Optimising Property Services Procurement: How Trace Consultants Supports CFOs and CEOs in Property-Based Businesses

For CFOs and CEOs of property-based businesses, managing the complexity and cost of property services procurement and facilities management procurement can be a daunting challenge. From waste management and building maintenance to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services, these operational necessities often account for a significant portion of operating expenses. Without an effective strategy in place, businesses risk inefficiencies, inflated costs, and subpar service delivery.

Enter Trace Consultants, a proven partner for property-based businesses across Australia and New Zealand. Leveraging templated approaches, cutting-edge data analytical tools, and deep industry expertise, Trace Consultants delivers significant cost reductions (typically 8–27%) while driving service improvements. Here, we explore how Trace Consultants helps property-based businesses optimise their property services procurement and facilities management procurement processes to achieve measurable outcomes.

Understanding the Challenges of Property Services Procurement

Property-based businesses—from integrated resorts and shopping malls to hospitals, schools, and industrial facilities—face unique operational challenges. The scope of property services required is extensive, often including:

• Waste Management: Efficient disposal and recycling programs.
• Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP): Maintenance and upgrades to essential systems.
• Building Management Services (BMS): Ensuring operational efficiency through automation and monitoring.
• General Contracting: Routine repairs, upgrades, and capital projects.
• Cleaning and Hygiene Services: Maintaining a clean and healthy environment.

Each service area demands careful management to balance cost, quality, and compliance. However, fragmented contracts, limited visibility into spending, and supplier misalignment often create inefficiencies and excessive costs.

Trace Consultants: Proven Experience and Industry Expertise

Trace Consultants brings a wealth of experience in supporting property-based businesses to streamline and optimise property services procurement. With tailored strategies and a results-driven approach, Trace delivers benefits in three critical areas:

1. Data-Driven Insights and Spend Analysis

At the heart of Trace Consultants’ approach is a commitment to data analytics. Using advanced tools and methodologies, Trace provides deep insights into property services procurement spend, including:

• Cost Visibility: Identifying areas of excessive spending across categories like waste management and MEP services.
• Supplier Performance: Analysing service quality and value for money from existing suppliers.
• Opportunity Assessment: Pinpointing areas to consolidate contracts, standardise services, and achieve economies of scale.

For instance, Trace’s work with a major Australian shopping mall operator revealed overlapping supplier contracts and under-utilised economies of scale. Through spend analysis, Trace identified potential savings of over 18%, which were realised through contract renegotiation and service consolidation.

2. Templated Approaches for Go-to-Market Activities

Going to market for property services procurement can be complex and time-intensive. Trace Consultants simplifies the process with proven, templated approaches that deliver results efficiently. Key components include:

• Specification Development: Creating clear, detailed scopes of work for services like building management and general contracting.
• Tender Management: Managing end-to-end tender processes, from supplier shortlisting to contract negotiation.
• Evaluation Frameworks: Applying weighted criteria to ensure supplier selection aligns with business priorities and standards such as Mechanical DA19, Electrical NFPA, and Plumbing HSG-274 p2.

By leveraging these templates, Trace enables CFOs and CEOs to secure competitive pricing while ensuring service quality. One notable example involved a New Zealand healthcare organisation, where Trace helped reduce waste management costs by 12% while improving service delivery through a streamlined tender process.

3. Change Management and Transition Support

Optimising property services often involves significant changes, including transitioning to new suppliers or restructured service agreements. Trace Consultants excels in managing these transitions seamlessly, with minimal disruption to business operations. Their approach includes:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborating with internal teams to align on goals and priorities.
• Transition Planning: Developing detailed timelines and action plans for smooth implementation.
• Performance Monitoring: Establishing KPIs and tracking progress to ensure service improvements are realised.

For a government facility in Australia, Trace oversaw the transition of cleaning services to a new supplier. Despite the complexity of the site, which included high-security areas, Trace ensured a smooth handover and delivered annual cost savings of 22%.

Reviewing Asset Management Practices

Effective asset management is critical to maintaining operational efficiency while controlling costs. Trace Consultants provides a comprehensive review of asset management practices to ensure alignment with business goals and industry standards. Key areas of focus include:

• Replacement vs. Run-to-Fail Analysis: Evaluating whether assets should be replaced proactively or allowed to run to failure, supported by cost-benefit analyses.
• Preventative Maintenance Schedules: Developing optimised schedules to minimise downtime and extend asset life.
• Reactive Maintenance Practices: Identifying inefficiencies in reactive maintenance approaches and implementing process improvements.
• IT Systems Integration: Supporting the implementation and optimisation of asset management systems such as Maximo, ensuring accurate tracking, reporting, and decision-making.
• Standards Alignment: Ensuring compliance with Australian and international standards for asset maintenance, including Mechanical DA19, Electrical NFPA, and Plumbing HSG-274 p2.

For example, Trace worked with an integrated resort client to overhaul their asset management practices. By implementing a preventative maintenance program and integrating it into their Maximo system, the client achieved a 15% reduction in maintenance costs while improving asset reliability and performance.

Unlocking Cost Reduction Opportunities

Trace Consultants consistently delivers significant cost savings for property-based businesses. Typical savings range from 8–27%, depending on the scope of services and opportunities for improvement. Key strategies include:

• Contract Consolidation: Reducing the number of suppliers to leverage volume discounts and simplify management.
• Rate Optimisation: Benchmarking costs against industry standards to secure fair pricing.
• Scope Rationalisation: Eliminating redundant or non-essential services to focus on core needs.

For instance, an integrated resort client partnered with Trace to review their MEP services. By consolidating contracts and renegotiating rates, the client achieved a 24% reduction in annual costs while maintaining high service standards.

Driving Service Benefits

In addition to cost savings, Trace Consultants delivers measurable service improvements, including:

• Enhanced Reliability: Clear KPIs and performance monitoring ensure consistent service delivery.
• Improved Quality: Supplier selection processes prioritise high-performing vendors.
• Operational Efficiency: Standardised processes and technologies streamline service management.

For example, Trace supported a manufacturing client in Australia to improve building management services across multiple sites. By implementing a centralised BMS system and optimising supplier contracts, the client experienced fewer service disruptions and achieved a 15% improvement in operational efficiency.

Why CFOs and CEOs Should Act Now

In today’s economic climate, taking control of property services procurement and facilities management procurement is more important than ever. Rising costs, increasing regulatory requirements, and growing expectations for service quality make it critical for businesses to adopt a proactive approach.

Trace Consultants offers the expertise, tools, and proven strategies needed to drive meaningful results. By partnering with Trace, CFOs and CEOs can:

• Achieve Significant Cost Savings: Realise reductions of 8–27% across key service areas.
• Improve Service Delivery: Enhance reliability, quality, and efficiency in property services.
• Strengthen Strategic Focus: Free up internal resources to focus on core business priorities.

The Trace Difference

What sets Trace Consultants apart is their commitment to tailored solutions and measurable outcomes. Key differentiators include:

• Industry Expertise: Deep knowledge of property-based businesses and their unique challenges.
• Proven Track Record: A history of delivering cost and service improvements for clients across Australia and New Zealand.
• Cutting-Edge Tools: Advanced data analytics and templated approaches ensure efficient, impactful results.
• Collaborative Approach: Strong partnerships with clients and stakeholders to achieve shared goals.

Ready to Optimise Your Property Services Procurement?

For CFOs and CEOs in property-based businesses, optimising property services procurement and facilities management procurement is not just an opportunity—it’s a necessity. With Trace Consultants as your partner, you can unlock cost savings, improve service quality, and drive long-term operational success.

Whether you operate a hospital, integrated resort, shopping mall, or industrial facility, Trace Consultants has the expertise and tools to deliver results tailored to your needs. Contact Trace today to explore how they can support your business in achieving its goals.

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Enhancing Procurement Excellence: Key Sourcing and Procurement Activities

In today’s complex and competitive business environment, sourcing and procurement play a pivotal role in driving organisational success. Effective procurement activities not only help in cost savings but also in building strong supplier relationships, mitigating risks, and ensuring seamless operations. By focusing on key procurement activities, organisations can enhance their strategic capabilities and operational efficiency.

This article explores the top sourcing and procurement activities that are essential for any organisation aiming to optimise its procurement function. We will discuss how focusing on these activities can lead to significant improvements in procurement performance and how Trace Consultants can assist organisations in implementing these best practices to achieve procurement excellence.

1. Procurement Strategy

A robust procurement strategy is the cornerstone of effective procurement management. It involves setting clear objectives, aligning procurement goals with overall business strategy, and developing plans to achieve those goals. A well-defined procurement strategy helps organisations optimise their procurement processes, manage costs effectively, and ensure that procurement activities contribute to the organisation’s long-term success.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants can assist organisations in developing and refining their procurement strategies to align with business objectives. With a deep understanding of industry best practices, Trace Consultants helps businesses craft strategies that optimise procurement processes, drive cost savings, and enhance supplier relationships.

2. Procurement Organisation

The structure and organisation of the procurement function play a critical role in its effectiveness. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, establishing clear lines of communication, and ensuring that the procurement team is equipped with the necessary skills and resources. A well-organised procurement function can operate more efficiently, respond quickly to market changes, and better manage supplier relationships.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants offers expertise in organisational design, helping businesses structure their procurement functions for maximum efficiency. Whether it’s defining roles, streamlining processes, or implementing training programs, Trace Consultants ensures that procurement teams are well-organised and equipped to meet the demands of the business.

3. Supplier Spend

Managing supplier spend is a key activity in procurement, focusing on controlling costs and ensuring that the organisation gets the best value from its suppliers. This involves analysing spending patterns, negotiating favourable terms, and identifying opportunities for cost savings. Effective spend management can lead to significant reductions in procurement costs and improved supplier performance.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants specialises in spend analysis and optimisation, helping organisations gain insights into their spending patterns and identify areas for cost savings. By leveraging data analytics and industry benchmarks, Trace Consultants provides actionable recommendations that help businesses manage supplier spend more effectively.

4. Supplier Risk

Managing supplier risk is essential to ensuring the continuity of supply and protecting the organisation from potential disruptions. This includes assessing the financial stability of suppliers, monitoring their performance, and developing contingency plans to mitigate risks. Proactively managing supplier risk can prevent costly disruptions and ensure that the organisation can maintain its operations even in the face of challenges.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants provides comprehensive supplier risk management services, including risk assessments, performance monitoring, and the development of risk mitigation strategies. By helping organisations identify and manage potential risks, Trace Consultants ensures that businesses can maintain a resilient supply chain.

5. Procurement Technology

The use of technology in procurement is essential for enhancing efficiency and improving decision-making. This includes implementing procurement software, automating routine tasks, and leveraging data analytics for better insights. Procurement technology enables organisations to streamline processes, reduce manual errors, and make more informed decisions.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants assists organisations in selecting and implementing the right procurement technologies to support their strategic goals. Whether it’s automating procurement processes or implementing advanced analytics tools, Trace Consultants ensures that businesses can leverage technology to enhance their procurement function.

6. Procurement Performance

Measuring and managing procurement performance is critical to ensuring that procurement activities contribute to the organisation’s success. This involves setting performance metrics, monitoring progress, and making adjustments as needed. By regularly evaluating procurement performance, organisations can identify areas for improvement and ensure that procurement activities are aligned with business objectives.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants provides performance management services that help organisations track and improve their procurement performance. By establishing clear metrics and providing ongoing monitoring and support, Trace Consultants ensures that procurement activities are continuously optimised to deliver the best possible results.

7. Supplier Management

Effective supplier management involves building strong relationships with suppliers, ensuring that they meet performance expectations, and working collaboratively to achieve mutual goals. This includes regular communication, performance reviews, and joint problem-solving. Strong supplier management can lead to better supplier performance, reduced risks, and more innovative solutions.

How Trace Consultants Can Help:

Trace Consultants offers comprehensive supplier management services, including performance evaluation, relationship management, and collaborative planning. By fostering strong supplier relationships, Trace Consultants helps organisations improve supplier performance and achieve better outcomes.

Achieving Procurement Excellence with Trace Consultants

Focusing on key sourcing and procurement activities is essential for organisations looking to optimise their procurement function. By developing robust procurement strategies, organising procurement teams effectively, managing supplier spend and risk, leveraging technology, measuring performance, and building strong supplier relationships, businesses can enhance their procurement capabilities and drive long-term success.

Trace Consultants, with its extensive experience in procurement optimisation, offers tailored solutions that help organisations excel in these key areas. Whether your organisation is looking to refine its procurement strategy, improve supplier management, or implement cutting-edge procurement technologies, Trace Consultants can provide the expertise and support needed to achieve procurement excellence.

For more information on how Trace Consultants can assist your organisation in optimising its procurement activities, reach out to their team of experts today.

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Harnessing the Power of AI in Australian Supply Chains and Procurement: An In-depth Look at Service Levels, Working Capital Efficiency, and Cost Reductions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of revolutionary changes across sectors and industries. Particularly in supply chains and procurement, AI is playing a pivotal role in streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and reducing costs. Let's delve deeper into how AI influences forecasting, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), spend optimisation, labour productivity, and transport optimisation, transforming the Australian business landscape.

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AI: A Game Changer in Forecasting and S&OP

AI has made strides in the domain of forecasting and S&OP. By deploying machine learning algorithms, companies can analyse patterns in historical data and current market trends, making demand predictions with unprecedented accuracy. This enables organisations to streamline their production and distribution strategies, effectively reducing waste and improving service levels.

A case in point is Coca-Cola Amatil, one of the largest bottlers and distributors in Asia-Pacific. The company uses AI to refine their demand forecasting process. By analysing numerous data points including past sales data, market trends, and seasonal factors, their AI-driven model predicts sales demand with a significantly higher degree of accuracy. This has led to a 5% decrease in forecasting error, reducing inventory costs and improving service levels by ensuring products are readily available to meet consumer demand.

Optimising Spend with AI

AI has proven invaluable in optimising procurement spend. It provides procurement teams with the ability to dissect and analyse vast volumes of data, identifying cost-saving opportunities and facilitating strategic decision-making.

Consider the example of BHP, Australia's mining giant. BHP implemented AI algorithms to dissect and analyse their procurement data. The AI model processes vast data sets, revealing patterns and anomalies, identifying overpriced items, and suggesting cost-saving opportunities. The implementation of this AI solution has led to significant cost savings, while also enabling BHP to build more strategic relationships with suppliers.

Enhancing Labour Productivity with AI

Through the use of AI, businesses can significantly improve labour productivity. Predictive analytics enables businesses to forecast labour demand accurately, ensuring optimal staff allocation, reducing overhead costs, and enhancing productivity.

Woolworths, one of Australia's leading retailers, provides a stellar example of this application. Woolworths implemented an AI-driven workforce management tool to optimise employee scheduling across its stores. The system uses AI to forecast customer footfall, allowing the company to align staff allocation with customer demand effectively. This initiative led to a significant 20% reduction in labour costs, demonstrating the profound impact AI can have on operational efficiency.

AI: The Key to Transport Optimisation

AI has been instrumental in optimising transport routes and enhancing delivery efficiency. Through machine learning, AI can process and analyse large data sets encompassing traffic patterns, weather conditions, and vehicle capacity to suggest the most efficient transport routes.

Australian logistics company, Toll Group, stands as an exemplar of this application. They employ AI technology to optimise delivery routes. This system processes real-time traffic data, vehicle capacity, and delivery windows to generate the most efficient route plan. The outcome is reduced fuel consumption, shorter delivery times, and improved customer satisfaction, marking a significant reduction in transport costs.

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Transformative Power of AI in Australian Supply Chains and Procurement

The transformative power of AI in supply chains and procurement is evident. As demonstrated by Coca-Cola Amatil, BHP, Woolworths, and Toll Group, AI's applications are diverse and impactful. By leveraging AI in forecasting, S&OP, spend optimisation, labour productivity, and transport optimisation, these companies have experienced enhanced service levels, improved working capital efficiency, and significant cost reductions.

Artificial Intelligence has moved beyond the realm of buzzwords and theoretical discussions. It is an active participant in the evolution of supply chains and procurement functions, facilitating a future that is more efficient, more cost-effective, and more innovative. For the Australian business landscape, the adoption and integration of AI signal a promising and transformative journey towards this future.

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Contact us today, trace. your supply chain consulting partner.