Ferguson locations nationwide have joined Trimble‘s digital pricing and procurement network to further digitize the construction supply chain for mutual mechanical and commercial customers.

The integration between the plumbing and industrial supplies distribution giant and Trimble’s network, called Supplier Xchange, allows contractors to get up-to-date contracted pricing information and then turn that into a purchase order (PO) that flows into the contractor’s ERP, placing the order and accounting for it financially in the ERP as well. The process takes less time and reduces errors from manual entry due to the automatic sync of the PO, Trimble and Ferguson officials said in a Nov. 6 joint news release.

“Digitally connecting with our customers is a priority for Ferguson,” said Ferguson’s Commercial Construction Services and Technology Director Tom Sullivan. “As they increasingly seek ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency, accuracy and timeliness, Supplier Xchange will enable us to provide real-time customer-specific information, reducing the manual process and time required in the estimating, Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), purchasing, project management and accounting-related workflows.”

Supplier Xchange facilitates more than 10,000 digital connections between specialty subcontractors and their preferred suppliers, handling an average of 130,000 quote requests per month with an average value of $18 billion per month.

The announcement of the partnership was made at Trimble’s Dimensions user conference, where Ferguson and Trimble showcased the network.

Ferguson, a Newport News, Virginia-based company, underwent a major expansion in August when it acquired a trio of companies across three different industries.