Integrated Technology Helps Keep Southern Homebuilder Ahead of Rising Katrina-Related Prices

Companies reap big benefits with an updated IT approach.

REDMOND, Wash., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the many markets rattled by the record hurricane season of 2005 was the U.S. construction industry. As one storm after another pounded the Southern states, wholesale material prices fluctuated rapidly, forcing contractors to anticipate higher expenses. When Hurricane Katrina threatened to send lumber costs to new heights, Atlanta- based homebuilder Monte Hewett Homes moved up the deployment date of a new Microsoft Dynamics technology solution to take advantage of temporarily lower lumber prices.

The goal was to create 2,700 lumber purchase orders within one week for homes the company planned to start building the following month. Monte Hewett Homes succeeded in meeting the deadline, an achievement that saved the company tens of thousands of dollars and underscored the business value of an integrated technology solution.

The Integration Advantage

Nonintegrated IT environments are often the result of ad hoc investments guided by time-to-market pressures. They can be complex and expensive to build and maintain, can lead to operational inefficiencies due to component incompatibilities, and can slow reaction time when companies need to move quickly. By contrast, integrated solutions composed of products built to work together seamlessly (such as desktops, servers, system software, applications and add-ons specific to the line of business) can result in a broad range of benefits, including faster return on investment (ROI), greater productivity, and the level of responsiveness and flexibility Monte Hewett Homes required.

Of course, not every situation will be as extreme as Monte Hewett Homes' effort to beat rising Katrina-influenced lumber prices to the finish line. However, given the negative long-term impact of inefficient technology tools, business decision-makers would do well to react just as eagerly to streamline everyday processes.

Performance and Adaptability

One area that requires tight integration is that between business applications which focus on structured work, such as heads-down transaction- entry tasks, and those which enable the analysis and reporting typically performed by business owners and other decision-makers. Some workers have equal need of both, which also requires an integrated tool that makes the process more effective.

Another key consideration is adaptability. In the words of Monte Hewett Homes IT Manager Robert Kohl, "If your company is successful, it doesn't make sense to select a system that forces you to change your business practices to comply with the way 'the system works.' Rather, make sure you select a system that can be customized and configured to match your current business processes."

The Monte Hewett Homes Solution

The solution deployed by Monte Hewett Homes gave the company the adaptability it needed. The company chose a Microsoft Dynamics business solution that includes applications for financial management, project management and accounting, distribution, field service, payroll, and e- business. Its flexible development foundation, open architecture, and customizable reporting and budgeting tools enabled Kohl's staff to tailor a solution to the company's needs. It also enabled consolidation of data across applications and platforms, which were then extended into tools that allow employees to access up-to-the-minute Web-based reports tailored to their information needs.

Ease of Implementation

For organizations concerned about the cost and disruption of an all-in-one migration to an integrated technology solution, it is worth bearing in mind that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Monte Hewett Homes is staggering its migration process over four years.

"Based on the rapid ROI we have already seen, we expect that further integration of our stack will lead to more dramatic increases in efficiency," Kohl said. "And we're confident that switching to an all-Microsoft stack will enable us to adapt to future growth and challenges."

Tighter Infrastructure Leads to "People-Ready" Business

Microsoft Corp. is confident that Kohl is right. It believes that the platform infrastructure, communication and productivity tools, and business applications need to work together to uniquely serve the different types of users in an organization. When business applications share information effectively, employees can get a better view of what is happening throughout the organization and gain the insight they need to understand how they can help achieve immediate results.

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