HOUSTON, Aug. 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- David Weekley Homes, the third largest privately held homebuilder, released the winners of its prestigious Partners of Choice Award. Now in its third year, the Partners of Choice award is given to suppliers based on their quality and service as rated by David Weekley Homes team members quarterly. Each company's numeric scores are averaged, and then an alpha rating assigned relative to its ranking with all other of Weekley's national trading partners. Alpha ratings range from A to F in 20 percent increments. The Partners of Choice Awards are presented to suppliers who maintained either an "A, A" rating for both Quality and Service for the previous twelve months or an "A" rating in Quality or Service.
The following companies were recognized as winners of the coveted "A, A" Partners of Choice Award: Boise Engineered Wood Products; the Dow Chemical Company; DuPont; Eaton Corporation; Elk Group, Inc.; Honeywell; James Hardie; Office Depot; Simpson Strong Tie; and Trane. Special recognition goes to the following "A, A" winners that have been named to the list three years running: the Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell, James Hardie, Simpson Strong-Tie and Trane. Moving up from last year's "A" rating to "A, A" this year is Office Depot. In addition, making the list for the first time is DuPont.
Also recognized for achieving an "A" status in either Quality or Service were the following companies: A.O. Smith ("A" in service), ABC Supply ("A" in quality); Creative Specialties Incorporated ("A" in service); Lennox Industries ("A" in service); Moen Incorporated ("A" in service); PPG Architectural Finishes ("A" in quality); L&W Supply d.b.a. Seacoast Supply in Florida ("A" in quality) and iLevel by Weyerhaeuser ("A" in service).
The Weekley organization has demonstrated its strong commitment to excellence by the participation of approximately 1,000 team members from every market and every level inside their organization.
The primary purpose of the survey is "channel alignment" -- the process of getting all parties in the supply chain on the same page in providing goods and services to the builder in a timely, efficient manner.
Bill Justus, Vice President of Supply Chain Services for David Weekley Homes, implemented the unique supplier rating system in order to achieve channel alignment of all parties within the supply chain. By providing feedback from builders, project managers, warranty service, administrative, and executive team members, trading partners know exactly how they are doing in each market and at every level inside the Weekley organization. In summary, the survey highlights the importance for trading partners to be responsive to all David Weekley Homes' team members.
"The survey challenges our partners to look beyond their four walls and makes them realize they create value in the eyes of their customer by actively managing the performance of the entire supply chain. Many companies claim to be in pursuit of world-class excellence; however, the survey takes the conceptual to the practical by providing a way to measure and manage their efforts. It's beyond talk," said Justus.
"Receiving the "A, A" Partners of Choice Award is the highest compliment we can pay our trading partners," Justus said. "It's very hard for a company to achieve an A rating in quality and service for the entire year. In some instances, we have partners who have done it for three consecutive years. This is extraordinary, especially when you consider the breadth of the survey and the changing environment. Our winners have proven through their actions that they are world-class performers."
Don Wood, Manager of National Builder Accounts from Trane said, "It is an incredible honor to be recognized three times in a row by such a high quality, well respected National builder like David Weekley Homes. Just by having this award shows everyone how important quality and service is to DWH. Today's Homebuyers are looking for differentiated builders and this program places DWH in a different league of builders. From a company standpoint, this 'A, A' award has made our Trane Leadership Team realize how important quality and service is to the David Weekley Homes Team Members and their appreciation for high quality suppliers plus the importance of good supplier/customer relationships. Because of this survey implemented by David Weekley Homes, we now ask all new potential builders if they have a similar quality and service program so Trane can be rated against our HVAC competition."
About David Weekley Homes
David Weekley Homes, founded in 1976, is headquartered in Houston and operates in 18 cities across the United States. David Weekley Homes was the first builder in the United States to be awarded the Triple Crown of American Home Building, an honor which includes "America's Best Builder," "Builder of the Year," and the "National Housing Quality Award." Weekley has also appeared six times on FORTUNE(r) magazine's coveted "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Since inception, David Weekley Homes has closed more than 50,000 homes. For more information about David Weekley Homes, visit the company's web site at www.davidweekleyhomes.com.
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