The dealer will input into the system products, pricing information, and other specs it offers to builders. “A repeating theme we’ve been hearing from builders is that they are looking to improve customers’ buying experience,” Kammeraad says. Home Ensemble and Standale say HomeSpec should do just that.
Standale will begin using HomeSpec to specify interior options, with initial categories of floor covering (carpet, wood, vinyl, tile, and laminate), cabinetry, and appliances. Over time, the company plans to add roofing, siding, windows, and doors. At this time, however, Standale isn’t planning to put rough lumber into HomeSpec because of the variability of lumber prices and the fact that quotes are made on an individual, per-house basis, Lehman explains. Roofing, siding, and windows make more sense right now for future additions, she adds. “Those things tend to have a more stable price whereas lumber fluctuates all over the board, and it’s hard to put that into this kind of system.” If lumber is ever added in the future to the Standale implementation, it would exist in the base home specifications to be used in calculating the overall cost of the home.
In the months leading up to deployment of HomeSpec, Home Ensemble was entering data from Standale’s “library of materials” into the HomeSpec system and training Standale employees to use the system. Over time, Standale employees will maintain and update the system themselves. The company will charge builders an initial setup fee to use the system, plus a design fee based on the amount of usage and number of products that a builder uses the system to select for its homes. The builders will provide their customers with a secure log-in to the program.
Lehman expects HomeSpec to help builders and their customers tie up loose ends much more quickly, streamlining the product specification process to the benefit of the builder and Standale alike. “The biggest advantage for the builder is being able to concentrate on building the house, that’s what they do best, and we will work hand in hand with their customer in making selections,” she says.
Lehman declined to specify how much the company is spending on the system, but Standale says HomeSpec dovetails with its corporate strategy of being a leading provider of innovative building solutions that focus on the customer service needs of their contractors and their contractors’ customers. “We feel Home Ensemble hits that right on the nailhead,” Lehman says. —Tom Smith is a freelance writer in Amherst, N.Y.
Vital Statistics
Company: Standale Lumber
Year founded: 1952
Headquarters: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Number of locations: 3
Number of employees: 135
2004 gross sales: $45 million
Pro sales percentage: 90 percent
