McAlpine builds single platform

Construction company streamlines systems to cope with fast growth

Building and facilities management company Alfred McAlpine has signed a £3m contract to overhaul its back-office technology and support rapid expansion of the business.

The firm has acquired several organisations in recent years, and its business services arm has grown more than 25 per cent in the past five years.

‘We undertook a full review of the back office, not just the IT, and discovered that the systems could not meet our needs if the expected double-digit growth continued,’ said Alfred McAlpine finance director John Taylor.

The company has grown from a medium-sized business with three or four silos to a large organisation in need of integrated platforms, he says.

The number of legacy systems meant the firm also lacked the scalability and functionality required for continued growth.

Alfred McAlpine’s operating model will be completely overhauled from self-contained units to one business. The new system includes the Oracle E-Business Suite with business intelligence, financials, projects and purchasing functions, supported by Oracle consultancy.

‘We went to tender and it was the scalability, flexibility and integration Oracle offered that most appealed to us,’ said Taylor. ‘It was the only genuinely integrated platform rather than one that was simply meshed together.

‘The new system has almost infinite scalability. Where we would have had to upgrade other technology every three years, this system should deliver for us over the next seven years. It also offered consulting services and hosting on demand,’ he said.

The system is intended to streamline the firm’s business processes, providing self-service in areas including procurement. It will also allow departments to place orders directly with suppliers and offers greater management information to executives.

‘But we are also expecting significant return on investment, particularly a reduction in the cost of finance and back-office functions,’ said Taylor. ‘We will not have to cut back on staff, but it will grow at a lower level.’

Alfred McAlpine will install the technology at the end of the year. A review of front-office technology will follow.