Sales Development
As I write this we are forecasting a healthy GP quarter and we are looking to achieve the PTC dollar requirement.
The transition to subscription from the traditional perpetual licensing model continues to develop and we are moving ever closer to becoming a subscription company. When subscription was announced by PTC many of the European partners voiced huge concerns about loss of revenue, reduced profits and a general threat to their businesses. We took the view from day one that although these concerns were valid, we would let the model play out with no restrictions on sales activities and embrace the journey. As a result of that we have been used as an example of early adopters within the partner community and we have received recognition from PTC. We have kept it simple and offered our customers and prospects a choice. Last quarter we over achieved on the dollar to PTC number and 93% of this was in the form of subscription.
We are now working on plans to incorporate elements of IoT especially since we closed the first real IoT deal in Northern Europe last quarter.
People
The Sales, Pre-Sales, Support & Customer Experience teams are now providing higher levels of expertise across more topics than ever before.
The learning programme is long as Steve, Guy and Sam will testify to. The journey to become a proficient sales person is tougher than it has ever been. Customers are more educated and they receive more phone calls and unsolicited contact than ever before. That is why it is crucial that when we are lucky enough to be in contact we must say something of interest that is timely and credible. Not easy but after months of practise and a few long drives home, we are holding our heads up high and delivering good meetings and good phone calls.
With Laura now in place as well I absolutely believe that our customers will have the best experience available and that can only be reassuring for all of us.
Prostate Cancer
Owen probably played a part in me becoming a road cyclist. I would listen to his stories of cycling unthinkable distances on a Sunday morning and for some unknown reason I found myself in a cycle shop buying a bike.
The text to Owen after my first ride proudly announced that I had ridden 6km and all had gone well. At the time it was a huge success and gradually the miles or kilometres increased. I tend to report in kilometres as that is what Owen knows best in Ireland and it sounds more! I have only fallen off twice and in both falls time stood still. As those of you who cycle know, you are clipped into the pedals and if you stop and lean the wrong way, it is game over. Apart from overtaking 20 cars at the traffic lights and stopping at the front of the queue to then fall straight in the ditch, it has mainly been without incident.
So I rode through the winter and earlier in the year I signed up for Football to Amsterdam 2017 in aid of Prostate Cancer. I trained well for the two day ride as I was out of my comfort zone for certain and as a result I completed the 255 Kilometres over two days travelling from Barnsley and finishing in Amsterdam albeit with some aches and enough pain that wore off through the evening..
With some late money to come in I will have raised £1,700 and the part that I am so grateful for is the £400 contributed from colleagues and the £500 from the company itself to honour the pledge to match the contributions. It is just such a great cause and one that I am proud of as a cyclist, as a director of the company and just to be part of a huge charity. Thank you to everyone.
Summary
Today is always the best day and the time to succeed is always now. The technology that is available to us, the teams we are building, the programmes we are developing to look after our customers and the desire to make the company good for everyone has never been stronger. My mantra will never change and I want to be part of a company that provides opportunity and breeds success for all. I am starting to think that we are doing some things very well and we are recognising the things that need improvement.
That is a good start..
Thank you to everyone.
Julian
Owen Kirby - Company Update
There have been a number of things over the past six months influencing / impacting on the business in different ways so here are my views and opinions on them. Please share yours with Laura for inclusion in future newsletters.
Economic climate
Probably not in any of our immediate ability to influence other than vote, but it is clear that there are a number of elements influencing the economy right now. There is nothing immediate to suggest it is having a negative impact on us or our business but change is always interesting and the road ahead re Brexit and the political landscape is of interest to us all and indeed our customers. I’m not advocating that we all become political activists but it might be worth keeping abreast of developments in this area and having an informed opinion on it.
Recruitment and working practise development
Many of you will have been aware of the “brown paper” exercise initiated last year and not really developed for various reasons. Well I’m happy to say that while the “brown paper” exercise in its own right has not progressed, we have been working hard to develop how we progress work through the business. Who needs to know what and when and then how do we make it happen. The benefits of joined up working practises are clear for all of us to see and while they should make our lives more straight forward internally, I am also keen that their influence ripples out to our customers, and that they have a better and improved experience of working with us, year on year. If you see obvious gaps or challenges in our processes please continue to flag them up to Julian, Nick or Rachel.
While we lost Manish from the team, we have also had a number of new additions. Nick has been a key appointment as Services Delivery Manager, Laura has joined as Support & Customer Experience Lead, Chris has joined the Technical Implementation team from industry and Nick has another recruit joining in a new and diverse role from what we would typically have hired. I particularly like the fact that we are hiring different types of roles as that is a good indication of progress and breaking new ground.
From within, Adrian continues his move to Pre-Sales, Julian has now been officially appointed as a Director and Emily has been promoted to support manager mentoring Laura with the new Customer Experience programme.
Revenue & Margins
Many of you that have attended quarterly or mid year events previously will have been aware of how we showed and presented sales and GP numbers. We are in a period of change on how numbers get reported so it is difficult this year to report meaningful comparative numbers from previous years. The main reason is how we are obliged as a business to report income from subscription sales. Subscription income is amortised over a 12 month period so on the whole it makes no real difference to our numbers in the course of a year but is does month on month, quarter on quarter. As a result our revenues look flat or slightly back when viewed against last year. We anticipate that will start to level itself out later in the year when much of our last years subscription business will start to kick in. In addition it is encouraging to see how our pipeline of services and the nature of what it looks like has developed. We are now competing in much larger services deals influenced greatly by the work of Mr “good stuff” Fellows and the results of this are clear to see.
Office / Pensions / Flexi time
Our office move is still in train and our recent decision to continue to rent somewhere rather than buy makes our relocation somewhat easier. The availability of space to buy and the timelines involved made that more difficult and may compromise us time wise given our date of eviction.
The rental market is easier and quicker to transact and it is anticipated that we will be in our new home in Q4 before the end of the year. Exact location is not defined yet but we will keep all abreast of developments.
As we are all aware the legislation on pensions is kicking in for individual contributions. The obligation for the business is next year but as all will be aware we fast forwarded that last year. The company and individuals have obligations in this regard and while the company can help individuals with their plans, pension planning is fundamentally the responsibility of each of us individually. We had intended to implement “flexi-time” or “finish early Friday” from June, that will now be implemented from July to run until end of September. We will review it after that.
Summary
It is great watching the team and the business mature over the years. The position we are in now versus three years ago in unrecognisable. I think it will be the same at the beginning of 2020. Let’s see if we can keep communications open and transparent such that we are all on the same message. Lets try to give customers new and better experiences at every juncture and they will repay you with their trust and business. New people, new skills and a desire to do everything as well as we can will ensure success for everyone.
Thank you for the work this year,
Owen
Nick Carter: Services Delivery Team
Q2 has been a busy quarter for the Services Delivery Team and we are set to be even busier in Q3! By the end of this Quarter we will have generated over £200k of Training and Services delivery revenue (excluding the revenue generated from Support contracts).
This Q we have successfully delivered Windchill upgrades and implementations to Logitech, Roxel, Sandvik and The Matador Company. Roxel was a good example of a successful, coherent and collaborative implementation of Windchill and ModelCHECK. We implemented this project applying some of the new internal delivery and management processes and the results speak for themselves. Delivered on time, on budget and most importantly, a happy customer eager to do more business with us. I would like to thank the Sales and Pre-Sales team for supporting the delivery of this project throughout. Teamwork and collaboration has reaped the rewards.
In Q2 we will have successfully delivered fifteen training courses on and off site. The customer feedback clearly demonstrates the consistent satisfaction with the quality of the training courses delivered and the expertise of our trainers. We are constantly reviewing and expanding our portfolio of training offerings and broadening the skill sets of all the Training Delivery Team members. As we continue to expand, please remember that the Delivery team will need preparation and development time, so please respect their calendars.
The Support desk is doing an excellent job with, at the time of writing, 345 successfully closed calls this quarter. As our delivery work increases and the 2nd Line support availability offered by the Consultants naturally reduces, some minor process changes have been implemented to ensure that John and Aida have the continued support they need to consistently maintain the elevated level of customer satisfaction.
Increasing our skill set and ability to deliver is vital to our success and growth. I am working on a refreshed training and self-development plan for all the Services Delivery Team members to ensure that we stay on top of our game and can hit the ground running when the new wave of IoT challenges and complex projects arrive from the Sales Team.
My sincere thanks to the dedication and professionalism of every member of the Services Delivery Team in making this a successful quarter!
New Starters
We have two key additions to our team.
Chris Flynn started with us at the end of May and is already proving himself to be a valuable member of our delivery team by leading his first project with Customised Project Solutions and assisting Dave with installations at Denso. Welcome Chris!
Atif Khan will be joining our team mid-July. Atif is a new graduate with a degree in Mechatronics Engineering. Atif will complement the team with a focus on Windchill and ThingWorx/Navigate. I am sure I can rely on everyone to give Atif a warm welcome and all the support and guidance he needs to be a successful consultant within Concurrent Engineering.
Work Experience
We have a work experience student joining us for one week beginning 17th July. Charlotte Stringer (Rob’s sister) will be with us in the office to experience all aspects of our business. During the week, I would like Charlotte (and Atif) to follow the life cycle of how a Sales Lead / Opportunity turns into a Purchase Order, is followed by Pre-Sales hand over to Delivery and Training and finally into Support. Rob and I will coordinate this plan with each of the team leaders. I would like each team to be prepared to support this approach by giving around half a day of their time talking to and describing your role and processes to Charlotte and Atif. Thank you in advance for your support with this.
