Carport Dealer Options & Pricing Constraints

Owned by Dan VanOrden
Last updated: Mar 18, 2024
3 min read

Dealers that use IdeaRoom through their supplier’s dealer network support or through an upgraded dealer subscription reuse the products and pricing data created by their supplier. Dealers sometimes ask IdeaRoom to add an option, change a business rule, or update a price. Since this data is inherited from the supplier, the change request must come from the supplier. Please contact your supplier directly to request changes to the product and pricing data represent in IdeaRoom.

Below are a few examples of the issues and an outline of options and potential workarounds.

Example Issues

Pricing Issues & Changes

Suppliers sometimes update their pricing due to rapidly changing circumstances, and it can take time before those changes are communicated to and adapted to by dealers. When a dealer reports a pricing issue to IdeaRoom, it may not be due to a bug in the software. Any of the following could be a cause:

  • The supplier updated their pricing, and they have not notified their dealer network yet, or salespeople are not fully familiar with the new pricing yet.

  • There may be some ambiguity in the supplier’s pricing method, or the supplier may have previously allowed multiple ways of pricing an option.

  • The supplier may have published incorrect information in their pricing sheets or documentation.

  • There is a bug in the supplier’s pricing data or formulas set up in IdeaRoom.

Before submitting a pricing issue to IdeaRoom, double-check the pricing calculation using the latest pricing information provided by the supplier. If applicable, reach out to your dealer support rep or pricing support person at the supplier to verify. If the issue still appears to be a bug in the IdeaRoom-generated price estimate, forward an example quote to support@idearoom.com with the following:

  • Clearly note the line item(s) that are incorrectly priced.

  • Provide the correct pricing for comparison purposes.

  • Share any additional context that may be helpful.

Custom Building Sizes

Some suppliers choose to not show custom sizes in IdeaRoom, such as buildings lengths that do not align with exact frame spacing increments, typically 5 feet. This can simplify the customer’s experience by limiting the number of choices. It can also help limit the number of custom orders that slow down manufacturing. These choices also limit a dealer’s ability to design and price a custom order.

Door Height Restrictions

Suppliers may choose to enforce rules about the height of a door allowed on a sidewall. These rules are typically based on the physical height of the wall and the space available. In some cases, the rules are created for other engineering or business reasons. The supplier may not enforce all rules consistently and may allow exceptions; however, suppliers typically configure IdeaRoom to enforce these types of design constraints to prevent order and fulfillment problems. When a dealer encounters a constraint like this, they may report it as a bug when it is an intentional constraint.

Options & Workarounds

When encountering an issue with the product and pricing definitions specified by a supplier, dealers have the following options and workarounds:

  • Contact the supplier to request they make a change to their IdeaRoom configuration.

  • Use IdeaRoom to recreate the custom design as closely as possible; add comments in the submit dialog to note custom changes required; add custom line items in sales tools to finalize a price.

  • Create a custom order outside IdeaRoom using the manufacturer’s electronic or paper order form.

  • Subscribe to IdeaRoom for Carport Suppliers to set up your own product and pricing definitions.