As many offices begin to reopen, there are a myriad of changes that are set to come about. The expansion of the hybrid workforce across the country is slowly becoming a new normal, and with this, adjustments to traditional budgets must be made. For large-scale facilities and college campuses, annual budgets are shifting to focus on technology, streamlined workflows, and safety for their employees or students. At SCLogic, we’ve spent over two decades perfecting a configurable in-building logistics solution to alleviate your team’s unique pain points and create an innovative, safe, and lucrative environment. Here, our service and campus management software experts at SCLogic provide tips on how you can begin budgeting for your next in-building logistics update, and how our software, Intra, is one of the most worthwhile investments you can make.

Identify Gaps and Oversights in Your Current Daily Workflows

Before you’re able to understand just what you need from a facilities management platform, you should identify current gaps in your daily workflows. Now, these gaps will vary by industry, depending on variables including your percentage of client or customer-facing work, package intake, company size, and more. If you’re curious about where to start with this process, consider establishing a list of relevant KPIs, or key performance indicators, for your team. For example, central receiving managers may have KPIs including downtime per package and average time to deliver, whereas office managers would have KPIs related to workspace scheduling or visitor tracking.  These KPIs can be tracked throughout designated time increments, such as quarterly, semi-annually, or annually depending on the size of the goal. Try monitoring most of your daily workflows, and see what tasks take a significant amount of time to complete, often lead to disorganization, or result in negative customer or client feedback.

This can be difficult if you are working with manual data collection or outdated software and may seem like a burden at first. However, determining these gaps early on will help ensure that when you begin to budget for a modern in-building logistics software such as Intra, you’re aware of exactly what your most prevalent needs are. One primary concern of your team or your superiors is the upfront investment that facilities management software often requires. While purchasing an innovative system requires budget considerations, the time and effort saved after implementation will surpass initial costs quickly. Not only does monitoring KPIs help you gain a better understanding of how efficiently your team is working daily but allows you to bring these concerns to your superiors as reasoning for a new software platform.

Discover Areas in Which Budget Usage is Outdated

After identifying gaps in your current workflows that take up excessive time, you can discuss with your team which current processes, products, or services are eating away at your budget. Often, departments will implement certain programs or services, and because employee adoption and retention may differ within your team, you are less likely to change or update your programs in the future. However, many of these programs or services may not update frequently, if at all, leaving your team to pay exorbitant fees for software that does not fit with the growing needs of your company or campus. Not only does overpriced, outdated software hurt the efficiency of your team, it can also pose some serious security threats. Your IoT-enabled devices and intelligent tools become more vulnerable to hacking over time, software crashes become more likely as additional files are added, and ultimately, important company or university records and personal information could be leaked, potentially leading to legal trouble if not handled proactively. Additionally, consider any other subscription-based programs, or products that have accrued substantial maintenance costs, and see how you can request budget adjustments for the coming fiscal year. This will make your transition to a modern software platform such as Intra seem less daunting financially, as you will be cutting down costs in other areas of your business.

Do Thorough Research & Bring Data to Stakeholders

The last step before taking the leap into implementing a new in-building logistics software is to bring data and benefits to stakeholders. Generally, when dealing with larger investments such as new facilities management software, your team will not be the only ones deciding whether this investment is worthwhile. Ultimately, it is your job to do research prior to show other departments and superiors just how much of an impact this change would have on your daily workflows. There are many in-building logistics platforms on the market but finding the perfect one for your business can easily feel overwhelming. So, what makes SCLogic different than others on the market? Ask our current customers and you’ll receive a variety of answers, but simply put, our customer relationships, innovative mindset, and prioritization of user-experience sets us apart from the rest. When you choose SCLogic, you’re not just getting a quick install and little follow-up, you’re getting a team of qualified, knowledgeable, and passionate individuals who will work with you throughout the entirety of your time with us. You’re getting a team of innovative thinkers, developers, and tech experts who are constantly working to improve your user-experience. You’re getting a company that makes it our mission to seek out solutions for your specific facilities workflow issues, and that is just the beginning.

See How SCLogic Can Help You Take the Next Step for Your Facility

Now that we’ve given you all these tips to start your in-building logistics investment, it’s time to put them into action. Now we know this is easier said than done, which is why we’re here to make that transition a little easier. If you’re interested in learning more about our facilities workflow platform, Intra, email [email protected] so that we can provide datasheets, benefit lists, and more for your facility’s unique needs and answer any questions. If you’re passionate about moving forward and are ready to take the next steps with our team, schedule a demo with one of our team members today! We look forward to hearing from you, and we can’t wait to watch your facility flourish with the implementation of Intra.