BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 27, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boise Engineered Wood Products, a business unit of Boise Cascade, L.L.C., announced today its selection as one of only eleven national winners of the annual "A,A" Partners of Choice Award from David Weekley Homes, the second-largest for profit privately-owned homebuilder in the U.S. in 2008. The prestigious Partners of Choice honor is awarded 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 Cascade and ten other companies out of 150+ trading partners doing business with David Weekley Homes -- about 8% -- were chosen for the prestigious "A,A" Award in 2009, the fourth consecutive year Boise Cascade has received this important honor.
The awards are based on the David Weekley Homes National Trading Partners Survey, a running quarterly review of David Weekley Homes' suppliers provided by about 600 team members from all levels within David Weekley Homes. Suppliers are rated quarterly on a 1-10 scale for quality and service. The scores for each company are averaged and ranked with all other participants. 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" Partners of Choice Award being the highest ranking any trading partner can receive. "It's very difficult for any supplier to achieve an 'A' rating in both quality and service for three months, then maintain it for the entire year," said Bill Justus, Vice President of Supply Chain Services for David Weekley Homes. "To accomplish 'A' ratings in both areas four years in a row, as Boise Cascade has now done, requires clear identification of who they consider their customer to be, and strong, effective management of that business relationship. What separates Partners of Choice winners from non-winners is that the winners actively align the channel in support of their customers' needs. This allows us to concentrate on providing a superior experience to our customer, the homebuyer," Justus added.
With the DWH National Trading Partners Survey, David Weekley Homes has found a way to assess vendor performance across industry lines -- from framing lumber to kitchen appliances, paint to garden sprinkling systems. David Weekley Homes takes its team members through a comprehensive process of charting feedback four times annually to assure ratings are representative of the entire year's working relationship. "We ask our team members to rate aspects of the business relationship that are common to every supplier/builder relationship because we expect our suppliers to be active throughout the channel, assuring satisfaction at every touch-point with our company," Justus said. The survey asks about response time, follow-through, communication, access, reliability, method of contact, level of confidence in the supplier, and other areas important to the business relationship, irrespective of product or service. "Boise Cascade people are actively involved throughout the order, delivery and installation phases of the job -- which contributed greatly to their 'A,A' Partners of Choice Award for 2009," said Justus.
For the homebuilding industry, the world has changed drastically since 2006, the year Boise Cascade won its first 'A,A' Partners of Choice Award. "The differences are staggering," said Justus, "and yet, through all of the changes that have occurred in the marketplace, Boise Cascade remains among the best of the best in quality and service delivery as determined by our team members. It is difficult to attain an 'A,A' rating for a quarter, much less a year. When players keep changing in relationships like these, it's easy to lose continuity -- but Boise Cascade has done an excellent job of keeping key people in key positions working with David Weekley Homes, overseeing that our affairs are well handled," Justus added. "Managing the supply channel means delivering competitively-priced products on a consistent basis and overcoming any situations that threaten to block that consistency," said Justus. "When Boise Cascade puts its products and services up against the very best -- every other company that supplies homebuilders across all product categories -- and excels four years in a row, through their actions Boise Cascade has proven to us that they are truly world-class."
"We are very appreciative that our friends at David Weekley Homes awarded this high honor to our people at Boise Engineered Wood Products again this year -- the fourth consecutive time," said Denny Huston, Boise Engineered Wood Products general sales manager. "We intend that this is how we do business, including in our mission statement to provide the highest level of customer support by the most knowledgeable, service-driven staff in the industry," Huston said -- "so that we are always working to attain the highest marks in customer satisfaction."
About David Weekley Homes
David Weekley Homes, founded in 1976, is headquartered in Houston and operates in 14 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 seven times on FORTUNE(r) magazine's coveted "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Since inception, David Weekley Homes has closed more than 60,000 homes. For more information about David Weekley Homes, visit the company's web site at www.davidweekleyhomes.com.
About Boise Cascade
Boise Cascade, L.L.C., 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. Visit the Boise Cascade web site at www.bc.com.
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