Client Profile
SMG, based in West Conshohocken, PA, manages public and private facilities such as stadiums, arenas, concert halls, and convention centers. These sports- and entertainment-oriented venues and convention facilities range from 1000-seat rooms to universally-known landmarks such as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, McCormick Place and Soldier Field in Chicago, and Reliant Astrodome, Stadium, and Arena in Houston
Business Challenge
With more than 200 facilities under management around the world, SMG has complex accounting and financial reporting needs and requirements. The challenge is to manage the businesses’ financial affairs locally while also ensuring that accurate financial information is available to corporate executives, when and where they need it.
For several years, Dynamics SL was used only at corporate headquarters and at two managed facilities. A variety of facility management software accounting systems were used at the remaining facilities, each of which had its own, different chart of accounts. Consequently, obtaining and providing financial information about individual facilities to corporate managers was a slow, labor-intensive process.
Technology Solution
SMG decided to upgrade to the current version of Dynamics SL and to roll out Dynamics SL to additional facilities. SMG management liked SL’s facility management software functions, its check-writing capability, and FRX report-writing module. They also preferred the Windows/SQL environment, viewing it as easier in which to develop.
SMG went to Intellitec Solutions for help with its financial-reporting support requirements as well as to upgrade to the current version of SL. Intellitec partnered with SMG on those projects and also devised a strategy and standardized plan for rolling out Dynamics SL to other facilities. This allowed SMG to have a more standardized system of accounting and made it easier to roll up financial data from the local facilities into the corporate account.
Since then, SMG and Intellitec have implemented Dynamics SL in about 20 of their larger facilities that have high volumes of transactions and checks. Using the facility management software’s quick query function, which employs a familiar Excel-based interface, corporate managers now can easily access real-time financial information for these facilities themselves, without having to ask someone to generate reports. This has improved information flow tremendously, allowed faster, better decision making, and resulted in significant cost savings.
Dynamics SL’s project-management function is another important business enabler for SMG, allowing better management and greater transparency of financials for special events. Managers can now track income and expenses for individual events and generate event-oriented income statements. Dynamics SL functionality has also allowed the company to streamline its purchasing process.
SMG and Intellitec recently completed an upgrade to Dynamics SL 2011. As with any upgrade, users were apprehensive about changes to the system. Conducting very thorough, results-based user acceptance testing helped provide a level of comfort with the new system, and everyone quickly adapted.
The relationship between SMG and Intellitec bears all the hallmarks of a true partnership. In addition to collaborating on implementations and upgrades, Intellitec has performed numerous screen customizations and provides help desk support. In their words, Intellitec consultants are “great people, knowledgeable and motivated to get the job done.”