343: Packaging it up

“I love hearing the words, ‘this is how we’ve always done it…’ because I’m not an expert, I’ve just been around a lot of really smart people, and my job is to consume their information and then try to present it back to people in terminology and systems they actually understand.” This is episode 1 of 3 for a Deep Dive Series on Advancing Prefabrication! Adam Ketterer's focus is revolutionizing material management for Electrical Contractors. He's helping Electrical Contractors, Distributors and Manufacturers leverage technology to streamline takeoff, BOM, prefab and installation processes to combat the increasing labor shortage in the construction space. Our AECInspire cloud-based software provides full visibility and access to a contractor's supply chain, unlocking prefabrication and collaboration opportunities to help them save time and money! He watched his father (with his mother's support) build a company from an idea to $250M a year in annual revenue, He even got to help over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, they trusted the wrong people and lost the family business (the 2nd hardest event in his life behind watching cancer take his mother). As he worked for their lender, dismantling what his father built while helping run the company with a skeleton crew (almost keeping the company alive twice), they discovered numerous missteps that could have been avoided...alas, it was too late. Luckily, he landed at Graybar in August 2014 and what a ride it was! The people, culture and values are second to none. From Marketing to Strategy to Sales and back to Strategy, he consistently worked with great folks from across the country who surprised him with creative solutions to customer problems as well as ideas for internal improvement. His time with Graybar was exciting, educational and fulfilling; then a new challenge came calling... At Emerson he was privileged to introduce retailers, industry partners and end users to their innovative hardware and software solutions. Additionally, he worked with talented salespeople, developers, marketers, customer service and numerous other fine individuals as they continued to adapt their solutions for additional use cases and ever-changing customer needs. After several years helping customers solve difficult problems, a new and intriguing opportunity presented itself with his friends at AECInspire. In his spare time he is interested in why we do the things we do; and if we should continue doing them, how we can do them more effectively. AECInspire is the ultimate tool for revolutionizing material management on construction projects. It connects takeoff, BOM, prefab, and installation into one dynamic platform, allowing users to verify, quantify, and integrate their material takeoff with ease. Placing, associating, collaborating, and executing have never been simpler or more efficient, providing project teams with the tools they need to succeed. Watch a clip of this virtual podcast! Follow AECInspire on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter! Visit the AECInspire website!  Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube!