Services companies whose consultants work on projects remotely could lose thousands of rands a day through "creative timekeeping", dead time and administration, but this need not be so, says New Era Solutions MD Scott McKenzie.
McKenzie says the services industry is experiencing a lot of pressure to cut costs, particularly as the environment becomes more competitive.
One major cost factor lies in having a number of consultants working remotely on a project. Resources are often wasted when consultants have to return to the office to capture time logs. Managing a consultant team also proves difficult, with some consultants being overworked while others are "on the bench".
The solution, says McKenzie, lies in enterprise services automation with mobility built in as a key function, with the solution working in a wireless environment. The group is planning to launch such a solution as part of the Epicor stable.
"By being mobile you can keep your resources in the field where they belong, instead of them being in the office capturing time logs," he says. This cuts down on non-billable time.
Consultants in remote areas are able to capture time on a daily basis, avoiding the problem of creative timekeeping.
The system also allows management to see where there are lulls and enables them to spread the workload.
Another important facet of enterprise services automation, McKenzie says, is the fact that it brings all of a company`s teams together into one stream.
Often the different teams - sales, operational and financial - exist as islands. This means that while sales people win a bid on certain criteria, when the time comes to engage it is evident that the costs involved are greater or the time taken will be longer than agreed.
Enterprise services automation avoids this, allowing for adequate planning and control.
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