BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Boise Engineered Wood Products, a business unit of Boise Cascade, LLC, announced today its selection as one of only ten national winners of the annual Partners of Choice Award from David Weekley Homes, the 18th largest homebuilding firm in the U.S. in annual closings in 2006. The prestigious award is given to winning suppliers, or "trading partners" that have been chosen by David Weekley Homes as their best performing suppliers of the past twelve months. Only Boise and nine other companies out of about 150 trading partners doing business with David Weekley Homes were chosen for the prestigious "A, A" Award in 2007 -- the second year in a row that Boise has received this honor.
The awards are based on the David Weekley Homes National Trading Partners Survey, a running quarterly review of David Weekley suppliers. The ratings are provided by nearly 1,000 team members from all levels within David Weekley Homes. Suppliers are rated quarterly on a 1-10 scale on quality and service. The scores for each company are averaged, then ranked with all others that participate. Alpha rankings are assigned in 20% increments from A to F, with 20% receiving an "A", 20% a "B", etc. Receiving an A for both quality and service in the same year is rare, with the "A, A" Partner of Choice Award being the highest ranking any trading partner can receive. "It's very hard for a supplier to achieve an "A" rating in both quality and service, then maintain it for the entire year", said Bill Justus, Vice President of Supply Chain Services for David Weekley Homes. "To accomplish this two years in a row, as Boise has done, is really remarkable.
"At David Weekley Homes we challenge our trading partners to actively manage the distribution channel," said Justus. "Our trading partners can't just be looking inside the four walls of their company. They are culpable for the entire supply chain from manufacturing all the way through installation," he said. "We call this concept Channel Alignment. Channel Alignment drives waste and inefficiency out of the channel by fine-tuning business practices. What separates A, A winners from non-winners is that they help facilitate the efficient, effective processes that add value to the relationship and provide a satisfying experience to our customer, Justus added.
"We provide all rating data to our Partners of Choice and give them the opportunity to correct any problems pointed out by our people in the surveys," said Justus. "All of the information is there for manufacturers who want to be successful and run excellent businesses. Successful companies tend to have three things in common regarding the management of the survey: They appoint a senior executive to own the survey; they assign individual roles and responsibilities; and they institutionalize processes in support of the survey's feedback. Over time, changes these companies have put in place have allowed them to grow their businesses in the entire market, and not just with us," he said. David Weekley Homes began their Partners of Choice program approximately three and a half years ago. The ultimate goal for David Weekley Homes is to create the best possible home buying experience for its customers. "We feel this survey is an excellent tool to identify those partners who are serious in their pursuit of world class excellence," said Justus.
Boise is the leader in providing value-added services that enable homebuilders to build more profitably. BC Framer(r) integrated design software tracks loads from roof to foundation to find the best way to frame without overbuilding so builders reduce waste, lower material bills, and cut disposal fees. Boise material lists enable builders to buy only the material they need to frame a home. Cut lists replace the time-consuming and error-prone process of pulling a tape for every cut. Squaring diagrams locate foundation and sill plates with precise lineal and diagonal dimensions so homes are built square, level and plumb. Boise color-coded framing plans show the placement of framing components so less-skilled crews can frame correctly the first time. And Boise(r) Plans Room posts builders' projects online to communicate, track, update redlines, do take-offs and organize plans for future use. "We want to continue to be the leader in helping our channel partners build more profitably," said Denny Huston, Boise Engineered Wood Products sales & marketing manager. "We are very proud to be working with David Weekley Homes on many of these important service initiatives," Huston added.
About Boise Cascade
Boise, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber, and particleboard and distributes a broad line of building materials, including wood products manufactured by the company. Boise also manufactures a wide range of specialty and premium products, including imaging papers for the office and home and papers for pressure sensitive applications, as well as printing and converting papers, containerboard and corrugated boxes, newsprint, and market pulp. Visit Boise's website at www.bc.com.
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