David Weekley Homes Announces 2008 “Partners Of Choice Award Winners”

by David Weekley Homes

David Weekley Homes, the nation’s largest for-profit privately held Home Builder, released the winners of its prestigious “Partners of Choice Award.” Now in its fifth year, the Partners of Choice award is given to suppliers based on their quality and service performance as rated by quarterly by David Weekley Homes Team Members. Each company’s numeric scores are averaged, and then an alpha rating is assigned relative to its ranking with all of the other Weekley national trading partners. Alpha ratings range from “A” to “F” in increments of 20%. The “Partners of Choice Awards” were presented to suppliers who maintained either an “A,A” rating for both Quality and Service or an “A” rating in Quality or Service for the previous twelve months.

The following companies were recognized as winners of the coveted “A,A”  Partners of Choice Award:  Boise Engineered Wood Products, Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell, James Hardie, Seacoast Supply, Simpson Strong Tie, Suncoast Post-Tension, and Trane. Special recognition goes to the following “A,A” winners that have been named to the list four years running: Dow Chemical Company, Honeywell, James Hardie, Simpson Strong Tie and Trane. Also, recognized for making the list for the first time as an “A,A” winner are Seacoast Supply and Suncoast Post-Tension.

Recognized for their “A” awards were the following companies:  BMC West (“A” in service), Eaton Corporation (“A” in service), GAF/Elk (“A” in quality), Hunter Douglas (“A” in quality), iLevel (“A” in Service), Lennox HVAC (“A” in service), Moen (“A” in service) and Office Depot (“A” in quality).

David Weekley Homes has demonstrated its strong commitment to excellence by sponsoring the National Trading Partner Survey.  Approximately 1,000 Team Members from every market and every level inside their organization participate in the program by providing feedback on the provider’s performance.  This feedback is then acted upon by providers through discussion with David Weekly Homes Team Members.

The primary purpose of the survey is a process called channel alignment – the process of getting all parties in the distribution channel on the same page in providing goods and services to the builder in a timely 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, design consultants, warranty service, administrative personnel, 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. 

“World-class excellence can be defined as a company being a leader in creating value in the eyes of its customers.  When a company is truly world-class, it is willing to put its goods and services up against anybody, anytime, anywhere,” said Bill Justus.  “Our National Trading Partner Survey is a practical way of measuring an otherwise abstract concept.”

“Receiving the “A,A” Partners of Choice Award is the highest compliment we can pay our providers,” Justus said.  “To attain this award means that approximately 1,000 team member from every level of our company believe the provider is best in class in delivering its products to us in a timely, efficient, cost effective manner.  I cannot think of a stronger validation of world class excellence.”

David Weekley Homes has some partners that have achieved the coveted “A,A Partners of Choice Award” for the past four years.  “To receive the award for one year is extremely difficult.  It is a remarkable achievement for those that have done it for four consecutive years.  It is particularly impressive when you consider the breadth of the survey and the changes in the market place,” said Bill Justus.  “Our winners have proven through their actions that they are world class performers.”

 “It is an incredible honor to be recognized 4 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 David Weekley Homes. Today’s Homebuyers are looking for differentiated builders and this program places David Weekley Homes in a different league of builders, said Don Wood, Manager of National Builder Accounts from Trane.  “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 16 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® 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.