Mott MacDonald Makes Continuous Innovation Possible With Cloud-Based ERP System

Founded and headquartered in the United Kingdom, Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management and development consultancy with over 16,000 people delivering projects in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas – 150 countries in all.

In order to maintain its high standards, build an agile and responsive operation from sales, and project delivery to back office processes, Mott MacDonald collaborated with Deltek to transform its internal business infrastructure with a cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

In this interview, Darren Russell, Chief Digital Officer of Mott MacDonald unpacked their rationale from back in 2017 when the firm embarked on their transformation.

Deltek: How long have you been working with Deltek?

Darren Russell: We have been working with Deltek for four years. We went through a very long evaluation process, which Deltek was part of and eventually won. Over the last four years, we have developed a great relationship with the Deltek team and we are now at the stage of implementing the solution.

Deltek: Why did you choose Deltek over the competition and what are the key benefits of this relationship?

Darren Russell: One of the things about Deltek, and why they won our evaluation process, was the culture. We wanted a company that we felt we could work well with and understood our company needs. Implementing an ERP system can be quite challenging, so we wanted that confidence we could work together.

That has definitely been proven through our implementation process. We have always been able to have those needed conversations and make sure we resolve situations so we get the best possible solution for Mott MacDonald.

Deltek: What was the deciding factor in embarking on a new business transformation and how has Deltek supported this phase?

Darren Russell: We decided a few years ago that we needed to replace our existing system, it was end of life, and a lot of risk for Mott MacDonald. Therefore, we have been working with Deltek to roll out a number of their modules. Our ability to work with Deltek and tailor the system to our business needs was a huge benefit to us. We implemented the new system in Ireland in 2017, which was our pilot country, then to North America last year, where we've got 2500 users, and we're very soon going to roll out into the UK, where we've got over 6000 users.

Deltek: What has been the biggest improvement you have seen from using the Deltek Maconomy solution?

Darren Russell: The biggest improvement that we have seen, and the thing that is adding most value to us, is really around the fact that it is a cloud-based system. On our previous system, we got locked in, it was very, very hard to upgrade, we couldn't take advantage of any new features so being able to improve the system, continually add features to it, has really helped us.

We use it across everything that we do, projects, finance, HR and CRM. Everything working together, all based on that single platform has added real value to what we are doing. Going forward, we are going to get all of those new things that Deltek are going to deliver, and we have already seen that advantage over the last few years.

About the Author

As Mott MacDonald’s Chief Digital Officer, Darren Russell is responsible for the innovation and the digital transformation of the company, accounting over 16,000 employees globally. With the company for 26 years, he is now moving to a new role as the Mott MacDonald digital ventures regional general manager, setting up businesses and working with partners to deliver new digital services.

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management and development consultancy focused on guiding their clients through many of the planet’s most intricate challenges. The company’s purpose is to improve people’s lives by providing professional and construction services in the built and natural environments, and in social and economic development.