Recognizing that asingle integrated system may never fully materialize, 10 technology companies have formed an alliance that offers home builders an end-to-end solution from the time a home buyer is looking for a builder through the one-year warranty phase.
Organized by Tom Gebes, president of purchasing-management software maker BuilderMT, the group is called the Builders Alliance for Software Efficiency, or BASE.
BASE members have agreed to co-market the products of all the member companies. The participating companies include Avid Ratings, AxisPointe, Builder1440, BuilderMT, Corrigo, Customer Velocity, RIM BlackBerry, Sage Timberline, Sales Simplicity, and Sprint Nextel. The group met with home builders for the first time to discuss the concept at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., in February.
BASE is targeting builders that do more than 50 homes annually. Gebes says builders can start with one of the BASE products for about $5,000 to $10,000 and add other products in a modular fashion as their companies can afford and absorb the software. He says all the products are integrated with one another through BuilderMT.
“We think that this best-of-breed approach is one that the industry has already accepted,” says Gebes, who adds that BuilderMT now has more than 600 builders signed up, many of which also use several of the products offered by BASE members.
It is very common for a BuilderMT user to also have Customer Velocity for lead management; Builder 1440 or Sales Simplicity as their sales software; Sage Timberline for accounting; and Corrigo as the warranty system.
“By creating the alliance, we offer integration at a fraction of the cost if a builder opted for an all-encompassing product,” Gebes concludes. B
Avid Ratings - Customer surveys
AxisPointe - Post-construction services
Builder1440 - Sales/CRM
BuilderMT - Purchasing
Corrigo - Warranty management
Customer Velocity - Web lead management
Research in Motion - BlackBerry software
Sage Timberline - Accounting
Sales Simplicity - Sales/CRM
Sprint Nextel - Wireless communications
