Consulting Firm, APEM, Talk Benefits of Project-Based ERP and Partnering with Deltek

An interview with Mark Worrell, Head of Systems and MI at APEM, and Katherine Krajcarz-Kuc, Customer Success Manager at Deltek

APEM Ltd is a global environmental and geospatial consultancy firm. Established in 1987 as a small niche consultancy, the company has grown to a team of over 400 employees and operates across a broad range of industries, including water, renewables, construction and development, marine and ports, power and utilities, and environmental and transport. They offer a wide range of services to their clients, such as water sampling, wildlife monitoring and aerial surveillance. The team works from offices across the UK, Ireland and the United States.

Over the past few years, APEM has experienced a high level of growth, circa 20%, and completed three company acquisitions. In 2020, members of the leadership team evaluated the systems they were using and decided it was time to look at implementing a project-based ERP solution, designed specifically to support professional services firms.

Before implementing Deltek Vantagepoint, APEM was using SAP Business One which was more of an accounting solution and was unable to support the company’s business and project requirements. The leadership team at APEM also noticed that employees weren’t fully engaging with the system because of several areas of inefficiency that were affecting daily operations.

Project creation was time-consuming with larger projects taking up to six hours to create in the previous system. There were also gaps in the ability to accurately report on project revenue and profitability in a timely manner. And because of the complex system setup, the finance team often needed more than a week to close month-end.

Why Deltek Vantagepoint?

When asked why APEM chose Deltek Vantagepoint as their project-based ERP, Mark commented, “Having a single source of data that brought together the company’s projects, CRM and financials was really important to us, and we needed a system that aligned with how professional services firms are set up.”

By bringing together key CRM, resource management and financial data, APEM is now able to get a full view of its business performance. Removing data silos meant that the company could more accurately track and drill down into resource allocation and project performance, as well as provide its employees with an easier-to-use system, designed to support managing and delivering successful client projects.

Since implementing Deltek Vantagepoint the company has increased the number of users and is currently looking to implement additional reporting capabilities.

Deltek’s customer success team is working closely with the company to ensure that it’s getting everything that it needs from its ERP.

Customer Success - Optimizing the Use of Deltek Vantagepoint

Since APEM implemented Deltek Vantagepoint, Mark and team continue to focus on optimizing how the system is used throughout the organization, working closely with Deltek to ensure that they are maximizing their investment.

APEM’s Deltek Customer Success Manager, Katherine Krajcarz-Kuc, is a regular point of contact, who also acts as a liaison between APEM and other Deltek support teams such as Customer Care and the Global Consulting Group.

Katherine’s primary objective is to ensure that APEM is getting the most out of Deltek Vantagepoint.

“As a customer success manager, I look after the product lifecycle and support the customer in maximizing their investment. I conduct regular check-ins with customers and then I go and find the specialist within Deltek that can most help them to achieve their objectives and optimize how they are using the solution. In this case, I recently worked closely with APEM and Deltek’s consultants on the delivery of training workshops to ensure that they are getting the most from the Resource Management capabilities within Deltek Vantagepoint.”

With regular contact and open communication, Katherine is able to really understand APEM’s business and what they are looking to achieve. She continues, “I meet with APEM on a regular basis to discuss their usage of the system and any upcoming requirements.”

Mark agrees that the continued partnership with Deltek and Katherine is invaluable, “Katherine is currently supporting the team in several areas. APEM is a growing company, so increasing our user base of Vantagepoint is something we are actively discussing.”

“As our CSM, Katherine is also supporting additional implementations of Deltek Vantagepoint to accommodate recent acquisitions. We are implementing a Business Intelligence (BI) solution that will enable the company to accurately report across their business and projects. BI and reporting capabilities are one of the main reasons that APEM decided to work with Deltek.”

Deltek’s Commitment to World-Class Customer Service

In a recent blog celebrating Customer Service Week, Deltek’s Chief Customer Officer, Brian Daniell, talked about the company’s commitment to supporting its customers. “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and have been since the beginning. And since there is no shortage of technology solutions, I genuinely believe that focusing on the customer experience is what sets us apart.”

As well as the day-to-day support that Deltek provides its customers across Customer Success, Customer Care, Global Consulting and Deltek University, the company is always looking for ways to improve. For example, improving the customer experience by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and enhancing the overall digital experience to improve access to training as support services are firmly on the roadmap.