“I don’t think Preferred Materials would be as successful as we are today if we didn’t have Slabstack. I haven’t come across another CRM that has even come close to it.”
— Juan Quintana, Vice President of Sales, Preferred Materials
A Fast-Growing Producer with a Big Challenge
Preferred Materials LLC is a relatively new player in the Texas concrete market — but its growth has been nothing short of remarkable. In just five years, the company has become one of the fastest-growing producers serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
With rapid growth came new challenges. The sales team was relying on basic spreadsheets to track opportunities, manage customer relationships, and prepare quotes. This approach created:
- Inefficient sales processes — Manual tracking made it hard to forecast and keep tabs on the pipeline.
- Lack of real-time data — Pricing and margins varied between plants, but there was no easy way to access up-to-date numbers for accurate quotes.
- Limited system integration — No connection between sales tools and the dispatch system meant re-entering data and risking errors.
Preferred Materials needed a CRM for concrete producers that could keep up with the pace of business, integrate seamlessly with dispatch, and provide better visibility for leadership.
Finding the Right Fit
The team initially considered Salesforce because it integrated with their accounting systems. But the dealbreaker? No easy way to connect it with their dispatch software — a must-have in the ready-mix industry.
After researching industry-specific solutions, they discovered Slabstack. Purpose-built for heavy building materials producers, Slabstack combined CRM, sales intelligence, and dispatch integration in one platform.
“They’ve never looked back,” says Juan Quintana.
How Slabstack Changed the Game
Slabstack’s implementation marked a major shift from manual, disconnected workflows to a unified, data-driven sales process. Here’s what changed:
1. Streamlined Sales Processes
Material prices and weights change daily, and keeping that data accurate across quotes was a time-consuming challenge. With Slabstack’s two-way dispatch integration, real-time pricing flows into the CRM so sales reps can generate accurate quotes instantly. Once approved, orders push back into dispatch — no duplicate entry required.
2. Data-Driven Decision Making
With four plants across Texas, each with different margins, routing orders profitably was critical. Slabstack’s analytics give the sales team a clear view of profitability by location, enabling them to send deliveries from the most cost-effective plant — boosting margins on every job.
3. Sales Performance Visibility
Slabstack’s dashboards, maps, and charts show how each salesperson is performing daily. Leadership can monitor active bids, win/loss ratios, and pipeline targets from a laptop or mobile device — no matter where they are.
The Results
The impact of adopting Slabstack was immediate and measurable:
- Additional margin gains from better price and delivery optimization
- Faster, more accurate quotes driven by real-time pricing
- Improved forecasting with clear, visual analytics
- Greater operational efficiency by eliminating duplicate data entry
As Juan Quintana sums it up:
“I don’t think Preferred Materials would be as successful as we are today if we didn’t have Slabstack.”
Positioning for the Future
Preferred Materials’ adoption of Slabstack didn’t just solve today’s challenges — it set the foundation for long-term success. By modernizing sales processes, integrating systems, and delivering real-time insights, the company is better equipped to compete in a fast-moving market.
For other ready-mix producers, the message is clear: if you’re still running sales from spreadsheets, it’s time to explore a CRM for concrete producers that’s built for your business.