Lazzara Yacht Corporation: Yacht builder adds WennSoft Service Management to Job Cost to track construction and service of multi-million dollar crafts.
"WennSoft Job Cost allows us to track information from the time the order is placed until the new owner takes delivery."
Steve Lazzara
Director, Lazzara Yacht Corporation
Vince Lazzara was an entrepreneur. He enjoyed discovering a need for a business, starting that business and then selling it. In 1956, Lazzara made a major impact on the boating industry when he built the first large fiberglass sailing yacht. Four years later, he formed Columbia Yachts, which went on to become the world’s largest fiberglass boat builder. Over the years, Lazzara would create fiberglass houseboats, fiberglass sailing and power yachts and charter sailboats.
In 1991, Dick and Brad Lazzara, Vince’s sons, formed Lazzara Yacht Corporation. The family-owned business is based on the drive for perfection in yacht building. Today the brothers, along with five of their sons, lead a team of nearly 300 craftspeople, building yachts ranging in length from 68 to 116 feet. For over a decade, Lazzara Yachts has used WennSoft Job Cost to track the production of each yacht built on its 15 acres in Tampa, Fla.
“Each boat is considered a job,” said Steve Lazzara, information technology director. “Buying materials, charging labor and allocating materials to each specific boat needs to be tracked. WennSoft Job Cost allows us to track information from the time the order is placed until the new owner takes delivery.”
Lazzara is building as many as 10 boats at any time, each ranging in value from $3 to $10 million.
WennSoft has become part of the fabric of Lazzara Yachts. As Steve, who joined the company in 2000, states, “I like how the WennSoft solution has grown with our business over time.”
Growth has been constant for Lazzara Yachts. The company has doubled in size since 2000, including the number of boats being sold and office and factory square footage.
A Focus on Service
As important to Lazzara Yachts as selling boats is the long-term service of each yacht it crafts. Whether off the shores of Miami or in the Mediterranean, Lazzara is known for its dedication to servicing the boats that bear the company name. In 2005, to assist in tracking the service they provide to the growing number of Lazzara Yachts around the word, the company added WennSoft Service Management.
“Our fleet was growing – and continues to grow – each year,” Lazzara said. “We were using a legacy database that was not providing all the information we needed. As we started performing more service in multiple locations, we needed a solution with more visibility and that was scalable.”
Steve Lazzara sums up the company’s attitude toward providing service long after the sale. “If you owned a Porsche, it would be nice to take it to Germany for service,” he said. “We do not cut a customer loose into a secondary market after they take delivery. We take care of the boat as long as it is floating. Even for a boat’s second and third owner, we reach out and offer our services. Since we cannot bring every one of our boats to Florida for service, we will do whatever we can to provide service on sight.”
And Lazzara means it. A call to company’s toll-free service line is returned by the head of a customer service unit within 10 minutes or the company president is contacted. Lazzara promises to have a staff member or representative on location to assess the boat within 24 hours of the call.
WennSoft Service Management helps Lazzara Yachts effectively manage these service calls. It facilitates efficient service call capture and assignment, dispatch, resolution tracking, contract management and execution. A purchase order is created for any items needed and materials from inventory are allocated. Technicians report labor and actions performed on the service call and records are updated. Service Management also assists Lazzara by maintaining historical information for each craft.
“Customer service is a deciding factor when people by from us,” Lazzara said. “Our customers have the money to buy from anyone, but the one thing they can never buy is more time. We focus on getting to them quickly and getting their boat back in the water as quickly and safely as possible.”
Full Speed Ahead
Lazzara Yachts’ future extends farther and farther beyond the U.S. territorial waters. “We are working toward greater distribution to Europe, the Middle East, Australia and even the Far East,” Steve Lazzara said.
Through this anticipated growth, WennSoft solutions will continue being as a key component in Lazzara’s first-rate customer service and efficient project tracking.