Practical ERP Advisory for a Growing
Log Home Manufacturer
A well-structured, easy-to-use selection process and order map gave eLoghomes clarity, vendor leverage, and a scalable system to grow the business.
eLoghomes is a national manufacturer of log home kits serving homebuyers across the U.S., with strong presence in the Southeast and projects ranging from Maine to Montana, Colorado, Washington, and Arizona. The company sells the “shell” of the home—log walls, framing, porches and decks, and exterior windows and doors—and offers a separate framing and installation service via a nationwide network of subcontractors.
Customers can choose from roughly 200 models and heavily customize their homes with the in-house design group. In practice, “virtually no order happens without a lot of changes that the customers would like,” creating a highly configurable, project-based operation.
When the company was acquired by a private equity firm and a new CEO stepped in, eLoghomes ran on Microsoft® Word® documents, Excel® spreadsheets, and limited use of QuickBooks®. There was no ERP system in place, and much of the business ran on tribal knowledge instead of documented processes.
Making ERP Visions a Reality
Practical, turnkey ERP requirements framework
Full-service ERP Advisory
Aligns executives, functional teams, and IT around one plan
Challenge
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First time the company had implemented any kind of ERP program, and most of the team had no prior ERP experience
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Day-to-day operations relied on Word, Excel, and limited use of QuickBooks®, making processes manual, error-prone, and hard to scale
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Critical order processing steps lived as tribal knowledge, with no solid process map or outline to guide consistent execution
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Leadership needed an experienced but practical advisor who could make the ERP journey clear and accessible for a first-time ERP team
Solution
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Engaged John Hannan LLC to guide eLoghomes through its first ERP initiative—from clarifying needs to choosing the right solution and partners
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Led a focused requirements phase using a simple, structured framework so stakeholders across the business could quickly capture what the new system had to support
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Identified suitable ERP options, ran a targeted RFP, and helped compare proposals on functionality, cost, and risk to arrive at a well-fitting platform
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Acted as an embedded advisor in decision-making, translating business goals into practical ERP choices rather than just presenting vendor options
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Expanded the engagement to map the end-to-end order process, turning informal, tribal knowledge into a documented workflow that ERP support and scale
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Stepped back in when the initial implementation partner underperformed—advocating with the software vendor and managing a focused search for a new partner better aligned to eLoghomes’ needs
The structure for identifying requirements was well thought out, easy to use, and well launched with everyone who needed to work on it—we even got major kudos from vendors on the professionalism of our requirements. John communicates in a way that isn’t overly technical for people like me, but he can step up and be technical with IT professionals. And when we needed more help, he jumped right back in with process mapping, advocacy with the software vendor, and a mini search for a new implementation partner.
Gary Rosenfield, President & CEO at eLoghomes
Outcome
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Replaced QuickBooks® and ad-hoc spreadsheets on the financial side, improving efficiency and accuracy in accounting and financial management—gains already visible internally
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Positioned the company for growth, with the CEO expecting the ERP solution to allow eLoghomes to grow significantly without adding people at the same rate
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Documented critical order processes, turning a key area of the business from tribal knowledge into a structured process that can be supported and scaled through ERP
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Gained a trusted, flexible advisor who can step back in at pivotal moments—whether to map processes, advocate with the ERP vendor, or find a better implementation partner—at a cost structure the CEO considers reasonable for a small company