Considering Value-Add Services? Here's How a Design Firm Built an In-House Procurement Department With Fohlio (and Increased Profits!)

Specification
Healthcare
Procurement
Senior Housing
Project Types
Hospitality
Founded
1987
Team size
6-10 Employees
Location
Saint Petersburg, Florida
Business
Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Use Cases

Improving Specification Processes

Building Procurement Process

At a Glance

What They Needed Help With:

  • Manual data entering in spreadsheets were inefficient, causing a lot of rework and creating data silos.
  • Report creation had too many steps and took up too much of the company’s precious time and energy.
  • A procurement system or process was not yet in place.

Fohlio’s Solutions

  • Access to specification features + web clipper
  • Creating a separate tab that manages all procurement information.
  • Automated PO (purchase order) builder + standardized columns for managing their procurement processes.

How They're Doing Now:

  • With the help of the web clipper and specification features, the company was able to eliminate tedious processes when prepping for proposals and presentation documents, allowing them to “convert documents like a fairy.”
  • Built their procurement process for the first time, making the company more profitable.
  • The automated PO builder and standard templates served as a guide that built the company's procurement standard operating procedures.

Design and Consultation Services for Healthcare, Senior Living, and Multifamily Projects

The company was founded in 1978 with the vision to design world-class facilities and buildings. A couple of their projects include Buffalo Crossings Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center for seniors, Tavares Surgery Center Ambulatory Surgery Center, and Landings at Cross Bayou Affordable Housing.

The Hurdle: Inefficient, Manual Specification and Procurement Practices

During the time the company discovered Fohlio, their processes looked a little something like this: Design specifications were done and managed in Excel, reports were done in Photoshop and Excel, and procurement was done by a third party. Excel was enough to keep things running, but barely. Operations were not running as smoothly as the company had hoped. Data silos and rework were rampant. As for procurement, the company wanted to begin doing things in-house, but had no prior experience.

From A Four-Step Reporting Procedure, Down To One

The changes were pretty drastic after Fohlio. (In a good way, of course.) The design team saved lots of time because of the web clipper and automated reports. The web clipper was a team favorite and eliminated tedious processes when prepping for proposals and presentation documents.

Before Fohlio, the design team used to screen capture product images from websites and PDF files, copy and paste the specifications from the website to Excel, and then transfer the screenshots over to Photoshop for uniform resizing. These pictures and specifications were then transferred over to PowerPoint for report completion. This was the process every single time they needed to prepare reports.

The company was able to eliminate redundant steps and specify three times faster. With Fohlio, they were able to convert specifications into professional-looking custom report documents “like a fairy” as they would call it, and finish projects faster.

In-House Procurement Is Born

With Fohlio's onboarding process, the company was able to get a jumpstart on their in-house procurement, and finally could take all profits back to their home base -- even without prior experience

Valerie, one of Fohlio's rock star representatives, helped build the procurement process for the company. During setup, she prepared custom columns that equipped their designers with the right tools so they could have the confidence to try their hand at generating profits through procurement.

The company has since grown and expanded into design and procurement and continues to build high-quality facilities throughout the country.

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