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ight corporate real estate service provider companies have won Site Selection/ William Dorsey Service Provider Awards for work they did in 2002 that exceeded the expectations of their clients. These awards, now in their fourth year, recognize those companies that are helping evolve the definition of client service in the corporate real estate context.
Companies participating in the awards process fill out a comprehensive questionnaire that gives respondents numerous opportunities to articulate and demonstrate their understanding of and commitment to client service. Client contacts
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Kitchell Mexico Demonstrates
the Fine Art of Plant Relocation
A plant relocation project in which Kitchell International Consulting Group, a unit of Phoenix-based Kitchell Mexico, was involved was not going very well. Thomson Multimedia had decided to shut down operations of its Scranton, Pa., picture tube manufacturing facility and open one in Mexicali, Mexico. Initially, Kitchell was not in a leadership role on the project.
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are required for consideration; Site Selection editors select the winning organizations.
Feedback on the questionnaire process is consistently positive. “The experience of writing the application, although somewhat grueling at times, has proven itself once again to be extremely worthwhile,” writes Dana Edison, national director of marketing for CRESA Partners. “The process of writing this application offers me two significant professional benefits. Firstly, it helps me gain an intimate understanding of how our services are offered and delivered as well as how they are received by the end user. Secondly, and probably most importantly, it reminds me why I love this company. The process leads me to speak with many of our clients as well as professionals within the firm. I enjoy learning about the relationships that we have established and the success we have experienced.”
Site Selection encourages all service providers to experience the application process and to gain a similar appreciation of how client service is viewed internally and by end users.
Accruent, Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based contract management solutions provider, helped a World Trade Center-headquartered financial services client recover from the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. A two-month-old backup of the client’s database was located and activated on a dedicated server, and reports were run and shipped to temporary offices the same week. Arrangements then were made to provide the client with remote access on Accruent’s server. Minimal disruption in the contract management function was experienced.
CRESA Partners, North Reading, Mass., is one of three service providers working on behalf of a major insurance industry client. But it is the only one that took the initiative — on a pro bono basis — to create a process for helping the client define and articulate internal processes for managing its more than 7.6-million-sq.-ft. (706,000-sq.-m.) portfolio. Dubbed The Playbook, the document is a key process manual for the company’s corporate real estate team that CRESA even helped format for use on the company’s intranet.
Grubb & Ellis Corporate Services Group, Newport Beach, Calif., developed a new compensation scheme with a major industrial client that has resulted in a significantly high level of trust early in the relationship. Rather than detail future expenses associated with managing 20 million sq. ft. (1.8 million sq. m.) of the portfolio, Grubb & Ellis submits a “fair and reasonable margin” for providing the scope of services that has resulted in a flexible compensation structure that meets the needs of both parties.
For one multinational client, Jones Lang LaSalle, Chicago, manages a U.S. domestic portfolio of 12.5 million square feet (1.2 million sq. m.). A new, streamlined transaction process has reduced project cycle time by 20 percent. The firm has managed 197 projects for the client, or $25.7 million in project volume. New space standards implemented by Jones Lang LaSalle have resulted in $5.4 million in savings; an additional $3.5 million was saved in project costs through value engineering and close supervision of spending.
NAI Direct, Hightstown, N.J., was pressed into service early on in a client relationship to perform due diligence on more than 100 facilities in a variety of primary, secondary and tertiary markets nationally that came with a recent acquisition. The firm had just 30 days in which to perform the work. Analysis resulted in the immediate disposition of 30 properties and a system for assessing and understanding the various lease obligations.
WorkPlaceUSA, Dallas, was given 35 days to create the interior and architectural design, construct space and prepare for a client to move into a new headquarters in a historic area. Use of 3D animation facilitated the design process, but the space was flooded in a rainstorm just days before move in. Despite cleanup being the landlord’s responsibility, WorkPlaceUSA provided provided personnel and resources to assist. Successful resolution of several other complications during the short time frame demonstrate a clear ability to exceed client expectations.
Tire Facility Expansion Requires Multitasking Service Provider
Michelin North America’s recent $200 million expansion of its earthmover tire facility in Lexington, S.C., was a notable project in several respects for McCallum Sweeney Consulting, founded in 2000 by two former Fluor Daniel site location consultants. Projects are handled by a senior principal of the firm who brings to the table personalized, senior-level expertise.
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