To sustain their place in a fast-changing marketplace, FI Real Estate Management (FIREM) and its group of companies, have appointed Expansive to help with their digital transformation.
FIREM is one of the UK’s leading Real Estate Companies. For the last 40 years, they have managed over 15m sq ft of commercial and industrial property within a dynamic industry.
Offering a complete strategic service, FIREM also operates FI Facilities Management (FIFM), which provides excellent working environments for occupants, and FI Construction (FIC) which delivers new build industrial and commercial projects.
FI Real Estate Management (FIREM) and its group of companies have ambitious business transformation plans to become more efficient, effective, and customer-focused through digital. They aim to optimise supply chains and maintenance processes, cutting waste, improving customer service and driving new investment.
FI needed support for digital FM transformation
Craig Yule, Head of Facilities Management at FIREM and FIFM takes up the story:
Until now FIREM has not had a single FM help desk. Engineers managed workloads and reported in different ways across the country. We had a whole array of properties reporting directly to a facilities manager and then a regional facilities manager. But there was no central control or oversight. There was no data.”
Craig wanted to find an FM software that could rapidly organise workflow management and centralise reporting. Gathering the operational and financial data was a necessity for improving the way the business operates and reports. FIREM did their due diligence and reviewed and tested a number of software systems:
A lot of the systems we reviewed were too rigid and inflexible. Their platforms seemed outdated. But Expansive was easy to use and intuitive. Best of all, they’re highly agile and able to work with us to tailor their system to our needs.”
FIREM chooses Expansive CAFM to deliver change
FIREM has now appointed Expansive to supply a CAFM platform in a three-year deal, embarking on a mobilisation journey which promises to streamline their maintenance process, supply chain and strategic planning.
Craig continues:
In partnership with Expansive, we are creating a single help desk to improve the way required works are processed and assets are managed. All our asset and lifecycle repair data will be collected in one place for ease of reporting. With the integration of financial systems for invoicing and cost control - this system will allow us to be faster and more efficient,resulting in a smarter CapEx plan for the next five to 10 years.”
Expansive mobilises a strategic solution
As Josh Greibach, CEO and founder at Expansive explains:
From using QR codes for triggering work requests, to prioritising work orders automatically in the CAFM, we’re improving services for tenants and visibility for FIREM. Everything we plan will contribute to the digital transformation of the organisation as a whole. We are very excited to be part of that process.”
Future success lies in the CAFM partnership
And as Craig at FIREM notes, this is no easy task. It demands more than a transactional relationship with an FM software supplier. But the teams at FIREM and EFM are working together to define and implement solutions that will make a difference:
It's really important for us to work with a supplier that we trust and that understands our business"
