Activant Falcon Advances 23 Locations in One Day for Edward Hines Lumber
In order to more effectively manage and reduce costs, Edward Hines Lumber Company identified a need to upgrade their existing technology. Seeking an all around improved business management solution, a cross-functional team of Edward Hines Lumber Company managers unanimously decided to upgrade to Activant Falcon™. The conversion process was smooth, on time and on budget. In just a short time after implementation, faster processing, expanded reporting options, and strengthened data integrity were appreciated throughout the entire organization.
After Thorough Evaluation, Activant Falcon Selected
Edward Hines Lumber Company (Hines Lumber) is a large, third-generation, family-owned regional chain operating in the Chicago area. Hines Lumber serves builders, developers and contractors with a complete line of building materials including lumber, roof trusses, floor trusses, kitchen cabinets, doors, windows and millwork.
One of the biggest challenges facing Hines Lumber, and the lumber industry in general, is cost control. Across the competitive landscape, lumberyards pay nearly identical prices for raw materials, so success is dependent upon having lower operating costs and passing those cost savings on to customers. Hines Lumber recognized that their business management system wasn't providing the data, processes or insight they needed to effectively manage costs.
Hines Lumber began a formal process to purchase a new system. A team of key business managers from across Hines Lumber evaluated various system solutions. Key functional requirements included processing speed, reporting flexibility, integrity for both SKU and customer data, and ease-of-use for Hines Lumber employees and customers. After a thorough assessment, the team unanimously selected Falcon, convinced it would best meet their needs.
23 Locations Go Live in One Day
Going live at 23 locations in one day required careful orchestration. The Activant team worked hand-in-hand with Hines Lumber to make the conversion a success. Historical data was converted and operational processes were mapped from the old system to Falcon.
Hines Lumber believed it was critical for employees to be well-trained and comfortable with the Falcon system before conversion. Over a three month period, nearly 900 training sessions were held, ensuring that employees were well trained. The week before conversion employees entered all their orders into Falcon, gaining valuable hands-on experience. For the first three days after go-live, Activant experts were on-site at all 23 locations to quickly answer questions and provide assistance to Hines Lumber employees.
"The process was a lot of work, but it went extremely well," reflected Tom Strachan, manager of application development, Edward Hines Lumber Company. "It was amazing how few help calls we had at the corporate office during the first weeks after conversion. Overall, it was a very smooth transition."
Falcon Meets Expectations and Delivers Immediate Results
Falcon was quickly accepted by the entire organization. Within one week after conversion, location managers were happy with the new Falcon business management solution. They were successfully running their operations and using the new reporting capabilities to better drive their business. The IT team was instantly impressed by Falcon's speed, data integrity and reporting flexibility.
"I was immediately impressed with the stability, flexibility, speed and performance of Falcon." stated Tom. "I recommend that LBM dealers take a good hard look at Falcon."
