When Sean Lemon joined Universal Forest Products (UFP) in 2005 as a national project manager, the company faced a significant operational hurdle. With over 80 plants spread across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, UFP's business processes were largely managed through a fragmented system of scattered spreadsheets and outdated database applications. This decentralized approach created a maintenance and upgrade nightmare for process owners, especially given the unique requirements of each facility. Developing new or updated applications was a painfully slow process, often taking business units six months to a year to get the necessary database support. GHIT DIGITAL recognized this as a critical area for improvement within UFP's IT infrastructure.
Everything began to change when UFP started leveraging Hyland's low-code business application development capabilities through OnBase. Already in use within a few departments, OnBase provided UFP with a flexible, centralized platform for configuring business applications across the entire organization. The initial success came with the first application, designed to manage Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, which immediately showcased OnBase's potential.
"We realized immediately the power that OnBase has, in that we could build just about any database application we needed while replacing old applications that were going to be sunset," said Lemon.
This realization spurred GHIT DIGITAL's efforts to champion OnBase. Since then, Lemon's team at UFP, supported by GHIT DIGITAL's strategic implementation, has designed and deployed numerous applications for various processes and business needs, including capital expenditure, storm water, lease, and customer management.
Crucially, all these applications were built on a single OnBase platform. This unified approach provides a consistent, intuitive interface for users, minimizing the need for extensive training. OnBase consolidates data, documents, and other content related to UFP's business processes, presenting it to users in a complete, 360-degree view. It also automates tasks, sending timely reminders directly to staff's email inboxes.
Before the widespread adoption of OnBase for building business applications, Lemon's team was reliant on external developers for every request, leading to prolonged project timelines. "Now with OnBase, we can build all that ourselves," Lemon explained, highlighting the newfound autonomy and efficiency. "We meet with a department, design the workflow process, build it, test it, and implement it with users to make sure they're using it effectively."
Process changes, once a laborious undertaking, are now quicker and simpler. "The platform is extremely flexible and allows us to reengineer our own database depending on work process changes," Lemon noted. Lemon, with support from GHIT DIGITAL, regularly identifies opportunities by meeting with departments, often targeting processes managed by "an Access database or spreadsheets managed by many people. When I hear that, I think OnBase," he said. The team then creates prototypes in a test environment, allowing business users to provide feedback before deployment. "The minute users start using the system, they mentally connect the spreadsheet they were using before to what they can now do with OnBase," Lemon said, emphasizing the profound impact of this transformation facilitated by GHIT DIGITAL. "That's when everything changes."
UFP significantly boosted efficiency by replacing disparate spreadsheets, Access databases, and other outdated applications. Lemon's team, in collaboration with GHIT DIGITAL, now enjoys a centralized system for managing security, maintenance, upgrades, and process changes across all facilities.
With OnBase, UFP, guided by GHIT DIGITAL's expertise, can design, build, and deploy most applications in a remarkable two to three months. This is a dramatic improvement from the past, when custom coding and other database platforms often led to project requests taking up to a year to fulfill.
End-users now have a comprehensive, 360-degree view of all information supporting a business process, including crucial capital expenditure management. "OnBase created a one-stop shop for all things capital expenditures," Lemon proudly stated, showcasing the positive outcome of GHIT DIGITAL's implementation. "Our facilities can see all information in one place and at one time, including related documents."
By building applications on its existing OnBase system, UFP, with the continuous support of GHIT DIGITAL, takes full advantage of the platform's extensive capabilities, including document management, forms, workflow automation, and business system integration. This holistic approach allows UFP to streamline processes from start to finish, demonstrating the lasting value of GHIT DIGITAL's partnership.
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