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4 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Retail Paving Budget

Anyone can patch a pothole, but proactive paving requires up-front planning, which includes pavement assessments, material specifications, and budgeting; procurement of materials, which includes bidding and contractor selection; and project management.  To get the most from your retail paving budget, follow these four tips.

Tip #1: Understand your parking lot inventory

If you are like most retail facility managers, you don’t have time to visit each property in your portfolio.  Let’s Pave can go on site to all of your locations and perform an assessment.  We have the ability to create detailed maps with photos of recommended areas of repairs as well as the tools to prioritize and rank all properties in your portfolio.  This enables you to make well-informed decisions on how best to use existing budget dollars.

Tip #2: Specify the right materials

Using the right products or materials on your pavement will help extend its lifespan and, in turn, save time and money. But, all pavement products are not the same. They are designed differently to work in specific situations.  Therefore, proper specification should consider several factors including pavement condition, climate, and location. Let’s Pave has relationships with contractors and manufacturers across the country to provide key insight into which materials are ideal for every market in which you have stores.

Tip #3: Buy better

Oftentimes, due to lack of time and resources, retail facility managers obtain three bids and choose the lowest-priced provider.  While that has short-term gain, it may not always pay off in the long run.  Considerations such as expertise and specialization can mean the difference between a job well done and a job that is done, but requires more expensive remedies after the temporary fix has failed.  Other factors include proximity to job site and grouping of jobs.  Let’s Pave has local contractor connections so you can select one that is close by, which will decrease mobilization and travel costs.  If you can use the same contractor for a cluster of jobsites, you can also save on material expenses.  We can also help you prepare proposals; analyze bids, taking all factors into consideration; and negotiate with the top contenders to ensure you get the best contractor for the job.

Tip #4: Verify the work and results

If you cannot be present to manage all phases of a job, it’s important to hire someone who can.  Let’s Pave can serve as an extension of your team to ensure successful paving.  We can be present at the pre-job meeting to review details such as temporary parking, lighting, sprinklers, signage, permits, and traffic control.  Of course, we are able to supervise while the job is in progress to verify the contractor is performing according to scope and specifications while delivering on his or her promise.  If anything needs to be communicated between the contractor and on-site retail management, count on us.  This ensures that everyone is in the loop and that your retail facilities can continue to run as smoothly as possible.  Let’s Pave also performs post-job inspections to verify the work is producing desired results.

Want more great advice?  Stop by our booth #442 at the Professional Retail Store Maintenance (PRSM) National Conference in Long Beach, CA, April 25-27.