Ray Escamilla, leader of enterprise applications at Red River Lumber, was faced with the challenge of getting multiple operations under a single ERP system. With lumber yards, a door manufacturer, a design center, garage door repair service, and a truss manufacturer under one owner, the Red River Lumber team knew they needed a partner who understood their complex and unique needs.
After evaluating several options, Red River Lumber chose Agility ERP with DMSi. The alignment of culture and vision between the two companies influenced their decision.
Escamilla said of DMSi, “We felt their values, and the way they conducted business aligned closely to our own principles. So we said, these are the people we want to invest in the future with.”
The implementation process was a collaborative effort between DMSi and members of the Red River team. “It was a learning experience, and the DMSi team took us step by step on setting up the system…Ginger Brown (Red River Lumber Administration and Inventory) and I had a team of four that we added from different disciplines and jobs for a wider perspective. That became the weekly training session for all of us.”
The DMSi team got to work evaluating Red River Lumber’s business processes and configuring Agility to fit their needs. “[DMSi] came up with unique solutions allowing Agility to help us achieve the way we wanted to manage our business.”
The preparation phase included weekly training sessions with DMSi, detailed documentation, and recorded webinars, all tailored to ensure Red River was fully equipped for the transition. “Cort Silliman (DMSi Implementations Manager) had a class for several job functions in both the front and back of the house positions and then provided the video,” said Escamilla. “So that was a really useful training tool, allowing me to send videos to everyone, which we currently use with some of our new hires.”
As training went on, Escamilla said he became more confident in his Agility knowledge when he attended DMSi’s customer conference, PartnerConnect. “I feel it really boosted my confidence in what I knew about the system… so [DMSi] did a good job in preparing me.”
The go-live day was a pivotal moment for Ray and his team. Five DMSi team members were stationed at multiple branches, ready to provide solutions to any questions that arose.
“Skyler Meints and I were at our admin conference room, and we were kind of a control center there. Becca Friesen was out in the field helping with one of our branches, and Justin Peterson and Sean Huck were at one of our remote branches. Ashley Meints was able to help us with the label printers, other add-on programs, and core knowledge of the Agility … So we’re really thankful for the resources DMSi put towards our launch.”
When there were speed bumps on the go-live day, Escamilla said DMSi was ready with solutions. “The DMSi team was cool the whole time, they had a plan for any situation that arose.”
“The overall feeling was exciting,” Escamilla says, “It really was a great experience.”
Becca Friesen, DMSi Implementation Analyst, shares the sentiment. “It was fun to get to be on site with them … It was great to see all the different ways they were using Agility and to see the implementation from so many different angles.”
The immediate impact of Agility on Red River Lumber’s operations was improved inventory tracking, consistent processes across all branches, and enhanced customer satisfaction. “Everything was a move up for us … everything was an improvement,” says Escamilla. “I know Agility’s stability and the performance of the system has made our business better.”
Post-live support from DMSi continues to be a cornerstone of Red River’s success. The DMSi team is readily available to answer any questions and provide ongoing assistance. Escamilla says, “The team continued our weekly meetings after go-live and they helped us refine the system, so we could get the most out of Agility and get us on the right path.”
Escamilla says of Agility Customer Support, “You start building relationships with these great people one call at a time.” Escamilla says, “They are really good at what they do… As time goes by, I have to call less and less for help.”
Cort Silliman, DMSi Manager of Implementations, says, “Their personnel are great. They always had the perspective that this is a long-term relationship, and we are happy to have them on board with DMSi.”
Looking ahead, Red River is well-positioned for future growth and innovation. The company plans to introduce new features like Agility Mobile P.O.D. and e-commerce to further enhance operations.
Escamilla recalls, “Our CEO said, ‘With any launch you can expect obstacles, but this launch was really smooth’ … And I contribute that to the system and the DMSi team helping us.”
Red River Lumber’s experience with Agility and DMSi is a testament to the power of choosing the right partner and system for complex business needs. Thanks to Ray’s leadership and the collaborative approach with DMSi, Red River Lumber has transformed its operations and is set on a path of sustained success.
Sprint Lumber has provided lumber and building materials to contractors for over 30 years. With multiple locations, they offer a wide range of products including lumber, doors, and windows.
With the help of Agility, Sprint Lumber has streamlined their processes, allowing them to efficiently manage inventory, orders, and reporting. The Agility Proof of Delivery app allows them to provide customers with real-time delivery updates with pictures and signatures.
Red River Lumber Co is a family-owned supplier of lumber and building materials that has served builders and homeowners for over 30 years.
When the time came to find a new ERP system, they needed a solution that could cover their various operations, including lumber supply, truss manufacturing, garage door services, and door fabrication.
With Agility, they can manage multiple business entities and utilize the reporting options to inform their business decisions.
Lumbermen’s Inc is a manufacturer and distributor of building materials and specialty products. Their extensive range of products and services includes door fabrication and countertop manufacturing and installation.
With Agility, they can support their business segments and use real-time inventory control to find information quickly and answer customer questions.
Snavely Forest Products has served the wholesale lumber and building products industry for over 100 years. As a multi-regional distributor, they focus on eCommerce and online transactions to efficiently serve their customers.
By leveraging Agility and EDI, they have customized their processes to meet their specific needs. This allows them to provide real-time information about stock availability, pricing, and deliveries to their supply chain partners.
Founded in 1877, Dahlsens is a 70-location LBM dealer serving large builders and independent contractors.
They provide true whole-house solutions, including concrete forms, prefab trusses, roofing, siding, plumbing, HVAC, flooring, moulding, counters, and fixtures.
Supporting complex builds in remote areas requires superior coordination. Frameworks ERP helps the Dahlsens team manage large contracts by linking and centralizing records. They can see the entire project on one screen, so it’s easier to understand the big picture and update orders on the fly.
Remanufacturing is a large aspect of California Cascade’s business in their 20+ acre facility in Sacramento. Their state-of-the-art plant is fully equipped with everything needed to complete orders including re-sawing, planing, treating, moulding and kiln drying. As they grew and modernized, California Cascade needed a software system with industry-specific features to take their remanufacturing procedures to the next level and, in 2006, they began investigating their options.
“We looked at three or four lumber-specific inventory management software programs,” Semons explained. “For us, we do a lot of remanufacturing work, and Agility had the best functionality.”
The specific functionality of Agility, with the remanufacturing options, allows California Cascade to manage value added processes with ease. Agility has the resources to track each stage of the remanufacturing process, including expected completion dates and costs.
A common issue in remanufacturing is inventory control. Agility solves this challenge by committing materials used in the process so that it is no longer available for sale, resulting in inventory that is true and up to date in real-time.
California Cascade has also seen productivity increase from the remanufacturing processes, especially because information is available in real-time. Detailed work orders contain an array of valuable customer and product information, as well as concise communication to production staff.
“We do a lot of remanufacturing, so we can watch material go through and there’s not a lot of hang ups,” Semons said. “We don’t have to wait for things to update at the end of the day to see what we have done. We know instantly what we must do to keep moving forward. “
According to Semons, running a more efficient operation has ultimately meant better customer service.
If we have customers calling for something,” said Semons, “we can look and instantly see if we have it. That’s been very helpful from a customer service aspect.”
Negotiating prices en route to supply houses, retailers, lumber yards, fencers and big box home centers is business as usual for Capital Forest Products during their busy season.
With industry factors like daily product pricing updates and new demands from customers, the 40+ year-old distributor began looking for ways to integrate and simplify processes. To start, their old systems were outdated. Old character-based screens were causing some customers to be placed on hold while salespeople entered orders. Duplicate paperwork and note transcription were causing trouble as the office got busier. Instead of just focusing on their customers, employees had to make frequent trips to the fax machine to send, receive and check status.
Moore changed to DMSi’s Agility software in the fall of 2000, motivated by a desire to improve productivity and handle their expanding customer base. The switch was the fourth in the company’s history, but the first to offer industry-specific advantages.
“Handling sales orders 30% faster and more accurately has improved our chances of gaining more business,” said Moore. “We’re completing sales orders with less than half the number of screens, and that helps us handle growing transaction volume without adding support people.”
On direct shipments, Capital Forest Products can enter an order, create a purchase order, bill a customer, and pay the mill in one step. A multidimensional data warehouse provides a view of sales activity from multiple angles, revealing a wealth of information about current and historical customers, sales agents, and product performance.
Moore is quick to point out other advantages of Agility. Unique features convert quickly between every conceivable unit of measure with one click. Orders can be faxed or emailed from the desk, and Agility’s freight dispatch feature simplifies transportation arrangements and allocates costs based on weight, loads, or footage, eliminating hand calculations.
For Moore, complete integration means 99% accuracy on the general ledger and fewer struggles to balance it.
“I’ve seen software packages come and go,” said Moore. “The reason we switched to DMSi Agility is because they’re on the front end of technology, helping us address all the needs of our business and, more importantly, our customers. Anything the future holds for DMSi, we want to be a part of.”
