Labor shortages aren’t just a headline, they’re the daily reality for large landscape contractors across the country. With crews stretched thin and project schedules tighter than ever, the margin for inefficiency is razor-thin. Every wasted trip to a nursery, every unclear substitution, every uncoordinated delivery translates into lost time and higher costs.
As an industry built by and for green professionals, we know what it takes to keep jobs moving under pressure. Over the years, we’ve seen contractors adjust their operations in smart ways to adapt. The most successful firms are leaning on new sourcing strategies that free up valuable labor and keep their teams focused on installation, not administration.
Here are five proven approaches that contractors can use to stay ahead.
One of the biggest time drains happens before material even hits the job site: endless calls, texts, and email threads trying to track down availability or confirm quality. When every supplier uses a different process, it’s easy for details to slip.
By consolidating communication through a single platform, contractors can:
This doesn’t just save time, it protects your crews from costly mistakes in the field.
Even the most seasoned buyers can hit a wall when sourcing for large or complex projects. Whether it’s a phased development requiring hundreds of line items or a streetscape installation calling for hard-to-find sizes, it helps to have a partner who knows the supply chain inside and out.
That’s why our team is built from green industry veterans, people who have walked nurseries, managed bids, and lived the contractor’s challenges firsthand. We work alongside buyers to:
It’s like adding extra capacity to your procurement team without adding to payroll.
Contractors can’t afford to build estimates on guesswork. When pricing is vague or availability is unclear, it creates bottlenecks that ripple through estimating, procurement, and even reconciliation. Transparent data makes all the difference.
With clear pricing and up-to-date availability, contractors can:
This level of transparency is what keeps projects on budget and protects already-stretched margins.
The traditional approach to sourcing often means calling the same familiar nurseries and hoping they have everything you need. But when labor is tight, there’s no room for wasted calls.
A more efficient path is to search across both trusted suppliers and new options in your region in one place. This helps contractors:
In a labor-strapped environment, expanding your network without multiplying your workload is a competitive advantage.
Coordinating trucks, confirming delivery times, and managing multiple suppliers’ schedules is one of the most overlooked drains on project managers. It’s also one of the biggest sources of lost labor on job sites.
By centralizing logistics, contractors can:
This shift alone can save days across large-scale projects time that adds up fast when crews are already stretched thin.
The contractors who are thriving in today’s environment aren’t the ones with endless crews. They’re the ones who use their people wisely, lean on trusted industry partners, and adopt tools that eliminate wasted effort.
At LandscapeHub, we’ve built our platform and our team around the realities of this industry. We know what contractors need because we’ve been contractors, growers, and buyers ourselves. And we’ve seen firsthand how small changes in sourcing strategy can create big gains in efficiency.
Labor challenges aren’t going away anytime soon. But sourcing doesn’t have to be another pain point. By centralizing communication, leaning on experts, using transparent data, expanding supplier options, and offloading logistics, contractors can protect their margins and keep projects moving.
In an industry where time really is money, the right sourcing strategies aren’t just convenient, they’re essential.
Don’t let sourcing slow you down this fall. Centralize your suppliers, streamline logistics, and give your crews back the time they need.
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