Nickleby – Facilities Management

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms

Applicable Industries

Retail

Applicable Functions

Facility Management
Business Operation

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance

Services

System Integration
Training

The Challenge

Nickleby, a leading facilities management company in the UK and Ireland, faced the challenge of managing a large, distributed workforce of remote engineers, many of whom are independent contractors. The company needed to ensure high standards of service across a customer's entire property portfolio, which required detailed monitoring of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The existing Business Objects platform was not flexible enough to meet the dynamic data analysis needs of Nickleby and its customers, leading to the decision to seek a more adaptable Business Intelligence (BI) solution.

About The Customer

Nickleby is a prominent facilities management company in the UK and Ireland, known for its blue-chip client base, which includes well-known retailers and commercial enterprises such as Poundland and Fitness First. The company prides itself on effectively managing its contractor and customer base, ensuring high standards of service across large estates. Nickleby recruits specialist contractors across the UK and Ireland, enabling it to provide seamless quality of service across a customer's entire property portfolio. The company's success is attributed to its rigorous monitoring of customer SLAs and KPIs, ensuring that customer requirements are consistently met or exceeded.

The Solution

To address the challenge of detailed KPI monitoring and dynamic data analysis, Nickleby developed an in-house software suite called Emergense. This system records every aspect of a job, from the initial alert raised by the customer site to each stage of the job's completion. Emergense allows contractors to log details of their attendance, work carried out, and materials used, which are then validated before processing. This comprehensive data collection helps Nickleby build a databank of job types, typical times, and costs, aiding customers in budgeting for repairs and managing costs effectively. In mid-2009, Nickleby decided to implement MicroStrategy as its new BI platform, replacing Business Objects. The implementation process was smooth, with initial consultancy from MicroStrategy helping to build a basic system for demonstration to customers. The rollout across the company was managed internally, with one person undergoing extensive training to maintain best practices. MicroStrategy's dynamic dashboards and drill-down capabilities provided significant competitive advantages, enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Operational Impact

Nickleby's Emergense system provides comprehensive data collection, enabling detailed monitoring of job types, typical times, and costs.
The implementation of MicroStrategy has allowed Nickleby to offer dynamic dashboards and drill-down capabilities, enhancing customer satisfaction.
Customers can now build their own reports and develop sophisticated analyses of Nickleby's performance, leading to better management information and reduced operational costs.