Building a Sustainable Future: Empowering Ground Control's Digital Transformation Journey
Ground Control, a leading UK-based grounds maintenance company, has been powering its business with the latest technology since its inception in 1973. Serving over 50,000 commercial properties nationwide, they are pursuing ambitious growth plans, aiming to expand from a £200 million business to a £300 million+ enterprise within the next three years, whilst also achieving net-zero operations by 2035.
To realise this dual goal of growth and sustainability, Ground Control recognised the need to digitally transform its operations. FOIL was delighted to be invited to work with Ground Control to accelerate its digital evolution, equipping the business with the tools and talent for long-term success.
Building the foundations for success
Our mission at FOIL is to equip organisations with control of their data evolution. Through a collaborative approach, we partner with businesses to design data strategies and models that lay the foundations for transformation. But unique to FOIL, we also embed skilled talent within our client’s team - and that’s exactly what we did at Ground Control.
Ground Control operates by outsourcing its grounds maintenance work to local contractors. Historically, the company followed a siloed approach, which meant while there was a definitive list of services available, the description list was long, with many duplications, limiting efficiency. Our first step was a transformational exercise to standardise the list.
A single, consistent view of Products and Services
We created a single, consistent view of the company’s product and services that allows far greater scope to build data science and AI models for automating processes - as well as a consistent understanding for employees, contractors and clients alike.
This was a business challenge, as well as a data challenge. Key to achieving it was close collaboration with key stakeholders across the organisation. We gained buy-in by demonstrating the value of their data and showing how this foundational work would unlock richer data insights and facilitate future innovations with data science and AI.
By analysing their existing data and source systems we established a hierarchy for products and services. We also put in place the principles for how products and services are defined – so that in the future the business can expand its offering using the same consistent approach. The result was a solid foundation for capturing and utilising richer data throughout the lifecycle of a job, from the initial opportunity to invoicing.
“The standardised services piece of work was fantastic. I was genuinely surprised at the level of engagement and rapport that FOIL was able to establish across the business. This work has provided a firm foundation for automating processes and capturing richer data going forward.”
Tools for the trade in just six weeks
Building on this foundation, we developed an Intelligent Quoting app, a tool that automates Ground Control’s quoting process. Historically, the company’s quoting process relied on time-intensive site visits and manual calculations. With integrated AI, the app analyses customer enquiries, identifies missing information, and automatically generates customer communications. And it's made quite the impact. The automatic generation of quotes reduces the quoting timeframe from two weeks to two days. This obviously enhances the customer experience, but at the same time it supports Ground Control’s sustainability goals by reducing travel, fuel usage, and carbon emissions.
“With the standardised services project complete we have been able to build the Intelligent Quoting app, which will allow us to address our client’s needs while reducing travel, fatigue, time intensive manual processes and emissions. It’s better for our clients, better for the environment, and more profitable for us.”
The app, which went into production in just six weeks, underscores the agility and efficiency of our approach and is a testament to the power of combining cutting-edge technology with a human-centred strategy.
Empowering independence through FOIL Talent
Our commitment to empowering our clients extends beyond technology. Our unique approach is to equip clients with the in-house expertise needed to sustain their digital transformation efforts, long after FOIL consultants leave. Our bespoke talent development initiative involves taking FOIL Talent – individuals looking to re-skill that we have recruited and trained, who work alongside our experts on a project to embed them within the client team for the long term.
Watch the FOIL Talent Explainer Video here.
For Ground Control, three FOIL Talent members were carefully selected to work alongside us. The individuals will remain with the company, equipping Ground Control with an enhanced in-house IT team to sustain their digital evolution independently.
“As an SME we didn’t necessarily have the people and skills in place to achieve all our digital transformation goals. The FOIL Talent proposition is a brilliant way to incubate talent. The three FOIL Talent members benefit from daily mentoring and training from FOIL’s experts, which significantly adds to the project’s productivity.
It’s a great initiative that helps address the broader IT industry skills shortage by supporting pathways for reskilling and fostering diversity.”
Saving 10k hours and generating £250k in revenue
Our collaborative approach has been instrumental in Ground Control’s digital transformation journey. The Intelligent Quoting app alone is estimated to save 10,000 hours annually, unlocking the potential to generate an additional £250,000 in yearly revenue.
Moreover, the Intelligent Quoting app has reduced staff travel and cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions in alignment with the company’s sustainability goals. Enhanced data quality has also paved the way for future innovations, such as the development of a carbon dashboard that estimates the environmental impact of each job.
A brilliant partnership that exemplifies our ethos
Our partnership with Ground Control exemplifies our ethos - to empower clients to take control of their data transformation journeys. By establishing robust foundations, introducing innovative tools, and embedding skilled talent, we have positioned Ground Control to achieve its ambitious growth and sustainability goals independently.
“I would absolutely recommend FOIL. The reason for the project’s success is their human approach to connecting with people and data. Technology and data should augment people’s work and decision-making, and FOIL truly understands the importance of the human element.”
Get in touch, to learn more about this project and others. Find out more about FOIL Talent or listen to Alex’s Story, from Electrician to Infrastructure Engineer.