Facilities management company Kiwi FM has revolutionised its operations through the deployment of an advanced job management system from BigChange.
Specialising in the quick service restaurant (QSR), hospitality, education, and retail sectors, Kiwi FM offers a comprehensive range of reactive, planned, and compliance commercial building services. Since adopting the 6-in-1 solution, which seamlessly integrates back-office management processes with field operatives via mobile devices, Kiwi FM has doubled its operational workforce, expanded its geographical coverage and increased the number of customer sites it maintains by 50 percent.
Kiwi FM first implemented BigChange in early 2020 consolidating its planning, reporting, and financial processes into a single system. BigChange rapidly reduced back-office administration and enhanced customer reporting, resulting in a 20 percent increase in engineer productivity and improved cash flow.
“Following the challenging period of introducing new workflows and management processes during the lockdown, we quickly observed substantial impacts on the business,” remarked Dan Jowett, Managing Director of Yorkshire-based Kiwi FM, a subsidiary of the Kiwi Group of companies. “We were able to achieve more with the same resources, and our customer service performance significantly improved.
“However, this initial phase of success transitioned into a more sustained period of growth,” he continued. “That was when we began to realise the full potential of BigChange. While BigChange continues to positively influence our day-to-day operations, it also enables us to capture and analyse data crucial for making informed decisions that ensure our sustainable growth for years to come.”
Utilising the BigChange job management system, which incorporates a mobile workforce app, customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, financial management, and business intelligence tools in one integrated platform, Kiwi FM has doubled the size of its mobile workforce with only a minimal increase in its back-office team.
Originally operating along the M62 corridor connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Kiwi FM has also expanded its geographical coverage to service client sites in Newcastle, Birmingham, and Cambridge. Furthermore, BigChange has facilitated Kiwi FM’s transition from a regional provider in Yorkshire and Lancashire to a national provider, in collaboration with Nserv, thereby establishing a strong presence in the southern region. In addition to its staff, Kiwi FM also maintains a robust framework of specialist subcontractors strategically located across different geographical areas.
“BigChange provides us with 24/7 visibility of the entire operation,” added Andrew Durdey, Head of Operations at Kiwi FM. “We can plan routine maintenance and inspections up to a year in advance and respond with the appropriate resources when our customers need us. BigChange also equips us with the tools necessary to capture and share on-site information between the office, our engineers, and our clients.
“This not only enhances productivity but also ensures we deliver exceptional service, consistently meeting our SLAs and KPIs, thereby supporting our clients in their compliance reporting and certification requirements. BigChange has been crucial in driving consistent data analysis and operational and financial targets, ensuring that Kiwi FM continually improves and meets its strategic objectives.”
A key strength of Kiwi FM is its rapid response capability, offering a 4-hour rapid response service with a 99.9% success rate and an average attendance time of 2 hours and 25 minutes. This exceptional service standard has solidified Kiwi FM’s reputation for reliability and efficiency.
The business intelligence tools within BigChange, including job management, driver and vehicle monitoring, stock control, and financial reporting, are instrumental in helping Kiwi FM make informed decisions for sustainable business growth. Leveraging BigChange, Kiwi FM strategically shifted its focus to the quick service restaurant (QSR) trade, phasing out its involvement in social housing, and successfully expanding its customer base to fill the gap. The system has also facilitated the company’s recruitment strategy, enabling the hiring of engineers in new regions rather than relying on subcontractors or relocating existing staff to meet demand.
“BigChange offers us an all-in-one system to analyse data and monitor costs, productivity, and efficiencies, enabling us to deliver value for money to our clients,” Jowett concluded. “BigChange has enabled us to scrutinise procedures and processes throughout the business, positioning us for the next stages of growth. It assists us in finding the right solutions to significant challenges, allowing us to make confident decisions based on past performance and future projections.”
About BigChange
Launched in 2013 and based in Leeds, UK, BigChange is a leading Field Service Management Software Provider trusted by more than 2,150 field-based organisations around the world. BigChange employs over 220 people and is recognised as an outstanding employer with a 2 Star Accreditation from Best Companies.
In 2020 BigChange was awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, one of the highest business honours in the UK awarded for the company’s contribution to international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity. The company has also featured in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and was named in the 2018 Deloitte Technology Fast 50.
BigChange is the complete Job Management system that’s helping field service businesses across the UK to win more work, take control of their operations and deliver winning customer experiences. Bringing customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, job finance, business intelligence into one simple to use and easy to integrate system, BigChange liberates customers from inefficient paper-based processes and the complexity of multiple different technology systems that hold their businesses back.
