Burke Air

www.burkeair.com.au

Executive Summary

Established in 1979, BurkeAir provides building management services as well as preventative maintenance, mechanical servicing, repairs and installations to commercial air conditioning equipment. Based in Perth, Western Australia, BurkeAir is a family business employing 21 full-time and three part-time staff.

Directors Tim Burke and Ken Webb initiated e-commerce four years ago with the aim of developing an innovative and leading edge company.  Ken identified an opportunity to increase business efficiency in information distribution to clients and staff.

In partnership with Netlink CRM for the services of web developer and Information Technology (IT) consultants, the company developed its systems to incorporate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, Job Costing (JC) software and wireless telecommunications technology using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) with a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM).

The CRM software, in concert with the JC software, maintains a database of customers allowing each director to review customer details, personal details, level of business, type of business, and type of systems. It also provides reporting and trend analysis functionality for client job history.  This database is a powerful tool which provides the company with a better understanding of each of its clients and their purchasing trends.  Marketing campaigns and service delivery can now be customised to ensure the best chance of success.

Additional revenue of $50,000 generated by BurkeAir's e-commerce initiative contributed a total of $21,000 to the company's gross profit in 2001. Coupled with cost savings of $127,776 the net operating benefit of e-commerce was $63,991 for the year. The initial e-commerce investment totalled $306,500, including $200,000 for the CRM, PDA wireless, and job costing software.

BurkeAir intends to develop its website interface to allow the owners and property managers of client buildings to view relevant building information online.   The company is also involved in the development of Banjo, a permanently on-line facilities management system that automates the management processes of buildings, owners, managers, contractors and tenants.

The Business

Established in 1979, BurkeAir provides building management services as well as preventative maintenance, mechanical servicing, repairs and installations to commercial air conditioning equipment. Specialising in servicing commercial and multi storey buildings mainly in the Perth area, BurkeAir have recently extended operations to Busselton in the South West region of Western Australia.

Based in Perth, Western Australia, BurkeAir is a family business employing 21 full-time and three part-time staff.

Getting Started

Directors Tim Burke and Ken Webb initiated BurkeAir's adoption of e-commerce four years ago. Ken, the driving force behind the implementation, wanted the company to be on the leading edge of innovation and saw an opportunity to increase business efficiency in information distribution to clients and staff.

The project was partnered by Netlink CRM, IT experts, to ensure the company could achieve a successful implementation and maximise return on its investment.  A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Job Costing (JC) system was installed as a marketing tool to improve customer service. It allows BurkeAir to track customer history and maintain important client information in a central database.

BurkeAir have also implemented a portable wireless transmission for mobile technicians to perform administrative work onsite, and the use of a governmental e-procurement marketplace to submit tenders to government. The wireless system was implemented on a pilot basis with two of the fifteen mobile technicians testing the system on approximately100 jobs over a two-month period.

Customer Relationship Management

CRM refers to the integrated business processes and systems that manage and optimise the business-customer relationship.

The CRM software maintains a database of customers allowing each director to review customer details, personal details, level of business, type of business, and type of systems. It also provides reporting functionality for client job history.

A key aspect of CRM is gathering customer data in order to strategically align products and services with customer needs. It provides BurkeAir with a better understanding of each of its clients, enabling service delivery to be catered to individual client needs.   This facilitates stronger customer relationships, generating additional work from individual customers, and allows directors to view work requirements and trends for specific clients.

Current e-commerce Strategy

Using the latest wireless communications technology, BurkeAir has incorporated mobile commerce (m-commerce) into the organisation. Each mobile technician has a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) modem card. This allows the mobile technicians to maintain an information link with the office, eliminating unnecessary travel to and from the office between jobs.

The PDA connects to the office via the inbuilt modem allowing each technician to accept incoming jobs, whilst simultaneously informing the office.  All necessary data such as contact details and site-specific information for that job is then transmitted back to the PDA.

A service form is then completed electronically and signed on the PDA by the customer. The completed form is transmitted back to the office where BurkeAir's CRM and job management software maintains a central database. The software records all service calls and on site repairs into the database, which is linked directly to the accounting system. BurkeAir's next stage of development will have an invoice automatically generated and sent to the customer. Mobile technicians can also raise purchase orders directly from suppliers on site using their PDAs.

BurkeAir also use the Government Electronic Marketplace (GEM) to submit tenders. GEM is an e-procurement marketplace for buyers from a broad range of government and related organisations in Western Australia. The Department of Industry and Technology (DoIT) is implementing GEM on behalf of the Government of Western Australia as an initiative to promote efficient online purchasing of goods and services. This has decreased the time and money the company spends on preparing and submitting tenders to the government.

The primary purpose of BurkeAir's company website at present is for marketing and information dissemination to clients (e.g. technical information and innovations). The website has a 'service log' where customers can request a service call, quotation or information by completing an online form. The website also provides a portal for staff, building owners and managers to access information about a building and control their air conditioning system via the Internet.

Effective marketing of the website is ensured through its registration with popular search engines and links with partner sites. BurkeAir also advertise on YellowPages Online and include their web address on company stationery.

Administrative functions such as banking, payroll, and vendor payments are performed online and communication with clients is also performed electronically. Information such as quotations and technical specifications for customers and engineers are delivered via email. BurkeAir uses an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) broadband connection for high-speed multi-user access to the Internet.

Revenue and Costs

* Note: Capital Expenditure was amortised over a four-year period

Financial Analysis

BurkeAir generated additional revenue, attributable to e-commerce, of $50,000 in 2001, contributing $21,000 to gross profit.  By providing the company with detailed customer profiles and purchasing trends, additional work has been won from both new and existing customers.

Total cost savings attributed to e-commerce totalled $127,776 in 2001. The use of email for internal and external communication contributed significantly to this figure with $104,000 saved through greater staff productivity and efficiency, and reductions of $14,400 in telecommunications expenditure. The GEM system improved staff productivity in the tendering process, saving $1,536, and the wireless system enabled field workers to spend more time on job sites and less time travelling, resulting in a $1,600 cost saving. Transferring administrative functions such as banking, payroll and accounts payable online saved a further $6,240.

BurkeAir's initial e-commerce investment totalled $306,500, including $200,000 for the CRM, PDA wireless, and job costing software. Preliminary research was critical to successful implementation and a total of $40,000 was allocated for this purpose. The company spent $38,000 on PDAs with GSM modem cards, and the required office hardware, including the server, totalled $15,000. The website development fees and additional telecommunications expenses were $12,500 and $1,000 respectively.

The total ongoing cost for e-commerce in 2001 was $84,785 with the majority of this amount being allocated to the amortisation of capital expenditure over a period of four years ($76,625). The remainder is allocated to system maintenance costs ($6,000), additional telephony charges ($1,800) and website hosting ($360).

Non-financial Benefits

The new wireless system has boosted productivity by enabling staff to allocate less time to administrative tasks and more time towards client servicing.  Thus, customers benefit from the enhanced quality of service and increased efficiency of air conditioning system monitoring and maintenance.

BurkeAir's pioneering efforts in the use and development of wireless technology have also led to a partnership with Compaq who have used Burke as a case study in their own advertising material. The company also features regularly in Austrade publications.

Challenges

Tim and Ken realised before embarking on the project that careful preparation would be required to ensure a successful e-commerce implementation. To this end, they have invested heavily in preliminary research and expert IT assistance.  In particular, Ken and Tim devoted considerable time towards software programming to align CRM system functionality with their initial goals of improving business processes and adopting a more customer-centric approach to business.

Future

Currently, BurkeAir are in the process of developing their website interface to allow the owner and property manager of client buildings to view the relevant information they need on the building.

BurkeAir's Research and Development (R&D) division is presently involved in the development of Banjo, a permanently on-line facilities management system that automates the management processes of buildings, owners, managers, contractors and tenants. Using Internet technology, Banjo removes geographical boundaries and enables more timely distribution of information.