Hiring a Consultant Saved $300K

June 2, 2023

THE CLIENT

A multi-brand, multi-channel Fortune 500 manufacturing business was building a new warehouse in Ohio. Collectively, these businesses manufacture, assemble or distribute home construction products in North America, Latin America, Asia, South Africa, and Europe.

Organizations today are making major investments in sophisticated integrated security technologies such as IP Video Systems, Access Control Systems, Visitor Management Systems, Alarm Systems, and other 3rd party security applications. These systems are intended to address:

• Regulatory issues & requirements
• Intellectual property theft of brand / counterfeiting
• Workplace violence prevention & intervention
• Business continuity planning
• Employee and Visitor safety
• Employee Productivity
• And more…

THE CHALLENGE:

The Challenge for this company was that their property management agent did not provide a fully designed scope of work for this project, providing only loose software parameters and a marked-up floor plan. In addition, the project team didn’t have a clear understanding of the costs associated with these technologies nor the pricing and structural differences between security integrators in the marketplace. The client relied solely on one of the biggest national security providers to bid on a loosely designed system that was over-engineered and overpriced with an initial cost of $538,529. The cost seemed disproportionate to the size and complexity of the facility.

THE SOLUTION:

Since the construction schedule could not be delayed by restarting the bid solicitation process from scratch, the company retained Business Protection Specialists, Inc. (BPS) to identify alternative bidders in a short amount of time without compromising the fundamental design for the project. BPS knew that a reputable security company would be able to deliver the security project at a much lower cost and potentially value engineer the security solution.

BPS met with the client to review the current proposal and to review the specific requirements of the project. The analysis indicated that the proposal scope was in line with the needs, but the pricing was not. When the vendor resisted requests for itemization and transparency in their pricing, BPS sought out other qualified companies to solicit competitive pricing. Because of BPS’ knowledge of the local market, they were able to identify several other qualified companies who could turn around a detailed proposal in less than a week. The results were remarkable.

KEY BENEFITS:

BPS and the property management agent agreed to solicit bids from an array of companies.

After reviewing bids, BPS chose Security 101 (a medium size national integrator) as the winning bidder. The Security 101 approach to the project did not compromise or reduce the scope or protection levels. Security 101’s list of client references in the local market and nationally showcased their qualifications and experience with projects of similar size and scope. Additionally, BPS had prior experience with the Security 101 office and was confident in their abilities to deliver a complex project on time and within budget.

Security 101 proposed a much lower price including “value engineer” options saving an additional 10% on the project.

Security 101 provided:

• An Itemized Cost Quote with manufacturer part number, per item price and by material and labor costs.
• A presentation to BPS and the client demonstrating a full understanding of the client’s needs.
• Savings of nearly $300,000

Security 101 worked well with BPS and communicated with the design team regularly to ensure full transparency to the client. The Security 101 corporate culture of “listening to the voice of the client” was a determining factor in the selection process. This collaborative approach guaranteed consistency in delivery of a detailed and documented system with product standards that will lower the client’s cost of ownership. Working with Security 101 was simple and produced unprecedented cost savings for the client.

THE CONCLUSION:

The client saved more than $300,000 or 169% of the final project cost by hiring BPS. It is a stark illustration of how much money is at stake when purchasing a security system and the difference an independent security consultant can make. For a major security system purchase that may only happen once in 15-20 years, BPS recommends companies do not go through the process without professional assistance, a service with a nominal price tag compared to what you could overspend on the wrong system. In this case, there was a major financial payback, and the project schedule was preserved — a win for all parties involved. BPS is committed to actively partnering together with companies like Security 101 to meet our clients needs at a reasonable price. CONTACT BPS today to make a difference in your security selections and design.