20 JULY 2019
In FMJ's regular monthly column, our team of FM experts answer your
questions about the world of facilities management
THE SMART TECHNOLOGY INNOVATOR’S VIEW
JASON MOHR, FOUNDER AND MD OF ANYJUNK
I really don’t think it is a
question of ‘if’, but ‘when’
an Uber style company
emerges in the FM reactive
services space. Although, to
be clear, I am not referring
to a gig economy platform.
But a company similar in
nature to AnyJunk that
uses App based technology
to partner with a national
network of overlapping
local service businesses.
There are more than
enough local businesses
capable of providing services to a perfectly acceptable
standard – they just need the technology and
processes to leverage that resource to deliver an
e‹ ective nationwide solution.
The commercial attractions of such a
business model are compelling. Super flexible
capacity for a fraction of the overhead and
managerial headache that a traditional
in-house team requires. Plus, the ability
to o‹ er customers a faster, more reliable
service without the need to charge a premium.
Combine this with a properly digitalised and
lean operational infrastructure, and costs to serve
the customer will actually fall. As a business owner,
what’s not to love?
Equally, for the underlying local service providers – surely
they would also embrace such a platform? Extra work (ož en
from large underlying corporate
accounts they would not
normally get a chance to serve)
on their doorstep that they can
pick and choose from depending
on their other jobs and available
resource for that day. In other
words the perfect client!
For customers – they receive a better
service (faster response and improved
reliability) without any premium. And, as
the platform business scales and jobs per miles
and resource optimisation improve, prices should
actually fall.
Last but not least, from a sustainability perspective – by taking
national in-house fleets o‹ the road and connecting work to
the nearest local service provider, the model reduces carbon
emissions and congestion. In addition, it channels local spend
back into local communities.
So, given these obvious advantages, why hasn’t it happened?
First is the technology – it costs money, takes time to build,
and you need people who understand how to build and use
it. Second is the need to have enough customer demand from
day one to attract and engage a national network of service
providers. Personally, I cannot see a start-up making much
headway because they will struggle to attract commercial
customers without a track record, and engaging suppliers
without customers is practically impossible. The obvious
source therefore is an existing player, with the client base and
financial strength to make it happen and the bravery to reinvent
their business model before one of their competitors does.
But digital transformation is scary, there are a lot of internal
politics to overcome, and speed of execution is a challenge
with a large corporate. Nonetheless, as more and
more sectors migrate to platform models, the
strategic rationale will become more obvious,
risk perception will reduce, and someone is
bound to make the move.
THE PROPERTY SERVICES
PROVIDER’S VIEW
STEVE MCGREGOR, GROUP MD,
DMA GROUP
Yes and no. Yes, using the latest smart
technology – and, more importantly, using
it well – will revolutionise the way the FM
profession manage reactive services. But, no,
we’re not convinced that a purely replicated Uber
model would work. Unlike Uber, the FM journey is much
more complex than getting from A to B. It rarely takes a direct
FM CLINIC
Could using the latest
smart technology to o
er
an Uber-style response
service revolutionise
the way the FM industry
manages reactive services?
Do you agree that service
capabilities and costs would
be transformed if FM services
suppliers completely digitalised
their processes and created their own
Uber-style network of overlapping local
service providers? How will this a
ect them and the
organisations they support?
Jason Mohr
ADVICE & OPINION
The commercial
attractions of such a business
model are compelling. Super
flexible capacity for a fraction of
the overhead and managerial
headache that a traditional
in-house team requires.”
– Jason Mohr