HOK Sport Venue Event, the world renowned architecture firm responsible for high profile projects such as ArsenalÝs Emirates Stadium, turned to Deltek for a fully integrated enterprise management solution to accommodate geographically diverse projects of all sizes.
HOK Sport Venue Event, the worldÝs leading public assembly design firm with offices on three continents, faced the unique challenge of managing some of the worldÝs largest and most high-profile design projects in multiple time zones. The firmÝs high-profile UK projects include Wimbledon – The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the new Emirates Stadium for Arsenal FC, Ascot Racecourse, and the design for the new Wembley Stadium.
To streamline its operations, HOK Sport Venue Event needed to integrate its core business functions. ýWe were feeling the effects of not having vital project information linked across service lines and offices,¯ said Bob Gillcrist, former HOK Sport Venue Event principal and now senior vice president at HOK Group. ýWe couldnÝt make timely and accurate business decisions because project management wasnÝt linked to marketing, accounting or resource management.¯
With offices in London; Brisbane and Kansas City, HOK Sport Venue EventÝs 350 employees utilised time-consuming and inefficient processes for sharing key client and project-related information. The three offices were not using the same systems, and up-to-date business data ± and access to it ± was limited. ýWe basically used spreadsheets to plan and manage our projects and staff,¯ Gillcrist continued. By the time HOK Sport Venue EventÝs end-of-month reports were completed, they were two weeks into the next month.
Recognising the need for a fully automated enterprise management solution that would help them take their operations to the next level, HOK Sport Venue Event began the search for a fully integrated, single solution that could streamline operations, allow worldwide Web-based access to the most up-to-date financial and project information, and accommodate geographically diverse projects of all sizes. In addition, HOK Sport Venue Event required one system that would enable them to monitor and manage all projects throughout their entire lifecycle, from winning new business to post-project analysis.
Realising the Vision
HOK Sport Venue Event purchased Deltek Vision, Web-based enterprise software that integrates end-to-end business processes for project-oriented firms of all sizes, in 2002, and completed their implementation in less than four months. Today the firm uses Vision to track hundreds of projects, valued at over $6 billion.
ýFrom small consulting service projects of a few thousand dollars to projects over $400 million, Deltek Vision enables us to efficiently manage multiple aspects of our projects,¯ Gillcrist said. ýVision integrates project management, resource planning, client relationship management and project and financial accounting tools so projects can be better tracked and controlled.¯
Information everywhere
Since choosing Deltek Vision, HOK Sport Venue Event has noted substantial improvements in efficiency across areas of the company. For example, with Web-based Vision, valuable client and project information is available all the time, enabling confident, ongoing decisions for the company whenever necessary.
In addition, HOK Sport Venue EventÝs end-of-month reports can be accomplished by a single person in three days. Before, this process required three people working for two weeks to gather and compile the data for analysis. ýAccounting for A/E firms is not standard accounting,¯ said Karen Luttrell, HOK Sport Venue Event accounting manager. ýDeltek solutions are very much designed around the way we do business, allowing us to do the things we need to do.¯
ýWe now have real-time access to opportunity and project costs, so we donÝt have to wait for monthly updates to make decisions,¯ said Debbie Frederiksen, HOK Sport Venue Event marketing manager. ýMore than 25 marketing users, including principals in the firm, make periodic updates to our opportunities information centre, so the information is always there to view and analyse.¯
ýOur reporting capabilities are greatly expanded now that we have the flexibility to generate, and share our own reports or use one of VisionÝs report templates. We are able to analyse the data in many ways as needs arise,¯ continued Luttrell. ýWe no longer have to request and wait for reports from the corporate office, which greatly reduces the time needed to process our business information and make decisions.¯
HOK Sport Venue Event executives credit their high end-user acceptance to Deltek VisionÝs intuitive interface. The entire implementation took less than four months and over 250 employees were trained on the Time Collection module in just two days. ýWe cycled employees through training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, and by Friday, we had closed out the timesheet period,¯ said Gillcrist. ýVery impressive.¯
For HOK, a Deltek accounting software client for more than 10 years, selecting Deltek Vision as their full enterprise management solution was clear: ýDeltek Vision allows us to manage our business at peak performance levels because it was clearly designed around the way we do business,¯ said Gillcrist. ýWeÝve been using Deltek products because Deltek works with us, listens to our needs and then designs solutions to address our challenges.¯
