Dominium Management Services, headquartered in Plymouth, MN, manages 197 properties and 21,875 units across 19 states in the Midwest and the South. Their portfolio includes conventional, affordable, and senior housing. To create operational efficiencies and provide better service to prospects and residents, Dominium engaged several call answering, call management, and call tracking vendors for about 55 properties. However, they were always looking for opportunities to reduce costs and improve service. Early this year, Dominium decided to test Property Solutions’ Leasing Center service. The goal was to ensure no lead opportunity was lost due to missed calls or poor service. They aimed to keep service levels high and offer every caller the information they needed on the first call. Dominium also set up metrics to evaluate costs per lead and cost per appointment compared to their existing services.

Multifamily professionals deal with an array of operations, many of which involve back-end work that residents never see. In a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, Westover was constantly seeking to keep pace with technological advances by updating their software, only to repeatedly encounter additional fees for changes that rarely provided the growth opportunity the company sought. A number of problems came to light after an employee stole money from a property as a direct result of inadequate security settings in the property management software. When Westover requested a fix to the problem, waited nearly a year for resolution, and found themselves having to threaten litigation, the company decided to pivot the property management operations at Westover.

With more and more ways for prospects to interact with apartment communities, the demands on leasing agents are more taxing than ever. After noticing increased numbers in both call and tour volumes, Landmark Apartment Trust conducted an informal study and found that their teams were missing a significant amount of calls due to time committed to touring prospects and assisting residents. As a company, they knew they could not afford to keep missing out on calls from prospective renters, so they started to look at the possibility of utilizing a call center service. Landmark researched a number of options and decided to test Property Solutions’ Leasing Center beginning in early 2014.

Depending on the number of times they post, an on-site associate can spend several hours each day posting apartment ads on Craigslist. That’s a significant amount of time, much of which could be put to use on other revenue-generating activities, such as following up on leads. But the real tragedy is when Craigslist “ghosts” those ads based on an algorithm designed to prevent fraudulent ads and spam. When an ad is ghosted on Craigslist, it is visible to the poster but invisible to everybody else who visits the site.

As the nation’s largest multifamily developer and seventh largest apartment manager, Alliance Residential Company understood that using paper guest cards to manage leads was something of an antiquated concept. With no streamlined structure in place, leasing agents were following up on leads with wide-ranging tactics and varying results – and often only following up on hot leads. Tracking the results became somewhat subjective as well. Alliance recognized the challenges and sought a more efficient solution.

In 2015, Lincoln Property Company aimed to eliminate its reliance on physical leasing binders and rent drop boxes. Despite already utilizing several of Entrata’s paperless solutions, achieving a fully paperless operation across its 750+ properties in 28 states was a significant challenge. The launch of the Entrata Paperless Program provided Lincoln with the necessary marketing materials and training to promote paperless adoption across its portfolio.

When Meghan Hill joined Guardian Real Estate Services as director of marketing in 2010, only 15 of the company’s more than 200 communities had websites. Without websites, it was difficult to manage the marketing system, which was primarily conducted at the community level. Hill didn’t have website traffic metrics, efficient control over the existing website marketing message or reliable Internet lead data. Additionally, associates at the 15 communities with websites in place had to input lead data manually because the websites didn’t integrate with Guardian’s property management system. In addition, demand for a more sophisticated resident experience was growing as other apartment communities began offering conveniences such as online rent payments and service requests. Guardian wanted to meet that demand and ensure robust integrations with its property management system.

Handling the high-pressure, competitive sales environment that student housing faces every year is a daunting task, even for an experienced property management company. Rapid turnover and the opportunities created by advances in technology prompted Cardinal Group to seek an offering that would not only improve their overall leasing processes, but innovate their practices. Cardinal Group focused on applying Property Solutions’ leasing technology to handle the high-pressure, competitive sales environment in student housing.

Resident accidents can result in thousands of dollars worth of damage that will affect them and their credit. However, 90 percent of residents neglect to purchase renters insurance when moving into a new apartment, even though 84 percent of management companies require insurance. This may be because such coverage is seen as an unnecessary expense or simply because residents forget about securing coverage. Bryce Abplanalp, Chief Operations Officer at Pierpont Management, believes there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the importance of renter’s insurance among residents. Recently, three different Pierpont properties experienced incidents causing significant damage to units. A meth unit in one community caused approximately $12,000 worth of damage. In another community, a broken washing machine flooded several units, resulting in $7,000 worth of repairs. Finally, a resident-caused fire at a third property sparked damages totaling up to $25,000. Adding to the burden of these repair costs was Pierpont’s property deductible. In order to receive any money for damages, they had to meet an annual $50,000 deductible per property. In any situation, $50,000 is a substantial sum, but for small to medium-sized property management groups, sunken costs from the deductible and damaged units can leave a serious financial dent. And seeking legal action on former residents can prove to be a fruitless effort. Rather than file a lawsuit against residents who wouldn’t be able to afford the $25,000 bill, Pierpont decided to absorb the costs and find a different solution.

Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed specialist residential landlord and property management company, faced a significant challenge in managing their first purpose-designed build-to-rent property, Abbeville Apartments, in Barking, East London. The company needed a robust system to handle the 'sales' process of finding, processing, and installing new tenants into the property. Their existing structures were not sufficient to track applicants or prospective tenants efficiently, leading to manual processes that were prone to errors, time-consuming, and demotivating for staff. Grainger required a solution that could integrate seamlessly with their existing Qube PM application to streamline these processes and support their rapid expansion into the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

Before implementing the Qube Global Software solution in 2012, HSS Hire did not have an existing property management system in place. Instead, estate information had been kept in different spreadsheets and files, leading to multiple versions of the truth. With multiple new branches opening every year, HSS Hire needed to implement a property management system to accommodate company growth.

Hammerson, a leading pan-European real estate investor, faced significant challenges in managing its extensive portfolio of retail properties. The company needed to attract the right mix of retailers and brands, which required detailed scrutiny of sales numbers and quick identification of tenants' financial difficulties. Additionally, Hammerson had to meet increasing retailer expectations regarding cleaning, security, lighting, and other services. The existing property management system was fragmented, with billing and income gathering outsourced to various property agents using disparate systems. This led to duplication of effort, delays in receiving accurate information, and a lack of visibility and control over managing agents' activities, particularly in service charge expenditure, billings, and collections. The situation resulted in service charge cash flow issues and the need for landlord floats at short notice. Hammerson's strategy shifted to owning and managing retail properties long-term, necessitating a closer relationship with retailers to meet changing consumer demands and provide compelling shopping experiences.

In 2015, Osborne King merged with Ardmore Commercial, consolidating two of the longest-established, independent businesses in Northern Ireland. The merger aimed to achieve greater efficiencies and share best practices. Both companies were already using Qube PM, which facilitated a smooth transition to a single system. The real estate market is fast-changing, requiring a flexible and adaptable system to manage operations effectively. Osborne King needed a sophisticated software solution to handle accounting operations and other business processes efficiently.

Inspired Property Management was established in 2009 with three directors and one member of staff. As a new agency, the company didn’t have a property management software solution in place. Instead, the team were relying on a basic accounting system on an Excel platform, and raising demands manually via Word. This was not only time consuming for staff, but also meant it was difficult to scale the business at the required rate. Inspired Property Management wanted a fully integrated property management system that improved the process of raising demands. One of the directors had used Qube PM at their previous company and highly recommended the solution. As a result, they invited Qube Global Software in to demonstrate. Whilst Qube PM was a significant upfront cost, we never thought twice about making that leap. The potential to expand the business using the software was huge.

As part of their Conservation Programme, a strategic review of IT provision, National Trust needed a system that would allow the various business units within the organisation to adopt common policies relating to property management and obtain the information relevant to them, regardless of location. The system also needed to provide National Trust with a complete overview of its portfolio and the facility to produce comprehensive and understandable reports. A key requirement for National Trust was to permit access to their portfolio from a spatial perspective using the latest technical innovations. Integration of Horizon with a spatial database and other spatial systems will allow ‘smart searches’ to be performed – for example, how many properties are within a 50 miles radius of Bristol? ‘‘The main challenge was to find a system that could be adapted to meet National Trust’s unique requirements’’ commented the Conservation Information Programme Manager at The National Trust, ‘‘We needed a supplier who not only had the property and financial expertise required for this project, but one that was willing to work with us to achieve our goals’’.

Delivering a high level of service means having the right support systems – that’s why four years ago JAI decided to invest in software and technology to help the business even better serve its customers. The company has always been extremely ambitious and it realised that this investment would help it achieve further success and take the business to the next level. For Corin Jenkins, Head of Property Management at JAI, the choice was clear. Corin had known of Qube from past roles due to its strong reputation in the market, which meant it was therefore on the initial shortlist of solutions for consideration. Crucially, the company required a system that had all of the right functionality from the outset. Corin explains: “Qube not only brings together property management and accounting functions, it’s also a superb business process management tool. Qube offered an unrivalled set of features that would really cement and enhance our processes.” These points were key drivers in the selection of the software and continue to bring extensive and significant benefits to JAI.

NaviNet Inc., America's largest real-time healthcare communications network, faced the challenge of transforming its website from a brochure-ware approach to a robust lead-nurturing site. The primary goals were to increase conversion rates on landing pages, boost click-throughs from the home page, and reduce confusion between existing users and new prospects. Additionally, NaviNet needed to time the new site's launch with the release of its flagship platform, NaviNet Open.

The U.S. Federal Government spends an estimated $80 billion a year on information technology, the vast majority of it for maintaining legacy systems. Tony Scott, the government’s top Chief Information Officer, has identified a need to shift investments towards modern systems that emphasize user experience. The White House also is committed to creating new digital avenues for citizens to interact with federal agencies and improving accessibility to existing systems. For contractors and federal agencies alike, there is an opportunity to create user-centric software systems that deliver significant savings in development, training, maintenance and reduction in errors that cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year. The opportunity to reshape federal IT systems comes with challenges unique to the federal space. Because government systems are complex and interdependent, each project must be precisely scoped so as to not interfere with other projects. As a result, federal projects rely heavily on comprehensive analysis of business processes. Security is also a major concern for federal clients, many of whom prefer downloaded software tools such as Axure, rather than Web-based tools, which are perceived to be less secure. Finally, any work on federal systems must comply with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, which ensures that federal systems be accessible to people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.

NaviNet Inc., America's largest real-time healthcare communications network, needed to transform its website from a brochure-ware approach to a robust lead-nurturing site. The primary goals were to increase conversion rates on landing pages, boost click-throughs from the home page, and reduce confusion between existing users and new prospects. Additionally, the new site launch had to coincide with the release of NaviNet's flagship platform and value-based applications suite, NaviNet Open.

Lean UX methods, although agile and flexible, can run counter to organizational principles needed to operate large organizations. For example, Lean UX relies on rapid learning through experimentation, but CarMax’s success partly depends on precise implementation of procedures to ensure a uniformly high-quality customer service experience across its 155 stores. CarMax needed to introduce Lean UX in a way that would not conflict with its existing culture, while still taking full advantage of the speed and adaptability of working lean.

National Grid tapped Keytree to rebuild its customer support system on an SAP platform. The legacy system was fraught with issues. Customer complaints took 40 minutes to log, and there was no way to automatically schedule follow-ups or time-stamp activities. Keytree needed to create a new front-end system that was not only easier and faster to use, but also allowed the company to track resolutions, response times, and other data required by government regulations. And they had four months to do so.

Deliveroo faced several challenges in their quest to become the world's best delivery service. They needed to maintain an entrepreneurial and energetic spirit throughout their team, which required tools that allowed for autonomous movement. Additionally, they needed to accelerate feedback loops and reduce the time taken to share work. These challenges were critical as they aimed to support restaurant growth, provide flexible and secure work for riders, and offer a platform for discovering new cuisines.

Feonix - Mobility Rising faced significant challenges in providing transportation services to rural communities. These areas had large service areas with diverse ridership needs and limited mobility resources, such as vehicles, drivers, and hours of operation. Additionally, there was a huge disparity in the number of cancelled rides between rural and urban areas. The organization needed a solution to reduce mobility gaps and provide available, on-demand services to these underserved communities.

The Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) faced a significant challenge in providing reliable and affordable transportation for participants in their Supported Training Education Program (STEP). The lack of direct public transportation between Lowell and Devens, a distance of 30 miles, created a barrier for many participants. The commute could take over two hours one way, making it difficult for employees to work long hours and affecting employee retention. This situation necessitated a solution that could offer efficient and reliable transportation to support the employment and training needs of the community.

Neste, a Finnish oil and gas company, faced significant challenges in managing its complex supplier network and logistics processes. With over 5,000 employees and various business units, the company struggled to maintain transparency and efficiency in its operations. The procurement process, though simple within the company, became complicated due to the diverse sources of additional feedstock. The company's rapid growth, especially in renewable diesel, further exacerbated these challenges. Neste aimed to enhance customer value by improving delivery capabilities, which required a deep understanding of cross-functional process chains and better coordination among departments. The company needed to overcome these hurdles to achieve operational excellence and continuous process improvement.

Vodafone, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, faced significant inefficiencies in its massive purchasing operations. The company annually manages over 800,000 purchase orders, 5 million invoices, and 40 million assets, resulting in more than 10 terabytes of data stored across various systems. The challenge was to quickly identify and eliminate inefficiencies and deviations in the procurement process that were driving up costs and delivery times. Vodafone needed a solution that could provide real-time big data analytics with 100% transparency to all users, ensuring 'one version of the truth.' The goal was to streamline the source-to-pay process, improve regulatory compliance, and enhance process automation.

To get insights into the visitor’s web journey on its company websites and online shops, Philips has always used best-in-class digital analytics solutions. Besides other tools, web analytics has been what Philips mainly relied on to study online performance. It provides Philips with very detailed data on everything happening on the Philips websites. And yet, the company was searching for an additional solution, which was able to show a customer journey-oriented view on this data and perfectly complement the existing analytics solution. The objective that Philips pursued by adding a new data analytics solution was clear: The company intended to fully understand customer behavior, continuously adapt its marketing strategies to the wishes of the customer, improve the self-service experience of the users on the websites, and finally boost web orders by improving lead conversion. Philips wished for a solution that opens up new views on the customers’ behaviors and allows easy interpretation of what is actually happening. To be able to compare the effectiveness of customer journeys and to proactively identify new improvements. Philips’ search is driven by its internal marketing strategy: “Becoming a customer-obsessed, data-fueled winner in the global landscape.”

Lufthansa CityLine aimed to enhance customer satisfaction by improving flight punctuality and increasing available boarding time. The challenge was to integrate a continuous improvement process that could digitize lean methodologies and provide an agile way of working. The goal was to automate the comparison between reference and real processes to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Additionally, the company wanted to implement a walkboarding process where passengers could walk to the aircraft at ground level, reducing the walking distance and starting from two positions.

RB faced the challenge of harmonizing and optimizing multiple processes across its global operations. The company needed to improve process transparency, root cause analysis, and end-user experience. Additionally, RB aimed to enhance its process and control environment through real-time continuous monitoring and to simplify and automate processes to focus on value-added activities.

Zalando faced challenges in optimizing their procurement processes, which included issues like maverick ordering and deviations from standard procedures. The company needed a solution to streamline these processes, reduce operational tasks, and improve overall efficiency. Additionally, they aimed to enhance supplier analytics to better understand supplier billing behavior and payment terms, ultimately improving working capital management.