Homebuilders 2021: A Blueprint for Digital Transformation
In the three decades since Oracle launched the JD Edwards Homebuilder application, leading builders have leveraged the software to streamline and expand their businesses. As they built millions upon millions of homes, companies also poured millions upon millions of hours into supporting the business and IT needs of the Homebuilder platform.
However, the needs of builders today aren’t the same as they were when Homebuilder debuted. The industry has transformed in multiple ways—supply chains are more globalized, companies are increasingly customer-centric, and the ability to swiftly adapt to market demand is paramount.
If you want to remain competitive, your technology needs to keep pace. That means that builders must get out of the JD Edwards bubble and embrace technology that supports best practices, limits customizations, and grows and expands along with the business. The industry can leverage technology to improve the customer experience and create more cost-effective and responsive supply chains. The good news—doing so is far simpler than you’d expect.
Life in the bubble
Make no mistake: The JD Edwards Homebuilder application has filled a genuine need, providing builders with an industry-specific tool to help analyze, communicate and coordinate profitability through the homebuilding cycle. However, for many companies, their processes have remained primarily the same since they implemented the application.
The technology is relatively inflexible and finding a partner to help companies digitally transform has been a challenge. The larger firms know almost nothing about the nuances of the homebuilding business and related technology. Meanwhile, niche vendors often don’t understand how the rest of the world has transformed or how other industries have used applications to improve their businesses. Thus, most builders have stayed in their technology bubble, keeping their software and processes status quo while the rest of the world rapidly changes.
Buying—and building—homes in the 2020s is much different than what it was in the 1990s. Thirty years ago, most companies were probably still primarily paper-based, the internet was still dial-up, and very few people had any sort of mobile device (if they did, it was the size of a brick).
Fast forward to today, and builders today are navigating a new world of technology while simultaneously facing a rising demand for homes. Confidence in the industry is skyrocketing, and consumers are running toward homeownership. Rising material costs have complicated the situation, making it even more critical for builders to manage their supply chains in the most efficient way possible as their volume increases.
A blueprint for the future
So how do you move out of your technology bubble in a way that makes sense for your business? How do you become an organization ready to meet the demands of the future? Our experience with one homebuilding company offers an ideal example. The company was in the process of a massive JDE upgrade project, hoping to transform its business. However, they’d fallen behind schedule and were having trouble with their go-live process.
To re-energize the organization and get the project moving in the right direction, the company partnered with ArganoCSS. We took over their JDE Managed Services to support their go-live divisions. They also embraced ArganoCSS’s project delivery methodology to put some structure around their project.
Lastly, we used our experience to automate the conversion process. Now back on track, the company has realized the value of its digital transformation, just in time for the current boom.
A transformation partner
You can improve and transform your technology while still using JDE Homebuilder. The key is a partner that understands your current reality, the challenges, and the opportunities specific to the homebuilding industry. At ArganoCSS, we’ve been working with builders for more than 20 years, helping them realize the value of their technology solutions.
And as the industry transformed, we have too. We realized we needed to be more than just a JDE consultancy; we needed to be the experts in all industry solutions. That’s why we became a leader in project management and supply chain-oriented applications. We expanded our view of the world from JDE to modern, transformative Cloud solutions. As a result, we are Oracle’s premier partner for both JDE and the Oracle Cloud. In addition, we understand the industry-specific edge solutions that homebuilders deploy and integrate with Oracle.
That means that when you work with ArganoCSS, you get a partner with an enlightened view of the homebuilding world. We don’t just say, “This is the way you’ve always done it.” We are partners that say, “How can you do this better?” Consider how you can improve the customer buying experience. Tap our expertise to reimagine the homebuilding supply chain. Leverage your financial data to make better business decisions.
The sky is the limit for companies ready to break free from what they’ve always known. The resulting technology and processes match the success you’ve found in the rest of your business—and help ensure you find even more.
Learn more about how homebuilding companies are innovating right now.