The customer – a global engineering company specialising in electrification, robotics automation and motion – came to us with a challenge. Their India facilities include factories, offices and guesthouses, which were managed by more than 330 different suppliers working across 43 sites. With that many vendors on board, assets, costs and quality had become increasingly difficult for the company to manage. How could ISS help them streamline and simplify their facility management?
From many to one
“Working with multiple suppliers is really challenging for companies,” reflects JK, the Account Director at ISS India. “Let’s say an organisation has five offices. These units may use two, three or even five different facility management (FM) companies. These companies, in turn, use different cleaning, technical, security, catering or reception support suppliers. With multiple people at multiple sites, there’s no standardisation, because these companies don’t talk to each other or use common technologies to share learnings. So the customer is left with the huge task of managing all that.”
In 2017, the customer decided to consolidate their FM operations, to define new standards of excellence, manage risks better, and last but not least, reduce costs. They moved from a multi-supplier model to a single outsourcer and appointed ISS India as their Integrated Facility Services (IFS) partner.
Ensuring a smooth transition
With so many existing suppliers to liaise with, ISS had to plan the transition carefully.
“When we started the journey with the customer, the first things we did was to agree on clear goals and service levels. We assessed risks and how to mitigate them. And we provided a detailed transition and cutover plan and a change management communication plan,” explains the Account Director.
One of the biggest challenges in the planning phase was to get a clear picture of the customer’s assets. “In some cases, there was no data on their equipment; what condition it was in; or the costs of managing it. But we managed to retrieve that data and gather it in one place, which made it easy for the customer to run status reports at the click of a button — something they couldn’t do before.”
Not only did the account team consider the physical assets across the customer’s locations, conducting an asset conditioning assessment and preparing a proper maintenance plan, they also handled recruitment. “Our transition plan included identifying the skills needed when hiring and training people. We had to make sure the teams consisted of people who could multitask and work effectively.”
Delivering a cost-saving service that really works
This self-delivered model — where ISS manages all services, including staffing — brings real value to the customer.
“The delivery model we created for the customer was simple. We created a common platform where best practices are shared across all locations, which helps us manage everything across the customer’s 43 sites. All requests go through our central helpdesk which allows us to oversee everything and continuously improve the efficiency of the service. Most importantly, the customer can now access vital facility information in one place, which is so much more effective.”
The results speak for themselves. By moving to a single supplier, the customer has reduced costs, improved efficiencies and now have a clear picture of all their assets.
Preparing for IFS partnership
ISS streamlines facility management services for thousands of customers, many of them multinational organisations. For companies considering a single supplier solution, JK has this advice to share to help them prepare.
“You need to clearly define your business objective and the outcomes you want from the service”, he explains. “You’ll also need to identify the risks of moving from one type of service to another and make sure you have the right organisational structure in place. Finally, you should gather as much data as possible — on your assets, their condition and current costs. We’ll use this as the starting point in helping you define a service that supports your business and grows with you.”
