DeFord's Supply

Overview:

The DeFord Lumber Company was founded in 1964 in Duncanville, Texas by the DeFord family. In addition to providing building materials, for many years DeFord's featured a family-friendly hardware store known for its unique inventory and great service. As the building and supply industry changed, DeFord's changed with it, leaving the retail hardware and lighting markets behind and focusing exclusively on supplying professional builders and property managers. In the 1990's, DeFord's Millwork, Custom Millwork and Wholesale Maintenance Supply divisions were created. Active Lightning worked with DeFord's to create a new business identity for the Wholesale Maintenance Supply division.

Outcome:

Active Lightning helped a non-technical company to put their business online. They went from print catalogs, outside sales people with inside salespeople on phones to a system where customers and salespeople can handle their own quotes and orders without going through an order-taker on a phone. We enabled customers to get control over invoices and quotes without needing to involve DeFord's staff. Maintenance people can put in orders on their smartphones. There is whole system to control who in a customer company can approve orders. A common business task is to get a quote and then when approved to turn it into an order. We enable this to happen online from any location at any time of day. Customers can choose to get notifications by email or text.