Tutor Electrical Service, Inc.
COO Brian Brinkmann realized that scaling Tutor Electrical Service, Inc. wasn't possible with their manual processes. After integrating Kojo with Deltek ComputerEase, they streamlined field requests, sourced RFQs, and sent POs efficiently, all while staying on time and within budget.
The Story
Brian Brinkmann, Chief Operating Officer at Tutor Electrical Service, Inc., is no stranger to the electrical industry. With almost 35 years of industry experience and over 27 years at Tutor Electrical Service, he’s seen growth both in the sector and at his own company. He’s also witnessed firsthand the slow and often disorganized process his company managed materials and handled job costs in the past. But when it was time for the company to mature, he knew that waiting for checks to come in the mail and writing checks simply wouldn’t be efficient enough. Sending someone to the supply house with a credit card and having them return with a receipt wouldn’t cut it either. That’s when Brian turned to ComputerEase. By doing so, Tutor Electrical Service could create a standardized PO process and centralize purchasing decisions to a single project manager. They could also keep a closer eye on their budget, forecast costs, and pay vendors on time, all within a single platform. But in addition to that, they wanted a better way to manage materials. Ideally, that way wouldn’t involve stacks of notes and lists of phone calls, emails, and texts to work through to create a PO. That’s when Tutor Electrical Service learned of ComputerEase’s partnership with Kojo.
The Solution
With Kojo’s integration, material purchasing data is now directly synced into Tutor Electrical Service’s ComputerEase account. ComputerEase + Kojo has helped to eliminate process bottlenecks and reduce data entry, so Brian’s staff can send and receive orders faster. Direct data syncing has also helped Tutor Electrical Service reduce the risk of order errors, omissions, and miscommunication. With purchase orders pushed directly from Kojo to ComputerEase, Tutor Electrical Service always has a complete and up-to-date picture of their job costs.
One of Brian’s favorite benefits of the integration is how the process for field requests has improved. Previously, Tutor Electrical Service used ComputerEase to budget based on job cost category, which was used to break projects down into different phases. Each phase essentially had its own bill of materials (BOM) in ComputerEase. While that helped to forecast costs, those on the field would still send requests for items they “thought” they needed. After the integration, those on the field could pull up their Kojo app and see a Bill of Materials, taken from the actual estimate, for each specific phase of their project before ordering. This has helped Tutor Electrical Service combat the all too common issue of over-ordering on any project. It also helped limit the amount of back-and-forth communications between the field and project managers, freeing up time to do the work staff is being paid for.
Sourcing has become another notable improvement in Tutor Electrical Service’s workflow. With the addition of Kojo, Tutor can now compare standard and negotiated prices with multiple vendors quickly, and Tutor Electrical Service’s suppliers can also upload their quotes more easily through the Kojo portal. Once a quote has been chosen, purchasing has also been made more efficient, helping Tutor Electrical Service save on administrative costs. The integration of the two platforms has helped them to scale their business as they now have processes in place to handle a growing staff and bigger contracts.
Check out our webinar with Brian and John Meibers, VP & General Manager at Deltek ComputerEase, to see how this integration has improved the entirety of Tutor Electrical Service’s procurement process.
Their Favorite Features
- API integration with ComputerEase
- Mobile Field App for requesting materials on-site
- RFQs that allow them to work with more vendors quickly
- Automated PO creation
- Transparent Bill of materials (BOMs)
