2 page Case Study - Posted 2/19/2009

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Lee Company

Construction Company Boosts Productivity, Communications with Mobile Solution

Lee Company, a construction company based in Franklin, Tennessee, needed better communication while its staff worked at job sites. With Windows® Essential Business Server 2008, and Windows Mobile® phones, staff have easy access to mobile messaging. Lee Company also plans to give Windows Mobile® phones installed with line-of-business solutions to field technicians and sales staff. It expects to improve business knowledge and productivity, and boost revenue. 

Business Needs

Lee Company, a construction service provider based in Franklin, Tennessee, provides air conditioning, heating, plumbing, electrical and other environmental solutions for commercial and residential buildings. Founded in 1944 by the current CEO's grandfather, Lee has grown from a small local family business to servicing customers across the United States.

Outdated technology was hampering the company’s further growth. To communicate with the office, supervisors and managers at construction job sites were using handheld devices with IBM Lotus Notes, but the solution did not work well and required a great deal of support. When visiting residences, field technicians were limited to communicating with the office via cell phones and text messages. Furthermore, salespeople on the road had no easy way to capture and share relationship information as they contacted customers.

Job site managers had to wait until they returned to the office to respond to e-mail, or until they could access e-mail on their laptops using a very inefficient remote access protocol. Vital information, such as design or schedule changes or financial decisions, was often delayed. “Sometimes, after being away for a week at a job site, I would come back to 60 or 120 e-mails,” says Andy Sweeney, a Project Manager for Lee Company. “It was a big burden to have to go through all that correspondence.”

Due to inefficient communication, the company's field employees found it difficult to do their jobs effectively. “For our employees to be productive no matter where they are, the field staff need ready access to e-mails and calendars, as well as to project and financial information,” says Bill Lee, the company’s President and CEO.

Solution

In 2007, Lee Company decided to significantly upgrade its back-end infrastructure. This decision has helped to create a much broader deployment of mobile devices to field technicians, salespeople, and other mobile staff. "Just as we need the best welding equipment there is for our pipe fitters, we need the technology that supports the work we’re trying to do," says Lee.

We thought about implementing a Blackberry-based solution, but we didn't think it would work as well with our back-end as a Microsoft solution. Tom Goddard Director of Information Technology, Lee Company

Currently, Lee Company is using Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with the Windows SharePoint® Services add-in for Windows Essential Business Server, which installed during the Windows Essential Business Server 2008 installation process. Finally, in 2009, it plans to roll out Microsoft Dynamics® CRM and to upgrade Microsoft Dynamics® SL, its line-of-business software. Mobile versions of these solutions will be installed on an additional 200 Windows Mobile smartphones, which the company will give to field technicians and to salespeople, who will have mobile customer relationship management capability for the first time. "We thought about implementing a Blackberry-based solution, but we didn't think it would work as well with our back-end as a Microsoft solution," says Tom Goddard, the company's IT Director.

The company plans additional uses for Windows Mobile phones along with third-party software, including mobile credit card services and inventory-search applications. “We use trucks as mobile warehouses," says Goddard. "Field technicians who need a part on a job site, such as a pipe fitting, will be able to immediately check our inventory and find the closest truck to them with that part.”

Benefits

Lee Company's mobile employees already enjoy vastly improved communication at job sites. With additional upgrades, Lee Company expects to increase its business knowledge, improve the productivity of field employees, and, ultimately, boost revenue.

Improved Mobile Communication

Lee Company project managers now communicate much more efficiently. “One of the greatest things about going to [Windows Mobile] phones and Microsoft® Office Outlook® is being able to correspond in real time while we’re travelling or on job sites," says Sweeney. "If an e-mail needs immediate attention, I can respond accordingly, or I can push it aside. I’m able to schedule meetings while I’m out of the office, and figure out the best times I can get the most participants."

Better Business Knowledge

With mobile access, Lee Company's sales staff will be better able to collect customer business knowledge. "We think using Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Windows Mobile devices will help us capture everything that touches the customer more efficiently—because staff will be able to use it throughout the day, rather than entering customer contact information later in batches," says Goddard.

Boost in Efficiency and Revenue

Once field technicians can use the company's construction business management solution remotely with Windows Mobile phones, Lee Company expects an increase in staff productivity and efficiency. Also, management will gain better oversight by being able to track staff hours and other information in real time. 

These improvements are expected to help the company's bottom line to grow. “With Microsoft Dynamics SL on our Windows Mobile devices, we expect our field service technicians will be able to respond to one or two more service calls a day, which will immediately impact our revenue,” says Goddard.