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Home > Products > Advantage > Success: Dunn Lumber Company

Success Story

Dunn Lumber Company:
Using Technology to Adapt to a Changing Market

Located in Seattle, the center of the bustling Puget Sound region of Washington state, Dunn Lumber Company is one of the largest lumber retailers in Washington State.

As a family business that has served both contractors and do-it-yourself customers since its founding in 1907, Dunn’s modern day success is rooted in its rich history.

First structured as a strictly cash-only lumberyard during the Depression years, Dunn gained success as the lowest-priced source for building materials in the Seattle area.

In 1938, a spectacular fire destroyed all of the lumber sheds, stock, trucks and offices at the company’s sole location. After clearing away the remains, 68 carpenters, many of whom were customers, worked two shifts a day to construct a new 18,000 square foot building in just 12 working days.

This Lake Washington facility, and the determination through which it was built, are the hallmarks of the Dunn family’s success. In the years since the fire, Dunn has opened 10 full-service lumber yards, serving King and Snohomish counties, two of the fastest growing in America. And though the company has since expanded throughout the state, the Lake Washington facility remains the corporation’s headquarters and its largest volume yard.

Keeping Up with the Times

But the future of Dunn Lumber did not always seem so certain. During the last decade, it became clear that the market was changing with the advent of “box” stores. Unlike many other stores, Dunn was lucky to have an insightful management team. Dunn Lumber reacted quickly, and kept an edge on the box stores by constantly evaluating and refining their inventory mix to be certain that they satisfied their customers’ needs.

But while this strategy had worked externally, the task of keeping up with a constantly changing product mix proved to be a significant challenge to the staff. As the inventory and pricing workload piled up, the Dunn management team saw a clear need for an easier way to manage their stores. Moreover, the Dunn team saw the landscape of their market changing rapidly; their new strategy had worked for the short term, but they would need organized, up-to-date information to chart the company’s course for years to come.

That’s when Dunn chose Advantage.

 “The decision to go with Advantage was a fortuitous one,” says Vice President Mike Dunn. “The Advantage database program has provided us with timely, relevant, usable inventory control information, allowing us to maximize inventory turnover while increasing profit margins at the same time.”

Especially useful, says Dunn, is the ability to review daily the individual yard location sales data on a departmental and class basis. The feature allows them not only to track profit and performance but to anticipate future purchasing needs.

Critical Assistance

Mike Dunn continues, "Although the road from manual inventory systems to computerized is always a trying one, Advantage came through and has given the needed encouragement and support to propel Dunn Lumber into the fullest use of its systems."

Thanks in part to the support of a technology partner like Advantage, Dunn Lumber has thrived despite their circumstances. With the full efficiency and management control of Advantage’s multi-location inventory, G/L, advanced networking and reporting, the Dunn team remains confident of their future.

Jim Coshow, also of Dunn Lumber, puts it like this: “It can be fairly said that without the Advantage program, Dunn would be less profitable and would have greater difficulty mapping a business strategy for the future. The responsiveness of the Advantage personnel and their ability to customize the program to fit Dunn’s individual information needs have been outstanding. We are looking forward to a continuing successful working relationship with Advantage.”

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