Mouchel case study
THE COMPANY
Mouchel is a professional support services company. They manage a wide range of infrastructure including road networks, public buildings, rail infrastructure, homes, schools and utilities, on behalf of central and local government, public-sector agencies and businesses. Mouchel's technical and commercial know-how enables them to handle long-term managed contracts, work in partnership on PPP or PFI deals, deliver services via pre-qualified Framework Agreements, or provide targeted project management and consultancy solutions. Mouchel has more than 100 offices across the UK, Ireland and internationally. For the year ending 31 July 2007, Mouchel revenue was up 20% to £450m. The company had generated pre-tax profits of £32.4m and a forward order book of £2.2bn. Mouchel is working to a target of doubling the size of the business over the next five years, ensuring that change is a constant throughout the company, not least in the area of telecommunications.
THE CUSTOMER'S CHALLENGE
By the middle of 2006, Mouchel Parkman had reached a critical moment in their telecommunications life cycle. The company had grown very quickly, there had been significant merger and acquisition activity, and it was clear that Mouchel needed a new strategy and new infrastructure in order to deliver the best possible service to the business. With the arrival of a new IT Director, the time was right to address these requirements, with a view to delivering a more robust, scalable and cost-effective network to the business. In order to do this, Mouchel needed to assess the current network; identify growth requirements for the future, review the market to select the most eligible suppliers; and ultimately select a partner for the future who could scale with Mouchel whilst delivering a 'best of breed' solution from day one.
THE NETWORK COLLECTIVE APPROACH
Based on our discussions with Mouchel Parkman, The Network Collective proposed a three-stage process to address Mouchel's requirements.
Stage 1 – Cost reduction on the installed base
Through our evaluation of Mouchel's current network, we identified a number of areas where cost could be reduced through targeted renegotiation with Mouchel's incumbent suppliers. Over a six week period, we were able to address all of these network elements and reduce that expenditure by 25%. This stage of the process helped to create budgetary 'breathing space' for the wider procurement activity to follow.
Stage 2 – New network strategy development
Based on our knowledge of the Mouchel network developed in Stage 1, we then conducted a full analysis of Mouchel's current and future requirements to assess the type of solution that would be best suited to Mouchel's needs. Key to this was not only considering the technical solution, but also the commercial and operational requirements Mouchel were likely to develop over the lifecycle of the new network. As part of this consideration, we were not only assessing the data network but the likelihood of wanting to converge voice onto this network in the future. Therefore we were clear from the start that making the new network voice-ready was a key criterion. Stage 2 took eight weeks to complete, and at the end of this stage, Mouchel had a clear strategy for the new network and a road map for the remainder of the procurement process.
Stage 3 – New network procurement process
Using the strategy developed in Stage 2, The Network Collective then worked with Mouchel to select a group of suppliers who had the potential to meet Mouchel's needs, and we then wrote and published an RFP to these suppliers. Based on The Network Collective's analysis of the resulting proposals, Mouchel were quickly able to move to a short list of three suppliers, and ultimately to select Azzurri as their preferred supplier.
THE CUSTOMER'S VIEW
"We found working with The Network Collective extremely beneficial. By augmenting our internal resource they ensured the procurement process happened in an efficient and timely manner, and their procurement experience meant that we were able to quickly and effectively evaluate different suppliers and reach informed decisions. I would have no hesitation in recommending their services and I am sure we will work with The Network Collective again in the future."
Gareth Nutt, IT Director, Mouchel Parkman
