• They define how they want inventory managed
• Our replenishment buyer simply executes that strategy

That distinction matters.

This is not about replacing the dealer’s expertise. It’s about creating additional capacity while leveraging the resources and market knowledge of the Do it Best Forest Products team.

Our replenishment buyers work alongside Forest Products Traders and Specialists who are actively engaged in the market every day. They are sourcing lumber across the country, monitoring supply conditions, and helping dealers navigate changing market dynamics in real time.

That level of market engagement is difficult for a single independent dealer to replicate consistently while also leading every other part of the business.

A Different Way to Think About ROI

When dealers evaluate a program like this, it’s natural to focus first on the cost.

But I believe the more important question is this:

What is the ROI of your time?

If a program like this can free up meaningful time each week for an owner or senior buyer, where could that time create more value inside the business?

• More time with contractors
• More leadership development
• More operational improvement
• More strategic planning
• More focus on growth

Because ultimately, the value of the program is not simply about purchasing lumber more efficiently. It’s about creating more capacity for owners to focus on the areas where they can make the biggest long-term impact.

Leadership Requires Letting Go of Some Execution

This is something every growing business eventually faces.

At some point, leadership requires trusting systems, processes, and people to help execute parts of the business so owners can focus on broader responsibilities.

That does not mean becoming disconnected.

It means becoming more intentional about where your involvement creates the greatest impact.

The dealers who continue to grow and evolve are usually the ones who become increasingly disciplined with how they spend their time.

They understand that being involved in everything is not always the same as creating the most value.

Final Thoughts

There will always be dealers who enjoy the challenge of buying lumber. There’s nothing wrong with that. In many cases, that experience and instinct have helped build highly successful businesses.

But as businesses continue to grow and become more complex, owners also have to evaluate where their leadership matters most.

The Lumber Replenishment Program is not designed to take purchasing control from dealers. It is designed to support their purchasing strategy, leverage the expertise of the Do it Best Forest Products team, and create more capacity for owners to focus on the parts of the business where they can have the greatest long-term impact.

At the end of the day, this is not just a purchasing conversation.

It’s a leadership conversation.