Who Are They?
Satterwhite Log Homes is one of the nation’s leading log home companies. Tens of thousands of families have built their dream homes using Satterwhite. Unlike other log home builders, Satterwhite does not cut down living tress for lumber. Instead, they go across North America looking for trees that have already fallen naturally. Not only is this environmentally conscious, but it also ensures that the raw materials they use to build homes with are more reliable due to the lack of water that is present in trees that haven’t already fallen naturally.
Ask
Satterwhite handles an enormous amount of lumber. They are gathering hundreds of thousands of raw materials into their warehouses and yards. In addition to that, they also treat, shape, cut, and build with the wood before it goes to the job site. They have numerous skilled teams with their own locations within their massive main facility. With all of this going on, they are also selling more and more log homes, each one uniquely designed to perfection for their customers. Their business has seen nothing but growth since their inception in 1974. Sometimes they are booked out years in advance. However, the challenge they faced was that the nature of their success entailed inventory complexity that required sophisticated software. The basic inventory software out there would not do the trick. It’s all too cookie-cutter, forcing businesses to fit the pre-made software rather than the other way around.
Their operations require board footage conversions, the difference taxing based on locations of the homes, and multiple integrations to other software they use already. For example, they needed something customized to track what they had on-hand and how to reduce wood to measured cuts yet still track what was left and what cuts could be made on each bundle and piece of wood. Additionally, Satterwhite needed inventory tracking software that would integrate with Salesforce. The paperwork involved from the beginning to end of log cabin preparation was slow and cumbersome and overflowing people’s desks. They wanted it digitized, smooth, and future-ready with the anticipation of continued company growth.
Answer
Flowtrac provided the customization that Satterwhite needed to track the inventory as raw materials that converted to cuts. An integration was built to Salesforce. Employees use the system to inquire progress on each pick order. The full solution was detailed and robust including but not limited to functions such as taxing based on address, board footage conversions, specialized sales orders with milling functionality, Salesforce integration, accounts receivable, return orders with an order value. Throughout the process, Flowtrac specialists provide onsite consulting and training.
Outcomes
Satterwhite is saving hours of labor, and paper. They’re also making the most out of their lumber. They know what they have on-hand and also what is reserved or allocated for which log cabin they have on order. Warehouse staff now uses mobile scanning devices to receive, pick, and work with the lumber without having to consult the sales staff or the administrative offices. Likewise, the office staff simply manages the orders and inventory from their desk. Some of the highlights have been moving away from excel. They have better reporting, as well. We are optimizing their processes so that they are able to use the handhelds for orders and are to track multiple locations at the same time.
Even more exciting, their vendor orders and inventory quantities are managed considerably better with their new software. On the pick order (sales order) side they are using the AR module to receive payments and keep track of balances due.