Challenge
A Fortune 500 manufacturing company had experienced a high demand for facility expansions, renovations, acquisitions, and divestitures, due in part, to increased merger and acquisition activity. The high growth in the number and complexity of real estate transactions occurred without the support of formal processes and procedures to guide the transactions. The company did not have a dedicated internal team to provide management oversight of real estate projects; therefore, multiple internal departments and third party firms were utilized for facilities planning and management. Real estate industry knowledge and skill sets had been historically absent from these transactions. Allegro was engaged to improve the real estate management process and to establish global protocols for real estate transaction management and planning activities.
Solution
Allegro reviewed the client’s historical real estate projects and interviewed employees who were involved with real estate transactions to develop a current assessment of existing procedures. Allegro interviewed real estate directors and conducted research to identify best practices for process, organizational, and technology improvements.
Allegro compared the client’s strengths and gaps to external trends and benchmarking. Allegro then designed and developed new processes to bridge the gaps by creating maps which delineated steps to successfully execute transactions and the responsibilities of critical departments associated with each step. Allegro also created transaction templates to accompany the steps, presented models for insourcing and outsourcing key functions, and created a matrix to map technology needs against existing market solutions.
Allegro collaborated with client personnel throughout the project and periodically presented findings and solicited feedback, ensuring that the recommendations were based upon realistic processes and were supported by the people who would ultimately be implementing the recommendations. Allegro submitted eleven initiatives which equipped the client with clearly delineated processes to proactively manage their real estate portfolio and successfully execute all real estate transactions. The client has since successfully implemented several of these initiatives.
