Triple A Homes: Proof that switching to CBUSA suppliers pays off

Who is Triple A Homes?

After working for other companies for a long time, Dan Morse was ready to be his own boss. He started Triple A Homes – named for his three children Ally, Abby and Aiden – in 2015. He built the company on his own for about three years before Gerry Felton joined the company as part owner in 2018.

Since then, they’ve grown the company substantially. Six years ago, they were closing about eight homes a year, and today, they’re averaging 35 home closings. They do about $30 million in revenue each year with each home pricing out at $1 million.

“It’s one of those things where we’re just trying to keep up,” Dan said.

Going all in on CBUSA: How their commitment led to opportunity

Before joining the team at Triple A Homes, Gerry was an employee at CBUSA where he worked for about three years. He saw firsthand how the benefits of group purchasing and knew it was a great opportunity.

He introduced Dan to the network, and the rest is history.

“Dan said ‘OK, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this,’” Gerry recalled. “And what he meant was, we’re not going to just dip our toes – we’re going all in.”

With Dan’s buy-in, they joined their local Raleigh chapter and never looked back.

“We went full steam ahead,” Gerry said. “The first opportunity we had to be a part of the Raleigh group, we jumped on it.”

Triple A is dedicated to going all in with CBUSA. What does that mean exactly? As a company, they make a conscious effort to vet every opportunity CBUSA made available to them and see how it works for the business. It also means making some difficult decisions and letting go of some current vendors to implement CBUSA programs.

“That’s one thing for prospective CBUSA members to know. They’ve got to be willing to vet every opportunity,” Gerry said. “And that might mean making some changes.”

Seeing the benefits: How a supportive network ensures growth

More often than not, making change is easier said than done. In an industry built on relationships, transitioning from a long-time vendor to someone new can be scary – but ultimately, it’s the best decision for business.

When they started buying brick through CBUSA, they had to find a new labor company to do the work due to process changes.

“That was a difficult one because we’re both friends with the guy,” Dan said. “Ultimately, we now have an incredible mason who’s doing great work for us, and the company is also benefitting from the cost savings.”

In addition to saving money, Dan and Gerry also saw the value in having a whole team to back them up. As a smaller company, having the ability to focus on client relationships and project management is crucial for their team.

“It’s nice having CBUSA watch out for things we don’t have the bandwidth for,” Gerry said. “Whether it’s helping with national contracts, creating relationships with manufacturing partners or just having someone watch pricing – it’s been extremely beneficial to us.”

Big negotiations such as national contracts and lumber buys are also handled by CBUSA, so their team can spend more time on other areas of the business.

“We don’t have a purchasing department,” Dan said. “Other companies our size might have something more robust in that area, but we don’t need it. There are many things CBUSA helps us do that we just don’t have to worry about.”

CBUSA has also benefited their team when it comes to national supplier relationships. As an independent home builder, it’s often difficult to get the attention of those big names. As a CBUSA member, Triple A Homes now has a seat at the table with brands like Kohler, JennAir, James Hardie, Cambria and Generac – just to name a few.

“CBUSA’s been a big help in not only introducing those contracts, but also giving us the opportunity to offer a superior brand,” Gerry said. “We offer quality products at the same price another builder is offering a lesser one because of contracts negotiated for us.”

“The products we have available to us, Kohler for example, wouldn’t even be on the table for us if we didn’t have this relationship,” Dan added.