To understand just how dynamic DoorBuilder is, consider the dramatic changes it has brought to the single task of order-taking. Before DoorBuilder, says Mannigel, ''we had been buried in information, and our inability to handle it had become the bottleneck of this business. DoorBuilder sorts through all that information and calculates the math in seconds. The days when distributors, builders, and Weyerhaeuser reps would haggle for weeks, if not months, to hammer out an order are gone. And, if customers are plugged into Weyerhaeuser's network, they can bypass Weyerhaeuser's reps altogether by typing in their order on the Marshfield plant's Web site.
All orders are final once the customer pushes the ''submit'' button on their computer.
Converting orders from paper to bits also has reduced the number of errors. We had one guy who used to collect these off the floor and put them in a big bin, and every two weeks or so, he would throw them out. We were having to redo orders like crazy,'' says Mannigel. Weyerhaeuser figures DoorBuilder has reduced errors drastically, cutting two to three weeks off turnaround times. The questions of cost and price every month were a crapshoot,'' says Mannigel.