Two towns, two states, 70 years independent
How Idaho-based Moscow & Pullman Building Supply found the right partner to go digital
Moscow & Pullman's Pros were loyal, and slow to adopt technology. A new Home Depot was opening down the road. So the yard put quoting and ordering online.
Lumber and building materials · Moscow, ID and Pullman, WA
What changed
- ~50%
- Of online quotes & orders from outside local market
- 1,200+
- Pro account sign ups
- 150+
- Pros paying bills online
- $1.5M+
- In annual online payment volume
Figures reported by Moscow & Pullman Building Supply.
The Challenge
For years, Moscow & Pullman's approach to pro accounts was simple: contractors came in, saw the whites of your eyes, and paid their bills in person. It worked because that's what the customer base expected. Nobody was asking for digital tools.
But the world was changing. Even the most traditional contractors were starting to use phones for everything else in their lives. And in March 2024, Home Depot opened its doors in the community, bringing with it the kind of digital convenience that independent dealers have always struggled to match.
Alan Espenschade saw the gap clearly: "How do we compete with them? To offer a tool and a service now that a Home Depot has, or that Lowe's has."
The internal processes weren't helping either. Their accounts receivable workflow hadn't changed in years. Customers came in with credit cards. They keyed balances into a standalone terminal. Swiped cards. Gave receipts. Recorded those receipts. Closed batches at the end of day. Then came back the next morning to apply each payment individually in BisTrack.
Moscow & Pullman needed a way to offer modern convenience while preserving the personal relationships that made them different. They needed to meet customers where they were, even if "where they were" was still pretty resistant to change.
The Solution
Alan Espenschade first met Erik Bornstein, Toolbx founder, at a conference about three years ago. They sat next to each other at breakfast and got to talking.
“Had no idea when we sat with Erik that he was an owner, operator, founder," Alan recalls. "He was just a guy that was easy to communicate with, that had some ideas and showed genuine interest in what we were doing.”
Moscow & Pullman had looked at other options. Nothing excited them. But Toolbx was different. Clean interface. Right functionality. And a team that felt more like partners than vendors.
Alan describes the experience of working with the Toolbx team as "personal, easy, and very transparent." He adds:
“The whole Toolbx team—laid-back professionals who love what they're doing and are building something so cool and modern for our industry.”
The feedback I've gotten from the Pro sales guys I talked to is that they love that they can get on, they love that they can see their statements, and they love that they can pay through ACH, particularly, because that saves everybody a little bit of money.
Alan EspenschadeDirector of OperationsWhat Moscow & Pullman Building Supply turned on
Moscow & Pullman implemented a complete Toolbx platform integrated with their BisTrack ERP:
“Modify an order in BisTrack and within seconds the payment adjusts in Toolbx. It's seamless. It's brilliant.”
Pro Customer Portal
Contractors can log in to view transaction history, check statements, and see their customer-specific pricing.
How it worksOnline Payments with ACH
Pros can pay their balances online using ACH or credit card, with payments flowing directly into BisTrack. No manual reconciliation required.
How it worksE-Commerce with BOPIS
Full product catalog online with buy online, pick up in store functionality.
How it worksOnline Quoting
Customers can request quotes through the website, with quotes syncing to BisTrack for the sales team to manage.
How it worksIntegrated Messaging
Text-based communication platform that routes to a dedicated team member, replacing a clunky Facebook/email distribution system.
How it worksERP Integration
Bidirectional sync with BisTrack means orders, payments, and customer data stay in sync without double entry.
How it worksWe are getting customer requests from all over the country now. We've shipped product to something like 17 different states. And we have Toolbx to thank for that.
Alan EspenschadeDirector of OperationsThe Results
Contractors Who Said They'd Never Pay Online Are Paying Online
Moscow & Pullman's contractor base includes fourth and fifth-generation builders who were used to coming in, standing in line, and paying in person. Getting them to change seemed unlikely. But $1.5+ million in online payment volume processed annually and over 150 pros now paying bills through the portal tell a different story.
A Growing National Reach
About 50% of online quotes and orders now come from customers outside the local market. They've shipped products to 17 different states, from Vermont to Colorado to Oregon. Ten times a week, they get inquiries about shipping products coast to coast.
It started with customers who couldn't find specific products locally. A gentleman in South Hero, Vermont needed galvanized bullnose sheetrock corners, eight feet long. He couldn't find them anywhere on the East Coast. He found them on Moscow & Pullman's website.
Another customer in Colorado Springs was searching for a discontinued Honda power trimmer. He found two on the website and wasn't going to take no for an answer. Alan drove across town to a competitor, found the trimmer, shipped it to Colorado, and earned a five-star review and a loyal customer who said he'd never seen any company try so hard.
AR Gets Breathing Room
Jess Webb in accounts receiveable, used to start every morning the same way—manually applying yesterday's in-person payments to each account, one by one. Now those payments hit BisTrack automatically.
Fewer contractors at her door. Less reconciliation. More focus.
"She knows there are going to be fewer of them coming through the door,” Alan says. “They're just paying online."
Competing with Home Depot on Their Own Terms
When Home Depot opened in March, Moscow & Pullman had an answer.
The Toolbx messaging platform, it turns out, is better than what the big box offers.
Home Depot doesn't have anyone at the local store monitoring texts and responding in real time. Moscow & Pullman does. They've dedicated a full-time team member to handle the volume.
Contractors notice. They're telling the team that for quick communication and responsive service, the local independent dealer is actually ahead.
Staff Buy-In Happened Faster Than Expected
Change management is usually the hardest part. At Moscow & Pullman, it wasn't.
Nobody on the 130-person staff has pushed back. Instead, they're selling it. When a customer walks in, staff mention the buy-online-pick-up-in-store option. They explain the portal. They encourage contractors to try it.
“People who care about our success and love to see us evolve—they're jumping in with their boots on to make it happen.”
Looking Ahead
Moscow & Pullman has served Idaho's panhandle for nearly 70 years. The contractors they work with are fourth and fifth-generation builders. The relationships are multi-generational too.
Now they're building new ones—with customers in Vermont, Colorado, and Oregon who had great experiences and will come back. Over time, that could become a meaningful percentage of sales.
The team is still learning. Shipping logistics, particularly for oversized items, remains a work in progress. But the foundation is there.
Alan's perspective is simple: a local lumberyard with 70 years of relationships now has the tools to serve customers anywhere in the country—without losing what made them worth buying from in the first place.
If another dealer asked us if Toolbx was worth partnering up with, I would tell them every single day, absolutely 100%. As a matter of fact, our owner just returned from his latest roundtable in Colorado. And I think he said with pretty firm certainty that 100% of the folks sitting at that table were going to go back and make a phone call because they're interested in a partnership.
Alan EspenschadeDirector of Operations
