Burger Consulting Project: Specialty Contractor

This is a $15 million contractor in upstate New York that was starting up a service business with clients in a seven-state area. Having no service experience, the company was moving into a discipline related to its core environmental engineering and construction work.

The Situation

The service contractor was part of an engineering firm that was using a good system that was not well suited to the needs of a service contractor. There were no facilities in the software for handling service calls, tracking and scheduling work, or handling inventory. Nonetheless, there was significant pressure to continue using the core system.

The Challenge

The company was relatively new to the service business and had little understanding of the capabilities of service management software. Also, procedures were not well established, so it was necessary to develop procedures and define software requirements simultaneously.

Solution

BCG began the project as a system selection. The client anticipated building procedures around the new software. However, as Burger Consulting Group and the client got underway, it became apparent that the workflow needed to be evaluated and revised separately before software could be chosen. Burger Consulting Group used Visio charting software to document existing and desired processes as well as to document system requirements. Once this brief exercise was complete, the organization moved ahead with the selection more confidently. The software they selected worked with the processes as designed with only minor adjustments. Given Burger Consulting Group’s experience with the available software, the process designed did not force them to develop custom applications to manage their business.

Result

The client acquired a client/server solution from a recognized provider of service management software that also included job cost accounting, inventory and other systems they needed. Implementation included refinement of processes to fully utilize the new systems. The client implemented the software with their new procedures.

Lessons Learned

• Selecting a system is more difficult if your procedures are not well defined.
• Developing procedures around a system is effective if you have selected the correct system.
• Sometimes a related business may need unique software if they have unique needs.
• It is possible to run the software from different vendors on a single platform.

A mechanical engineering and contracting firm located in a suburb of a large Midwestern city. The company did approximately $15 million per year in engineering services, contracting, and service primarily for their commercial and institutional customers.

The Situation

The company had a stand-alone service system as well as a relatively new version of a construction accounting system. The two, however, were not integrated and the accounting system was not implemented at all. After a modest amount of training, someone within the company decided it was too much work to implement and more or less gave up. The staff in that department was preparing job cost reports and billings manually. They also lacked any kind of integrated subcontract management or change order management.

The Challenge

With all of these stand-alone systems, financial statement preparation was difficult and inefficient. Nearly all information was in printed form and only produced on a monthly basis. Adding to the challenges, the president was not aware of the situation he had and, for that reason, did not know it was a significant issue that needed to be addressed. When a new VP arrived, he recognized the situation and called in Burger Consulting Group.

Solution

After a series of interviews with the staff, Burger Consulting Group quickly realized that the existing system, while functioning moderately well for one of the divisions, was wholly inadequate for the other divisions and was not integrated with service. Burger Consulting Group also suspected that the package that had been purchased, which had an integrated service module, was in fact a good fit and simply needed to be implemented. Burger Consulting Group asked the vendor to return to the client office and demonstrate the software to a group of people from service, accounting, and operations. It was quickly determined that the new version of this software would serve the organization very well.

Result

Just prior to implementation of the new version of the system, the company was purchased by a large supplier and that company’s systems were put in place. In spite of that, the organization went into the merger with a much better understanding of how their systems should be working.

Lessons Learned

• Sometimes the software purchased is satisfactory and it simply needs to be implemented better.
• Integrated systems are important for information access and efficiency.
• Senior management must become more aware of information systems and their role in the organization even if the individuals are not technically oriented.
• Software vendors should be much more attentive to their customers so they are aware of who is struggling with their product and how they can help.

This large underground utility contractor based in Northern California provides utility construction services for their public and private customers in the California and Nevada marketplace. They had recently become part of a larger organization when purchased by a consolidator.

The Situation

The company’s system was based on an older version of a popular construction software program that was not yet ready for Year 2000. One of the company’s sister companies had made the upgrade to this newer Y2K version and had a horrible experience, including a crashed disk drive and lost data. They were reluctant to go through the same experience and asked Burger Consulting Group to assist them in evaluating alternative products in the market.

The Challenge

Operations was reluctant to give up several Job Cost and Subcontract reports designed and programmed especially for them. It was also necessary for operations and accounting to agree on certain key aspects of the new system, like whether or not they needed a Purchasing application. The team assembled to assist with the software selection was somewhat convinced they needed a tailorable software product rather than one which was more structured.

A sister company located in the same area and doing somewhat similar work was also experiencing system problems and was growing increasingly frustrated with the unstable nature of their software. They viewed the same systems that this company was considering but, while they liked the system that was chosen, may not have been able to afford or operate it on their own.

Solution

After getting demonstrations of a structured program and a more tailorable program, the company quickly realized that a tailorable program was far more maintenance than they wanted. The structured program was quite functional and provided them with a sound and efficient platform on which to build their information system.

The company also elected to purchase a larger server with additional licenses and become a service bureau for the smaller neighboring company. This made the licensing of the system for the smaller company more economical and actually saved the larger company some money as well.

Result

The company selected that product and is in the process of implementing it as of this writing. It is one of the products being considered as a standard by corporate headquarters for all business units.

Lessons Learned

• Sometimes what you think you want isn’t really what you need.
• Negotiate hard and be willing to meet somewhere in the middle.
• [icon type=”check” class=”fa-li”]Software license agreements are not cast in stone.
• The service bureau approach remains viable.
• Include a cancellation policy in the contract for software that has not been on the market for a considerable period and thoroughly tested.

A small and growing concrete and grading contractor with three divisions throughout North Carolina. The recent addition of a grading division and some very specialized grading and concrete equipment dictated that the management information systems in place needed to be upgraded to keep up with the needs of the organization.

The Situation

The company had an old accounting system that was missing certain key modules such as equipment and billing that were needed to help them grow and maintain control. Manual processes were not keeping up. A PC based equipment management system was not integrated with accounting and was only marginally adequate.

The Challenge

The company was developing its key employees into new positions of responsibility. They were still developing new procedures and finding out what was really needed to do their jobs better as the system selection was taking place. The president of the company was looking for more management information to help him control the organization as it was growing into new business areas. Some younger project managers were focusing on technology while not fully comprehending the complexity that client/server systems would bring.

Solution

BCG conducted a system selection process, assisting the client in establishing reasonable requirements to meet their growing business needs, while not overwhelming new managers with a complex implementation that would be beyond their capabilities. A host based system was selected with a path toward a conversion to client/server in the future.

Result

The client selected a flexible system with enough structure to ensure that the implementation would not be unreasonably long or arduous. After a reasonably short implementation of four months, the company has brought the system on line and is gradually eliminating the side systems, becoming more efficient and gaining control of the information.

Lessons Learned

• Sometimes a conservative approach is better than going after the latest technology.
• Client/server software is not right for everybody.

A small New England utility contractor has a large number of small projects and several large maintenance contracts. They own a quarry and sell materials both to themselves and outside parties. They also have a very large fleet of equipment with a maintenance department and large shop. The owners are descendents of the original founder and have been working to build the company and improve the management controls.

The Situation

The existing software, while adequate in some respects, did not meet the needs of the company as a whole. It was geared more toward a general contractor or small subcontractor and did not really fit the needs of a utility contractor, particularly one with plant sales. Much of the accounting process was conducted manually and off line, as the system did not meet all their functional needs. A separate software package was used for equipment maintenance, not integrated with accounting. Billing was manual. Scale tickets were processed manually. A stand-alone Human Resources database had been developed and implemented.

The Challenge

There were certain aspects of the core accounting system that were meeting the company’s needs. Those employees whose needs were met were loyal to the product and did not want to see changes. There was also a comprehensive, though non-integrated, equipment system in place. Each of these requirements needed to be managed to ensure a successful system selection. In addition, the quarry had been managed manually, so there was little consistency in billing procedures and the belief existed that no system could meet these needs.

Solution

BCG guided the client through a system selection that included a series of detailed interviews with personnel from each department. A system, especially developed for the highway and utility industries, was selected that would meet the needs of each of the divisions. Each group was allowed to participate in the selection presentations so that they had a part in the final selection and could approach the implementation with confidence. Though everyone compromised a little, there were improvements in the overall efficiency of the system that everyone saw.

Result

The contractor has a new system with modules that were not available in their former software system, giving them greater functionality, more automation, information on a more timely basis, and less manual effort from individuals.

Lessons Learned

• If your business is very specialized, you may have a limited selection of vendors to choose from.
• With an adequate selection process, you can find good software even if your needs are somewhat unique.

A large and growing ground modification contractor with 11 offices and seven companies had foreign as well as domestic business units in North and Central America. A foreign parent corporation requires specific reporting on a monthly and quarterly basis.

The Situation

The company had an older software product with inadequate support. It was one of four installations of a software product that was on a different relational database than the main system. As a result, the support had waned, as had the interest of the vendor in supporting it. A potential Y2K problem existed. There was also a significant effort needed to produce reports on a side system that required manually entering data each week, most of which already existed in the core accounting system. The Challenge A special report, relatively unique cost and revenue recognition requirements, along with a Canadian payroll meant that the vendor/product short list would be limited. Also, the fact that many of the users needed to have access to the system over a wide area network or via telephone line meant that the user interface and software architecture needed to be considered in the analysis.

Solution

BCG assisted with a system selection that included a Request for Proposal (RFP) sent to a select group of pre-qualified vendors. A host-oriented system with graphical user interface was selected and a custom report was negotiated as part of the agreement to meet the weekly reporting requirements. Burger Consulting Group assisted in developing the custom report specifications, negotiating the contract, and facilitating the implementation planning workshop with the vendor to ensure a successful project.

Result

The client has begun implementation of the new system. Custom report design was completed and a prototype testing approach included in the agreement revealed a flawed assumption. As a result of the approach taken, the software will be corrected prior to going live on the system.

Lessons Learned

• Custom software is often risky. It should be avoided it if at all possible.
• Selections run smoothly with executive participation throughout the process.
• Effective contracts will provide a working mechanism for resolving issues before live processing.