Delivering a SharePoint portal allowing Barlow to effectively manage several hundred projects
Executive Summary
Challenge: The system that Barlow Interiors were using didn’t support the company’s needs to manage several hundred projects they run for their clients.
Approach: We designed a system that increases transparency, optimises processes and improves internal and external communication. The system is modular and based on SharePoint Online with Add-ons.
Result: The system enabled the client to save time and money while boosting productivity. With the use of Office 365 Patterns & Practices, the solution is completely transferable to multiple environments.
Services we used:
Table of Contents
About the client
Barlow Interiors is a UK-based company that provides build, fit out and project management services.
Having a proven track record of successful delivery in the retail, leisure, transport, hotel, and banking industries, the company understands that an investment in the property needs to achieve objectives in quality, safety, budget, and time, but they also understand how important it is to minimise the impact of the site build.
Barlow Interiors’ impressive portfolio of clients includes Holland & Barrett, Starbucks, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, BP, BAA, Sainsbury’s and Dixons.
Business challenge
Barlow Interiors recognised that they were using a system that didn’t support their needs. When the licence came up for review, instead of extending it, they decided to bring Future Processing on board to deliver a portal enabling Barlow Interiors to manage several hundred projects which they run for their clients.
Future Processing was the only company able to develop the platform Barlow Interiors required. Also, you have a clear and easy website, case studies not just from Poland but from all over the world and staff that listened to our requirements, being able to provide a demo of what they can do.
Scope of work
Based on SharePoint Online, we designed a system to help increase transparency, optimise business processes and improve both internal and external communication. Enriching it with Share Point Add-ons made daily work more effective.
Some specific examples of the portal’s functionality and benefits can be seen below.
Absence log
For streamlined and automated absence reporting, which makes it easy to generate holiday requests that are then sent to leaders for approval. There is also a list displaying all remaining days. Absence requests are stored in the SharePoint calendar and will be visible in employees’ calendars, thanks to immediate synchronisation.
NCR
Containing all NCRs sorted by date of creation and filtered by selecting views. After the NCR is created it can be edited by all line managers. The relevant person receives an e-mail notification about a new NCR and can request approval. Once the decision is made, an email will be sent notifying the parties involved.
Training matrix
For supporting employee talent management, contains a list of training courses and certificates for each employee which makes it easy to assign people to relevant training and courses to ensure relevant accreditations and ongoing progression. 60 days before the training expires, email notification will be sent.
Newsfeed
For starting and storing conversations, a useful and easy-to-use tool, where each site has its own newsfeed visible on the home page. There is also a possibility to like posts and see the list of other people who are engaged, as per other social media channels.
In addition to developing the portal, we provided the client with a number of websites for its internal departments, such as Finance, IT, Sales and Human Resources.
Future Processing has kept us informed through every step of the project, providing demos and ideas where required, even down to the simplest thing of using a theme that matched the Barlow Interiors website. You were very responsive to the many questions I had, daily. Nothing was too much trouble. Also, the flexibility of the project and being given options from the simplest to more complex code options.
Main benefits of our partnership
- The system is modular, which provided a highly tailored and effective solution to meet the specific needs of the client, the Barlow Interiors team is now able to access the most popular tools quickly and conveniently
- In addition to delivering customised software, we went the extra mile and adjusted the solution’s front-end to match Barlow Interiors’ corporate identity
- We recorded a video with detailed instructions on how to use the system, to help our client make the most of it
- Thanks to Office 365 Patterns & Practices the solution we developed is completely transferable into multiple environments
- Our client can now save time and money while boosting productivity
We needed a company that could achieve the development requirements of our client while maintaining a professional image of our company. Future Processing did both and this is why I am working with some of our other clients to show how Future Processing can help their company improve and simplify their systems.
Technologies used in the project
