What’s up everyone—let’s cut right to the chase because if you’re here, you’re probably scrolling for real examples of “by type” in action, not some boring corporate jargon that sounds like it’s pulled from a 2000s product catalog. For context, I’ve run a small but tight-knit supply operation for the last 8 years—we’re the “by type” supplier people actually call when they don’t want generic one-size-fits-all garbage, so this is from the trenches, not a textbook. By Type
First off, let’s clarify what “by type” actually means here, because half the time people mix it up with “custom” or “bulk.” When we say “by type,” we’re sorting every single product, component, or material we move into specific, non-overlapping categories that make sense for your use case—no vague groupings like “industrial parts” that lumps together something meant for a factory robot and something meant for a backyard bird feeder. The mistake most new folks make is thinking it’s just slapping a label on a box, but nah—for us, “by type” is how we make sure you get exactly what you need, when you need it, no headaches, no returns because the wrong part showed up.
Let me give you a super concrete, recent example that still makes me shake my head a little because it’s such a perfect case of how “by type” works for both sides. Last spring, a small landscaping company (shoutout to them—they’re local to our area, do amazing work for small parks and backyard projects) hit us up panicking. They had a big contract: installing rain gardens for three new community parks, and their original supplier let them down hard—they showed up with 50 cubic yards of generic mulch that was just “wood chips,” no categorization, and half of it was big splinters that would stick to people’s shoes, not the fine, consistent stuff they needed to hold moisture. Also, they needed specific fasteners for the rain garden edging, but the supplier just dumped a random mix of screws, nails, and bolts that didn’t fit the recycled plastic edging they’d spec’d.
Now, here’s where “by type” came in, and saved their entire project. Normally, when a landscaping crew hits us up for mulch, we don’t just send “mulch”—we send it by type, and we flag that for their use case first. Let’s break down how that works for mulch alone: we split it into hard type and soft type, but then sub-divide hard type into fine (under ½ inch) for ground cover, medium (½ to 1 inch) for pathways, and coarse (over 1 inch) for erosion control. Soft type is things like pine straw, which we split into long-straw for garden beds and short-cut for mulch paths. That landscaping crew needed fine hardwood mulch—no splinters, consistent size, because it was for high-traffic community areas. We pulled that exact type from our stock, and because we label every load by type (we even have little color tags now—blue for mulch, green for fasteners, so the delivery guys can spot it fast), we knew it was perfect for their project.
Then the fasteners—same deal. Their original supplier gave them a random pile, but we supply fasteners by type, and we have a whole catalog split into type by application: for wood, for recycled plastic, for metal, for pressure-treated lumber, etc. They needed 2.5-inch stainless steel self-tapping screws, specifically designed for thin recycled plastic edging. When they told us that, we didn’t send a generic box of screws—we pulled the exact type, had it bagged and labeled so they didn’t have to sift through a pile of 10 different screw sizes to find what worked. That’s the “by type” difference—we don’t guess, we give you what’s exactly the right category for your job.
Wait, let’s make this even more specific, because I know a lot of you reading this are in the manufacturing or construction space too, not just landscaping. Last year, I worked with a guy who runs a small custom furniture shop out of Portland. He was struggling with a local metal supplier that kept sending him scrap metal that was labeled “steel” but was a mixed batch of different types—high-carbon, mild, alloy, all jumbled together. He kept having to sort through hundreds of pounds just to find the 16-gauge mild steel he needed for dining table legs, which ate up 8 hours a week of his time, time he could’ve spent building furniture.
He switched to us, and we started supplying his raw metal by type. So every sheet he gets is marked clearly: Type 1018 mild steel, Type 4130 alloy steel, Type 304 stainless, etc. Not only that, when he orders a batch, we’ll pre-sort it by the specific type he needs, so it’s already separated when it shows up to his shop. That cut his sorting time by like 90%—he told us later that he added 2 extra tables a month to his production, all because we used a simple “by type” system instead of dumping a random mix on his dock.
Here’s the thing that most suppliers don’t get about “by type”—it’s not just a labeling trick to make their lives easier. It’s actually a way to cut waste and save you money. For the landscaping crew, the generic mulch they got was half unusable—they had to pay a guy to sift through 25 cubic yards of bad mulch to get the fine stuff, which cost them $1,200 in labor. For the furniture guy, the mixed metal meant he was wasting 10 pounds of high-carbon steel every week because he couldn’t use it for his dining tables, which was another $30 a week down the drain. When they used our by-type system, they eliminated that waste entirely. We even track that for our clients—we give them a little side note on each order that says something like “By-type mulch reduced your labor costs by $1,100 this week” or “By-type metal cut your material waste by 8% this month.” That’s the real value, not just a fancy term.
A lot of people ask me, “What’s the difference between ‘by type’ and ‘just ordering the right product’?” Let’s clarify that too, because that’s where the confusion hits. If you order “fasteners for plastic edging,” that’s just a product order. If you order “self-tapping screws, Type 23, 2.5 inches, stainless steel, for thin recycled plastic—by type,” that’s using the system to make sure you don’t get anything outside that specific category. I’ve had clients tell me they thought by-type was just “more labels” until they had a load show up that was 100% what they needed, no returns, no sorting. Last quarter, a construction company in Seattle had a concrete pour for a parking garage, and they needed a specific aggregate type—Type 57 stone, which is 1-inch to 2.5-inch crushed limestone, meant for structural concrete. A big national supplier sent them Type 8 stone, which is smaller, meant for drainage, and they had to shut down the pour for 3 hours to sort through it. We sent their by-type batch, labeled, sorted, and it was exactly what they needed—they didn’t lose a minute of time.
Now, I know some of you are thinking, “Wait, this sounds like something only people with specific niche jobs need.” No, it works for small stuff too. Last month, a lady who runs a local dog groomer hit us up for grooming tables. She needed the non-slip mats that go on the tables, and she got quoted for “rubber mats” from a big box supplier. We supply mats by type too—so instead of generic rubber, we split them into type by grip, thickness, and water resistance. She needed a mat that was medium-thickness, high-grip (so dogs don’t slip), and water-resistant for frequent cleaning. We sent her exactly that type, and she said the generic mat she had before was so slippery her clients kept jumping off the table, but this one’s been perfect for months. That’s the same by-type system, just scaled for a tiny business.
Here’s a little behind-the-scenes stuff that most suppliers won’t tell you—we started doing by-type because we got sick of hearing clients complain about the same problems. 10 years ago, when I first started in this business, I’d get a call every week from someone who got the wrong stuff, had to pay extra to return it, and was behind on their project. I realized the root of 90% of those problems was that suppliers weren’t sorting their inventory by clear, use-specific types—they were just grouping everything together under vague terms. So we rebuilt our entire stock system around by-type: every item has a unique type code, every load is packed to match that code, our sales team is trained to ask you specific questions about what your project needs so we can match the exact type, not just the general category.
We also don’t overcomplicate it. You don’t need to memorize a bunch of weird codes—we make it easy. If you tell us, “I need mulch for a high-traffic community garden,” we already have that type listed under our garden supplies category. If you say, “I need screws for thin plastic edging,” we pull that exact type from our fasteners section. No extra hoops, no confusing jargon, just us giving you the right stuff for your job.
If you’re reading this and you’ve ever dealt with a supplier that sent you the wrong thing, made you sort through a random pile, or charged you for stuff you didn’t need just because it was “part of a bulk order,” that’s exactly what we’re here to fix. We don’t do generic. We don’t do vague. We do by-type, because it’s the only way to make sure you get exactly what you need, when you need it, no headaches, no waste.
If you’re working on a project—whether it’s a small home renovation, a big construction job, landscaping, furniture making, whatever—and you’re tired of the same old supply problems, hit us up to chat. We can walk through your specific needs, explain how our by-type system works for your project, and get you a quote that makes sense. No sales pitches, no pressure, just real answers from someone who’s been doing this long enough to know what works and what doesn’t.
By Emotion References:
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2022). Best Practices for Material Sorting and Inventory Management in Construction and Small Business Operations. U.S. Department of Labor.
- National Association of Landscape Professionals. (2023). Landscape Supply Efficiency: Reducing Labor and Material Waste Through Categorized Product Sourcing. NALP Industry Report.
- American Wood Protection Association. (2021). Standard Specifications for Wood Fasteners by Type and Application. AWPA Technical Bulletin.
- American Society for Testing and Materials. (2022). Standard Classification of Steel Alloys for Custom Manufacturing. ASTM International.
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