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AE Smith Success Story
IBM Analytics selected for client management - iTWire 

Leading Australian mechanical services contractor helps clients stay cool with IBM business analytics

AE Smith achieves significant margin improvement with IBM Cognos Express

Source:  IBM News Room

Sydney, Australia – 15 Nov 2011: IBM Australia (NYSE: IBM) today announced that AE Smith, Australia’s largest privately owned mechanical services contractor, has selected IBM business analytics software to transform the way it manages client relationships and makes decisions across the business.

IBM business analytics software has helped AE Smith strengthen its lead in the mechanical services industry by introducing powerful reporting and forecasting capabilities. Staff can now generate customised reports and automate standard processes, making it possible for them to conduct in-depth analyses of contracts and projects. The air conditioning and mechanical services contractor implemented IBM Cognos software with assistance from IBM Business Partner Decision Resources.

“Our margins have improved since we introduced productivity reporting with IBM Cognos Express,” said Ross Cochrane, General Manager, Finance, AE Smith. “The new system has allowed us to examine the business in detail and discover why certain things happen, and what we can do to improve our business processes.”

AE Smith’s management team can now create detailed productivity reports, drilling down into customer segments by region and business type to identify unprofitable clients, and quickly rectifying the situation to reduce loss.

“Business managers now save, on average, one day a month on the time they spend completing spending and revenue forecasts,” said Ross Cochrane. “By making faster, more informed decisions, we can spend more time on other tasks such as business development.”

IBM Cognos software also gives AE Smith a comprehensive, company-wide view of the performance of each of its offices, which were held in siloed budgeting and forecasting systems. The unified and consistent view of company information means AE Smith can align key performance indicators, such as sales and revenue figures, and make more informed business decisions.

In future, AE Smith plans to use its new business analytics capabilities to improve client services. By linking its web-based enterprise resource planning portal to dashboards generated by IBM Cognos software, the company will enable clients to access contract data in real time.

“This service will provide building owners and managers with excellent visibility over contract costs, which will help them to prepare and maintain budgets,” said Ross Cochrane. “Cognos Express is an easy-to-use, mature system that is well supported by IBM. Most importantly, it is very flexible and will easily adapt to the changing needs of our business.”

About AE Smith

AE Smith is the largest and most respected privately-owned mechanical services contractor in Australia. Backed by more than 110 years of expert experience, AE Smith is the ‘partner of first choice’ for energy efficiency, building technologies, air conditioning and mechanical services. The Australian-owned company has worked with numerous high-profile organisations in Australia, including the Royal Children’s Hospital and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Brisbane’s Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, and the University of Tasmania.

For more information on AE Smith, visit www.aesmith.com.au 

For more information on IBM, visit www.ibm.com.au