Ecommerce Platform for Waterworks Distributors
For municipal account management, real-time branch inventory, Epicor Eclipse integration, and ductile iron pipe and valve specification search - ROC Commerce is purpose-built ecommerce for waterworks distributors.
Capturing the $39 Billion Waterworks Distribution Market
The waterworks distribution market represents approximately $39 billion in annual U.S. sales (Source). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act delivered more than $50 billion to the EPA for water infrastructure (Source) and only about 25% has been allocated to date, with spending ramping through 2026. Municipal water infrastructure spending remains robust. The distributors positioned to capture that spending are the ones with digital ordering in place before the projects land.
With significant growth and spending underway in the waterworks distribution market, ROC Commerce is the top ecommerce platform for waterworks distributors, enabling them to:
Digital Ordering Workflows
Support digital ordering workflows that match how municipal buyers and contractors specify products by AWWA standard, pipe size, and material. This is crucial, considering that drinking water utilities annually face costs up to $7.5 billion (Source) for EPA's new PFAS standards, prompting significant pipe and infrastructure upgrades.
Streamline Account Management
Streamline municipal account management, project-based pricing, and net terms to align with the bid cycles and contract requirements of public agencies. With state and local governments directing billions toward water projects through various programs, distributors that simplify approvals and honor negotiated terms are better positioned to win and retain long-term public contracts.
Provide Inventory Visibility
Provide real-time, multi-branch and pipe yard inventory visibility, so buyers can confirm product availability before placing an order. When a single stalled water main project can delay repairs for thousands of residents, accurate stock counts reduce costly back-orders, prevent job site downtime, and give contractors the confidence to commit to tight municipal construction timelines.
Integrate ERPs Seamlessly
Integrate with leading ERPs such as Epicor Eclipse and Epicor Prophet 21, eliminating double-entry and syncing accurate pricing, orders, and inventory at every location. Manual data handling is a leading source of order errors and margin loss for distributors. A unified system keeps quotes, invoices, and stock levels aligned in real time, so your team can focus on service rather than reconciliation.
Adapt D2C Sales
Adapt to both traditional wholesale and direct-to-customer (D2C) sales models, supporting separate pricing, content, and checkout experiences within one platform. As more contractors and smaller municipalities expect the convenience of online buying, a flexible platform lets you serve high-volume account buyers and self-service customers side by side, capturing new revenue without maintaining multiple disconnected systems.
Make Fulfillment Faster
Equip teams by making ordering and fulfillment faster, more accurate, and transparent. The U.S. water infrastructure, averaging 45 years old, loses nearly 15% of treated municipal water due to aging systems (Source). Capturing new opportunities from these infrastructure investments and robust public sector spending will be the key to sustainable growth in a market under mounting pressure to modernize.
Specification-Based Product Search
Municipal buyers and utility contractors do not search for waterworks products by brand name. They search by AWWA standard, pipe size, pressure class, material, and end connection type. ROC Commerce search handles dense municipal specification filtering, via Hawksearch and Algolia, so contractors and procurement teams find the correct spec on the first search. This matters, as 85% of B2B buyers will consider a competitor if they hit a digital ordering roadblock (Source).
Municipal Account Management and Project Pricing
Waterworks companies cater to three main customer groups: long-term municipal accounts with pre-bid pricing and requiring punchout, utility contractors with project-specific pricing, and emergency replacement orders where speed takes priority over cost. ROC Commerce integrates directly with the ERP to ensure customer-specific pricing, project bid locks, and net payment terms are always accurate. This allows buyers to see their correct pricing instantly, without needing to make a phone call. Last year, approximately 42% of Core & Main's net sales came from contractors and municipalities working on municipal-funded projects (Source).
B2B and D2C Within the Same Platform
B2B ecommerce for waterworks companies has never been more critical. Waterworks distributors now serve wholesale contractors, utility accounts, and direct buyers like property developers and smaller municipalities, bypassing contractor intermediaries. ROC Commerce streamlines this with a unified platform offering tailored pricing, content, and checkout experiences. Dominating the $28 billion waterworks market, Ferguson leads with a 21% share (Source), driving significant digital revenue across its distribution channels.
MERP Integration and Multi-Branch Inventory
Waterworks distributors managing pipe yards and branches across a region need real-time inventory visibility by location. Utility contractors handling emergency main breaks can’t afford to wait for stock confirmation. ROC Commerce seamlessly integrates with Epicor Eclipse and Epicor Prophet 21, providing instant branch-level inventory updates. This innovation keeps you competitive in the $120.2 billion U.S. water infrastructure market (2024), growing at 5.3% CAGR through 2032 (Source).
FAQs About ROC Commerce for the Waterworks Industry
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ROC Commerce handles what generic platforms cannot. This includes specification-based search for AWWA standards, pipe sizes, and material grades, municipal account management with project pricing and net terms, multi-branch inventory visibility, and ERP integration that keeps your online storefront accurate in real time. The platform manages both wholesale contractor and municipal utility accounts within the same system.
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Yes, ROC Commerce syncs customer-specific pricing, pre-bid project locks, and net payment terms directly from your ERP. Municipal procurement officers and utility contractors see their correct pricing on every device without a phone call. Purchase order approval workflows and invoice management are available through the self-service customer portal.
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ROC Commerce integrates natively with Epicor Eclipse - the leading ERP for waterworks, plumbing, and PVF distributors - as well as Epicor Prophet 21, Infor CloudSuite, and NetSuite. Integration syncs real-time inventory by branch location, customer-specific pricing, order history, and account data, eliminating double-entry and keeping your storefront accurate in real time.
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Yes. ROC Commerce surfaces branch-level and yard-level inventory in real time so utility contractors can confirm pipe and valve availability at their nearest location before dispatching a crew. Distributors can configure location-based inventory rules, delivery zones, and branch-specific pricing to match how their regional network operates.
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ROC Commerce syncs pre-bid project pricing, contract account terms, and net payment schedules directly from your ERP. Contractors and municipal buyers see locked project pricing for the duration of a bid cycle. Invoice management, payment terms, and purchase order approval workflows are all available through the self-service customer portal.
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Yes. ROC Commerce is built for large and complex B2B catalogs. Whether your catalog includes tens of thousands of SKUs across ductile iron pipe, valves, fire hydrants, water meters, storm drainage, and wastewater products, the platform handles catalog scale with AI-powered search and technical attribute filtering - AWWA standard, pipe size, pressure class, material, and end connection - so buyers find the correct specification on the first search.