The Company – April 2021 & New Security – May 2021
Installation is no longer what it used to be. More and more factors are coming into play when it comes to sales, scheduling, invoicing, inventory management, support, partnerships—you name it. High-performance business software for installation companies is becoming essential for maximizing the return on investment from employees and resources. Alistar specializes in automating business operations in the installation market with software solutions that can be customized for each organization, because no two installation companies are alike.
A conversation with Lieven Tuytschaever and Wouter Janssens of Alistar about Gservice, a turnkey solution developed in collaboration with dozens of installation companies.
“Don’t call us IT specialists—think of us as business software designers,” says Lieven Tuytschaever, account executive at Alistar, getting straight to the point. “Because we know and understand the specifics of the various installation markets—HVACR, electrical, security, plumbing, and sanitation—we work closely with our clients to find solutions. Drawing on our expertise and experience, we invest a lot of time in mapping out the internal operations of the installation company. This is the first crucial step that lays the foundation for everything that follows. But it’s also an important process for the client, because it forces them to take a close, critical look at their own operations.”
Everyone talks endlessly about business processes, but they aren't meant to be hung on the wall. They are meant to optimize business operations.
Lieven Tuytschaever, Account Executive, Alistar
A 4-quadrant approach
Gservice is Alistar’s integrated, comprehensive solution for installation companies, designed to manage and track projects. A single software system that provides a comprehensive approach across the various areas of business automation.
“Gservice is our solution for installation companies, project- and service-oriented organizations that want to automate their processes,” explains Wouter Janssens, team lead for installation technology.
“Business software only delivers added value when all applications are connected to one another. That’s why Gservice runs on the trusted Microsoft platform. It’s user-friendly because the installer can continue working in a single environment without constantly switching from one application to another. Another advantage is that the Microsoft platform is open to improvements and extensions from partners. Add-ons for document scanning and handling, a graphical planning board, mobile work orders, mobile field service, WMS, reporting, and dashboards—among other features—are constantly expanding the possibilities.”
The foundation of Alistar’s integrated software system is the 4D Solution Concept. This ensures a comprehensive approach in which, in addition to ERP (more efficient business processes), CRM (balanced customer relationships), BI (maximum business insight thanks to automated reporting), and ECM (streamlined collaboration through the online sharing of various document types) can all be part of the solution that the installation company needs.
Lieven Tuytschaever concludes with an extremely important—yet all too often overlooked—step: the post-calculation.
Tracking a project's finances helps you make wiser decisions for future projects. With Gservice, you get a detailed comparison between the estimated and actual costs.
Because actual material consumption, time tracking, wear and tear, tool and equipment rentals, transportation and travel, service tests—all aspects that can be directly or indirectly linked to a project—translate into a cost. This information puts the business owner in a stronger position when preparing future quotes and helps avoid unpleasant surprises.
