Warranty issues will come under greater scrutiny as builders use service performance to help differentiate their products. The traditional model is powered by software such as Corrigo, which links to home building production management software such as BuilderMT’s Workflow Management Suite to offer a centralized software program to handle dispatch and ticketing services to the builder’s trade vendors. That model still works well, says Tom Gebes, president of BuilderMT, which will roll out further enhancements to the software package later this year.
SiteOne’s approach combines a software proposition with an actual call center that dispatches warranty service providers. That, says SiteOne founder Mike Giosso, cuts builders’ warranty service costs by as much as $1,200 per house, using an embedded best practice process Giosso says drives warranty activity.
Both products use an SaaS (software as a service) model that automates the warranty process. “Builders have a large legacy of homes from the boom years that they have to service with reduced staff, and the only way to do that is with automation,” says Giosso. Gebes says both approaches are valid. “Bigger production builders prefer to control their own data, so the Corrigo solution might better suit them; builders with less IT infrastructure and staff would benefit from a service bureau solution.” But, Gebes adds, builders overlook warranty management at their own risk today. “These systems are what can effectively manage the relationship with the buyer during and after the sale.”
