Stanley Martin Homes' legacy ERP system was not scalable and required extensive customization, slowing down acquisitions and operational efficiency.
Implementing HomebuilderONE on Microsoft Dynamics 365 provided a scalable, integrated, and secure platform, optimizing processes and supporting rapid growth.
The new system reduced acquisition integration time by 60%, improved operational efficiencies, and enabled Stanley Martin to expand into new markets quickly.
Reston, VA-based Stanley Martin Homes has been helping families achieve the dream of homeownership along the East Coast for over 50 years. As a top 25 homebuilder in the U.S., the company relied on a custom application for all ERP functions to manage its homebuilding lifecycle and data for hundreds of closings.
Following its acquisition by Daiwa House Group in 2017, Stanley Martin anticipated significant growth and set an ambitious goal for annual acquisitions. To support this expansion, the company recognized the need for a flexible, innovative, and scalable cloud-based technology solution.
Although the heavily customized, incrementally built legacy solution added modules to meet the business’s operational needs, this approach wasn’t scalable. The company sought a solution that would meet all its needs without customization, while supporting rapid expansion goals. Stanley Martin turned to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and solution partner sa.global and its HomebuilderONE platform.
HomebuilderONE provides capabilities specifically designed for the homebuilding industry. It leverages best practices from leading home builders to optimize efficiencies, streamline processes, and support growth. Because it’s built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, it’s a secure, compliant, and integrated solution that allows homebuilders to focus on operations without the burden of managing security, compliance, and system maintenance. Out-of-the-box functionality in Dynamics 365 Finance provided a strong foundation.
“[With Dynamics 365], our process is much more fluid now. We can absorb a small to medium-sized organization about 60% faster, in as quickly as three months.”
Nick Jones, Chief Technology Officer, Stanley Martin Homes
Acquisitions drive Stanley Martin’s growth but with its legacy ERP system, each acquisition required months to onboard teams and integrate operations, with system configurations taking up to a year—timelines that slowed the company’s pursuit of its aggressive goal. With cloud-based Dynamics 365 and HomebuilderONE, incorporating acquisitions is exponentially easier.
Nick Jones, Chief Technology Officer for Stanley Martin Homes says, “Rather than adapting technology to outdated processes, our goal was to optimize the approach. This remains our strategy—continuously review and align process and technology. Our process is much more fluid now. We can absorb a small to medium-sized organization about 60% faster, in as quickly as three months."
Stanley Martin took a deliberate approach to implementation, designing business processes around the system’s built-in end-to-end functionality rather than forcing the system, the company avoided costly and time-consuming customizations.
It was a big undertaking and a thoughtful change management plan made adoption easier. From the beginning, Stanley Martin engaged stakeholders across departments to determine how best to use the system. The change was collaborative, not simply an IT initiative. As a result, an organic groundswell of excitement grew around the new capabilities and efficiencies that would make day-to-day business easier.
For example, in the legacy solution, generating reports was a manual effort that often required the assistance of the IT department. Now, employees have immediate access to a range of fully automated reports at their fingertips. Managers receive financial reports on a set schedule, making budget reviews more strategic and far less time-consuming.
The purchasing team embraced the changes enthusiastically, too. The platform’s flexible, user-friendly interface makes cost-saving adjustments easy, and they’re reflected in the system in real time without slowing down the process or risking accounting errors. Managers can associate an item with an effective date and an expiration date, allowing them to dictate purchase price management without resorting to complex workarounds. Pricing and work orders can even be updated prior to completion, ensuring cost accuracy throughout the build cycle.
The improved purchasing efficiencies have been instrumental in driving Stanley Martin’s rapid growth. Before Dynamics 365 and HomebuilderONE, the company handled contracting for each house plan and elevation at the neighborhood level. With Dynamics 365 and HomebuilderONE, vendor contracts are now managed centrally and cascade to regional markets, where local teams can make adjustments to meet specific needs. This significantly reduces duplication of effort while maintaining flexibility. “We can contract one house plan and one elevation for the entire company if we wanted to,” explains Dawnielle Carter, Director of Business Technology, Stanley Martin Homes. “This saves time at the division level while still allowing us to meet local requirements.”
The production team has adopted the new solution as enthusiastically as its partners in purchasing have. Closing an activity in the system automatically triggers an approval workflow, sending invoices directly to accounting for processing and payment. This automation streamlines workflows and eliminates the need for back-office teams to manually verify paperwork.
Carter sees automation as driving transformation across the organization. “We can see the difference from start to finish in every part of our operation, from our sales team writing contracts to the convenience of our customer portal.”
The flexibility of Dynamics 365 supports seamless integrations, such as a custom-built customer portal that enhances the homebuyer experience. The portal provides buyers with convenient access to key information about their home and offers helpful tools to stay informed throughout the process.
Data from the company’s customer relationship management system is integrated into the solution using Azure Logic Apps and Power Automate, bringing vital customer service data into view. Ancillary systems like forecasting tools and scheduling mechanisms integrate easily as well, flowing seamlessly into the scheduling production cycle. Carter says that by giving the company better visibility into operations and data, “Dynamics 365 gave us the confidence to renegotiate terms with our trades, which is enormously impactful. Today, we can see when a material shortage abates but we’re still being charged shortage prices; we can see it immediately and adjust to save money.”
With increased visibility into business data that’s updated in real time, Stanley Martin can respond quickly to the ebb and flow of the housing market, scaling up or down as needed to capitalize on opportunities while mitigating risks.
“Dynamics 365 gave us the confidence to renegotiate terms with our trades, which is enormously impactful.”
Dawnielle Carter, Director of Business Technology, Stanley Martin Homes
Because Dynamics 365 is an evergreen, cloud-based platform, Stanley Martin benefits from a completely hosted environment. “It’s all monitored; it’s all scaled. It’s a huge relief to the IT department,” says Jones. “We follow the Microsoft release schedule, so as features come out with Dynamics 365, we go through the product updates and upgrades just like everyone else.”
Stanley Martin is eager to continue building on the foundation it has established with Microsoft. “I’m excited about where Microsoft is taking its platform, so I’m really pleased with the decision we made five years ago,” says Jones. Stanley Martin Homes is excited for the future, equipped for growth, and confident it will continue improving its customers’ experiences with Dynamics 365 and HomebuilderONE.
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