Logicalis Streamlines Resource Management Process – From Start to Finish – with Kantata
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Logicalis, a global IT solutions provider, needed a tool that would take their resource management data out of spreadsheets and bring it to life. Adopting Kantata has enabled Logicalis to be confident that the resourcing decisions they make every day align with where their business is heading.
With the Kantata Professional Services Cloud, Logicalis has been able to:
- Complete the resource forecast in much less time ― down from 2-3 days to a few hours
- Surface hiring, training and recruiting needs earlier, so decisions are made proactively
- Finish the period close by the first of the month and then hand-off clean data for forecasting
Logicalis is a digital transformation enabler and cloud managed service provider, accelerating digital transformation across the globe. Logicalis’ lifestyle technology solutions are designed to deliver digital transformation to customers.
Challenge: Spreadsheet Overload, Inability to Forecast Accurately
Logicalis is a leading provider of global IT solutions and managed services focused on accelerating the digital transformation of its 10,000 customers. Logicalis designs and delivers lifecycle technology solutions to advance their customers along the digital transformation journey. When it was time to take a look at their own internal processes and position on the digital journey, they looked to Kantata for support.
Logicalis was managing resources ― from forecasting to billing ― in spreadsheets prior to adopting Kantata. According to Mike Downes, Resourcing Director, Logicalis UK, “Logicalis had a PSA but we didn’t use it as such. [Because of issues with] integration and data flows, it made it so we could only use it for timesheets and expense systems. Everything else was reported in spreadsheets.”
The team recognized the need to move away from this error-prone and time-consuming manual process ― they wanted to be able to quickly access resourcing data and be confident the information they were looking at was accurate and up-to-date. Mike reflects on the tipping-point: “We realized that some of our processes were going to have to change to enable us to work in a more streamlined way. This enabled us to adopt functionality out of the box without the need for customization.”
Having resource information disconnected across tons of spreadsheets made resource forecasting nearly impossible prior to Kantata. Mike recalls, “It would have taken me a month to do my demand forecast. So we just didn’t do it, it was based on gut feel.” Logicalis was ready for a solution that would increase the teams’ confidence in resourcing data ― so that every resource decision being made is informed, strategic and data-driven.”
“We now have a complete and accurate view of all engagements happening over the next six months. That means instead of relying on a combination of gut feel and spreadsheets, I can confidently put together the best teams for each engagement and press the button on the recruitment process much sooner.”
Resourcing Director, Logicalis UK
Solution: Kantata for Resource Management
Logicalis adopted the Kantata Professional Services Cloud to streamline the entire resource management process from beginning to end. Moving away from spreadsheets, the team was ready to have a tool that could support the entire resource management process ― from proposals, to staffing, time tracking, billing and invoicing and finally reporting. According to Mike, “Kantata does it out of the box, with all the functionality we need and it hasn’t even been six months. Every single person we have worked with so far in Kantata has been spectacular. Support from Kantata through this process has been second to none.
Accurate Resource Forecasts
With Kantata, Mike can build the resource forecast in significantly less time ― what previously took up to three days is now done in just a few hours. Mike can now easily access all resourcing data which makes the forecasting process a breeze. More importantly, Mike can be confident that his forecasts are accurate and that any decisions made based on the forecast are informed, strategic and have taken into account all variables.
“When we share the rolling three-month forecast across the business, people know they can trust it. Having confidence in the forecast means we can have conversations we wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Proactive Hiring Decisions
Before Kantata, Mike would learn what skills were in highest demand simply by keeping tabs on every proposal that came through. That made it difficult when having conversations with upper management about training or hiring needs. Today, Mike can clearly see where there may be resourcing gaps and can be confident that the data is accurate and reflective of the future state of the company. When hiring is the best option, he can confidently propose it to upper management with the data to back it up.
“I can go to my financial director and show them all the upcoming demand in Kantata and start the conversation that we need to begin hiring. To be able to confidently stand there in front of the practice heads and speak about our demand is a great place to be. A year ago, I wouldn’t have even had the conversation.”
360° View of Demand
Kantata is Mike’s one-stop-shop for any and all resource data, including but not limited to: resource type cost, skill, grade, budgets, utilization, hours and location. He leverages My Demand View to place generic resources onto projects that do not have a team firmed up so he can then easily see all the projects, in one place, that require staffing. He no longer has to search through numerous spreadsheets to find the right bit of information.
“My Demand View in Kantata allows me to place generic resources into proposals and provides one view of what projects need to get scheduled out. All of that ― project budgets, resources, costs, time tracking ― would have been manually tracked in spreadsheets.”
Embedded in Salesforce
Logalicalis adopted Kantata and quickly moved on to their next digitization journey priority ― moving their CRM to Salesforce. The team didn’t specifically choose Kantata because it offered a solution that was native to the Salesorce platform, but it ended up being an added benefit and pleasant surprise. Logicalis now has a seamless connection between their Salesforce opportunities and projects in Kantata. The team benefits from the automatic flow of information between Salesforce and Kantata and can see the impact of the integration in their clean and up-to-date sales pipeline.
“Having a Salesforce-native PSA from Kantata in place played a part in the subsequent decision in adopting Sales Cloud for CRM. We adopted Kantata before landing on Salesforce for CRM and we are now realizing the incredible benefits of having two connected platforms ― it was an unexpected but great result.”
Intelligent Proposals
Logicalis previously built their proposals in spreadsheets, manually entering information each time. Now, with Kantata, proposal templates are saved and can be easily adjusted by the bid team. Any adjustments during the proposal phase ― and how that impacts resource needs and forecasts ― are captured in Kantata automatically. For example, if a start-date moves out and now certain resources are no longer available, Kantata flags Mike of the need. Previously, if a start-date was moved and it had an impact on resources, the team would not see the issue until it was too late ― the data was just simply lost within spreadsheets.
“If a proposal with a pencilled-in start date moves out by a few weeks, so do the resourcing requirements. That saves a lot of effort in checking and rechecking.”
Efficient Period Close
Prior to Kantata, Logicalis used spreadsheets to manage period close, which was quite time-consuming. Now, Logicalis is able to expedite the entire close process so that it’s completed by the first working day of every month. They are able to do this because they are no longer chasing down resources to enter timesheets at the close of each month. Kantata notifies consultants to enter their time before close and if they accidentally put their time in wrong, Kantata’s predictive time entry functionality will flag it and suggest a more realistic input.
“We can easily make sure timesheets are submitted. We can close out periods on the first working day. We can produce invoices sooner. We can maximize on billing. It enables my colleagues who are starting on the forecasting to run their reports knowing the data is clean.”
Results
- Resource forecast is built in hours instead of 2-3 days
- Period close is done by the first working day of the month
- Improved billing and invoicing processes
- Hiring, training and recruiting decisions are made sooner
- Improved confidence in resourcing data