Simpson Strong-Tie has earned an A ranking for both quality and service – for the 7th consecutive year from David Weekley Homes, a privately held home builder. Simpson Strong-Tie is one of only two companies to receive the Partners of Choice award, denoting A ranking in either quality or service, or both, for all 13 years since the program began.
The Partners of Choice award is part of the David Weekley Homes Supplier Evaluation Platform, a quarterly review of 200 national trading partners. Approximately 1,000 national team members at all levels within the company participate in the review. Their feedback provides partners an opportunity to evaluate and improve their channel alignment and performance. Survey feedback is offered to suppliers and conducted through a series of individual and group discussions, mentoring calls and strategy sessions to ensure ongoing improvement. The award program honors the suppliers who earn an A in quality, service or both within a 12-month period.
“It’s just not enough to manufacture a great product anymore,” says Bill Justus, vice president of Supply Chain Services for David Weekley Homes. “Our suppliers have to be aware of the entire purchase to installation process, which means timely and accurate product delivery, providing product training, and identifying any problems within the supply chain. Suppliers’ ability to do this well ensures we can build homes efficiently for our home buyers.”
Every supply chain partner is evaluated and measured by the same standards, regardless of their industry or product. At the heart of the evaluation process is the National Trading Partner Survey, a web-based feedback platform that tracks employee responses to measure how effectively partners are managing the supply chain. Respondents are asked to rank how each supplier executes in several areas. The suppliers are given survey results so they can gauge their areas of strength and areas for improvement throughout the year.
“Simpson Strong-Tie is thrilled to receive the Partners of Choice award,” says Roger Dankel, president of North American sales for Simpson Strong-Tie. “To be recognized by a valued partner for quality and service is a honor. Providing customer service and value to our partners is our number one mission. Customer service is what our company was founded on, and we work to achieve that level of quality service with our customers.”