Acme Brick Company receives Partners of Choice Award
One of only twenty-four companies to receive nationally acclaimed award
By Ron Taylor
Acme Brick Company is one of only twenty-four companies nationwide that have received David Weekley Homes’ 2013 nationally acclaimed “Partners of Choice Award” with an “A” ranking. Acme achieved the “A” rating for Quality. This is the second consecutive year that Acme has been chosen a “Partner of Choice.”
David Weekley Homes, the largest, privately-held home builder in America, implemented its comprehensive supplier evaluation system and its measurement for world-class excellence, the “Partners of Choice Award” in 2004. The unique evaluation platform allows David Weekley Homes to analyze supplier performance in diverse industries, provide feedback, and recognize those truly outstanding achievers. Under this process, Team Members are initially asked to rate each supplier’s performance on Quality and Service. Then, through a series of discussions, meetings, and coaching calls, David Weekley Homes and its suppliers search for the best way to achieve excellence together. Through this process, David Weekley Homes takes “partnering with its suppliers” to a world-class level.
Bill Justus, vice president of Supply Chain Services for David Weekley Homes, implemented the industry-leading evaluation method in order to reduce channel costs, improve service, and provide the highest degree of homeowner satisfaction.
“David Weekley Homes’ A-Quality rating is an important benchmark to us as we strive for continued improvement and recognizes the dedication of all the people who have made Acme Brick an enduring standard for the brick industry for 122 years.” said Bill Lemond, Senior Vice President of Sales for Acme Brick Company.
“Receiving the ‘Partners of Choice Award’ is the highest compliment we can pay our providers,” Justus said. “To attain this award means that over 600 Team Members from every level of our company believe the provider is best in class in delivering its products to us in a timely, efficient, and cost effective manner. You cannot talk your way to a good score. The length and breadth of the program allows only those who are willing to invest in the process to achieve excellence. It is extremely difficult for a company to repeat with this honor and speaks to Acme’s commitment to excellence.”
Commenting on the award, Acme President and CEO, Dennis Knautz said, “We are pleased, not only to be a ‘Partners of Choice’ award winner for 2013, but also for being an award winner for the second year in a row. As I have told our associates for a long time, our job is to provide quality products and outstanding customer service so that industry-leading homebuilders such as David Weekley Homes can deliver outstanding homes to families everywhere. The supplier evaluation system that David Weekley Homes uses has become part of our standard performance review system. One unique aspect of the system is that it provides clear and specific feedback, thereby closing the communication loop that is so often missing in other forms of evaluation. While the process is surely time-consuming for Weekley, the value that it produces in creating a true team environment with their suppliers is evident in the quality of homes that they provide to the homebuyer.”
About the Author
Ron Taylor is a company spokesman for Acme Brick Company.
