Case Study
Stillwell-Hansen, a leading manufacturers’ representative that specializes in heating and air conditioning, has been reliant on the same core application to manage its sales and service orders since the late 1990s. Once the platform reached the end of its support lifecycle, the team knew they needed a better, more forward-looking solution to run the business.
Our Challenge
Creating a platform that worked for a diverse group of users was critical to success. Stillwell-Hansen’s legacy software was hopelessly siloed. While it was intended to track the lifecycle of a contract, from the quote process through ongoing service orders, the application was frustrating to navigate and buggy. It was difficult and cumbersome to switch between orders, jobs, reports, and other views, and some users circumvented the system altogether with hacked-together ad hoc solutions. So when Microsoft announced that the platform it was built on, Access, would no longer be supported, Stillwell-Hansen took that opportunity to bring its operations into the 21st century.
Our Process
Stillwell-Hansen’s existing software touched every aspect of the business from tracking orders and sales to managing technician schedules, so it was crucial that DOOR3 take the needs of a diverse range of users into account. At the same time, any solution needed to feel familiar and comfortable to employees that had been using the legacy system, some for over 20 years, and didn’t have time for the lengthy training and steep learning curve that can come with completely new software. Beyond integrating existing critical functionality, we examined how teams were working outside the application and how that work could be incorporated and streamlined to encourage adoption across the organization.
Our Solution
While Stillwell-Hansen had previously relied on Microsoft Access, DOOR3 updated the platform by moving it to a modern, web-based model. Now, all the company’s functions are centralized in a single, intuitive platform that vastly improves visibility and reporting abilities. Even better, as DOOR3 coordinated the phased rollout of the new application, we ensured that orders created during that process fed immediately into the new system, ensuring a smooth transition from the old.
While the old system didn’t allow for a lot of nuance, Stillwell-Hansen’s new platform gives users the tools they need to easily navigate and manage orders. From the ability to create multiple orders within a job to transparent tracking of the time and labor required to complete a service visit, teams now have a depth of information and data at their fingertips. Additional tools like a template manager save time in creating new documents and ensure that employees are always using the most up-to-date sales and contract templates.
With unified functionality, DOOR3 also introduced new functionality to help Stillwell-Hansen work smarter. The application gives managers and administrative roles oversight throughout the platform, introducing the ability to track sales figures and incoming work, cost and profit centers, and the health and progress of each division across the organization. Through new and improved reports they’ll have the tools to push their business forward.
Conclusion
Stillwell-Hansen came to DOOR3 looking to bring their internal order tracking system into the 21st century. We did that and more, building a sleek, intuitive user interface design on a modern web-based platform that allowed Stillwell-Hansen to get more value out of their software than ever before. We listened to users and incorporated functionality that would make their jobs easier, and paired that with data insights to help executives make the right decisions. All of this translates into an application that has the power change the way Stillwell-Hansen works — for the better.
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