Building a Partnership with The Home Depot®

This unique case study shows how Mac Window Systems strengthened their partnership with The Home Depot and achieved an immediate ROI by automating their Window installation business with ServiceCEO and the new ServiceCEO XML Import Utility™.

Home Depot's Partner Portal website is the core channel of communication with its installer Service Providers. Without a strong and reliable method of interacting with the Partner Portal and managing the growing demand for home improvement services, any installer would struggle under the enormous administrative burden. Mac Window Systems was learning this the hard way.

However, once the right software system was put in place to support and service Home Depot store associates and customers, Mac Window Systems was able to realize its full business growth potential. Responding to Mac Window's unique needs, Insight Direct built an additional software module to interface with Home Depot's Partner Portal, the ServiceCEO XML Import Utility™.

Company Overview

Mac Window Systems is a Window installation company servicing 30 Home Depot stores in the greater New York-New Jersey area processing 20,000 measure and installation jobs each year.

Size: 35 employees (27 installers)
Became Authorized Installer for The Home Depot: 1993
Headquarters: Fairfield, NJ
Decision-Maker: Dave Molnar, Operations Manager

Mac Window's Challenges

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Two data entry workers manually entered 20,000 job order faxes a year (55 a day) into their computer system
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Data entry was time-consuming and resulted in duplicates and accuracy errors
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Confusion resulted when 2-6 faxes were often received for the same job
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The Operations Manager had to go into office on Sundays just to add paper to the fax Machine
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The scheduling system was labor-intensive, difficult to track, and became quickly outdated (whiteboards and Post-it Notes)
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The manual filing cabinet system was cumbersome and not efficient in answering customer and Home Depot associate questions

Mac Window's Solution


Molnar used the Google Internet search engine to find scheduling software flexible enough to handle his needs as a home services installer. He then narrowed his search down to four software companies.

Mac Window's Criteria for Software Company

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Proven track record with customers
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Talented team
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Strong technical support
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Dedicated to future software investments, improvements and upgrades
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Quick and/or reasonable turnaround
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Follow-through on commitments

Mac Window's Criteria for Software Product

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Ability to import jobs from Home Depot's Partner Portal website into the software system
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Ability to efficiently handle scheduling and tracking needs
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Offers customizable management reporting
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Provides efficient tools to manage a growing company
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Mobility features - ability to communicate with installers in the field
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User-friendly software interface

Final Decision
Insight Direct and ServiceCEO met all of Mac Window's criteria. Molnar was particularly impressed with the team's depth of knowledge and commitment to developing a new software module to interface with Home Depot's Partner Portal, the ServiceCEO XML Import Utility™.

Implementation Timeline

October 2003
Signed contract with Insight Direct for ServiceCEO license and scoped the requirements for the ServiceCEO XML Import Utility
November 2003
Company went "live" with ServiceCEO
Molnar offered internal company training classes, as well as training through Insight Direct's live online classes
January 2004
Company went "live" with ServiceCEO XML Import Utility

Overall Business Impact

Insight Direct's Solution allowed Mac Window Systems to download POs in seconds straight from Home Depot's Partner Portal and manage their job scheduling, dispatching and complete business management needs all in one application. This created a win-win partnership for Mac Window and Home Depot.

Mac Window's Benefits
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No faxes or data entry needed = huge time savings
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$50,000 in reduced labor costs - two data entry people were no longer needed creating the annual savings
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Ability to download Home Depot jobs into ServiceCEO software within minutes (1-2 sec/job)
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100% accuracy of job information (no duplicates or errors)
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Drive time optimization saves 1 hour/installer/day creating 7,000 more billable hours per year
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Ability to increase workload from 18 to 30 Home Depot stores with half of the staff
• Improved document management of handwritten measure documents and customer forms that has resulted in significant productivity gains -- instead of spending 3-15 minutes searching for hard copies while on the phone with a customer or Home Depot associates on the floor, Mac Window office staff can access digital records in 5-10 seconds
• More efficient job scheduling in real-time
• Enhanced customer service and CRM
• Better management decisions with customizable reports
• Strengthened relationship with Home Depot stores

Home Depot's Benefits

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Strong confidence in Mac Window Systems' level of customer service and professionalism
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Ability to rely even more on Mac Window Systems by increasing the number of stores serviced from 18 to 30
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Increased number of very satisfied Home Depot customers
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Real-time access to what is going on in the field
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Enhanced customer satisfaction and installer productivity reporting

Key Features For Home Depot Partners

ServiceCEO XML Import Utility™
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Login to Home Depot's website to easily select and download assigned POs for the day and create a standard XML file
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One-button push imports the XML file into ServiceCEO, translating Home Depot POs into jobs and customer records within minutes and error-free
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Captures all job details right down to notes, store #, PO #, date stamp, etc.
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Automatically tracks products, adds job totals, and completes work order
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Checks for duplicate POs and updates jobs with additional information from Home Depot stores
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User-friendly pick list icons instantly distinguish type of job between "Measure" and "Install" POs
Bottom line: Mac Window Systems reduced their direct labor costs by $50,000. Two data entry people were no longer needed to re-type Home Depot faxed POs into ServiceCEO

The Home Depot and At-Home Services are registered trademarks of The Home Depot, Inc.
Use of these trademarks does not imply a relationship with Insight Direct, Inc.

Mac Window Systems is a 35-person Home Depot® At-Home Services® Partner