Sahil Engineering Consultant — SME Case Study (UAE)

Established by Maktumsaheb Abbas Kazi in 2011, Sahil Engineering Consultants is the outcome of a dynamic architect who had graduated from the House of Education, Pune University. The company has a G + 4 building license and has been able to undertake ambitious projects including labor and economical camps, luxury villas, industrial warehouses, private and public projects, educational institutions, commercial and residential buildings, and mosques. The company aids the requirements of its customers through its engineering and design skills, thereby designing the most magnificent pieces and structures. Primarily, the company’s team is composed of modelers, graphic designers, CAD technicians, and architects who all work to keep the customer satisfied in terms of the project’s economy and design.

Sahil Engineering Consultant Sahil Engineering Consultant focuses on the following strategic goals, which are gradually adjusted according to

the current market situation and customer preferences

¡ Customer orientation - to be able to satisfy customer requirements as much as possible, to adapt to their individual wishes ¡ Strive for a favorable and affordable price of services offered - offer individual payment terms suitable for customers in any given situation ¡ Completely specific offer of services - uniqueness of services ¡ Ensure the largest possible profit margin ¡ Focus on a certain market segment ¡ Continuous self-education in the field of crisis management and crisis communication This is part of the company’s green market strategy as it

meets the following criteria

o The services provided are vital for specific companies o The risk of not using our services is higher than the price o The market is limited o There is no competition o Narrowly specialized expertise and thus narrow market definition o Constant need for professional lead over others o Specialized market Mission and Vision Statement Mission To respond promptly and creatively to customer suggestions whilst providing the best possible consultancy services possible.

Vision Sahil Engineering Consultants is guided by the notion of incorporating creativity and innovation with the most amount of excellence possible to attain factual and realistic results in a manner that remains committed to the tomorrow and all that comes with it.

Services

• Engineering

The company has experienced and qualified structural engineers who focus on designing structures with a great deal of economy and safety whilst taking climate conditions into consideration.

• Planners

The company focuses highly on utilizing its experienced staff to design projects according to requirements and a set budget so as to satisfy the end customer.

• Architectural Design

The notion of design is founded on the goal of attaining the most safe, beautiful and economical design by taking decisive factors, consumer needs, and resource availability into consideration.

• Supervision

Supervising projects is a team effort that the company manages to handle in a systematic manner by means of highly qualified members of staff cooperating on set objectives, performing payment certificate approval and checks, observing the progress of their work, checking work, approving and evaluating various orders, submitting approvals, handling projects over, and performing on- site management. Alongside supervising and designing activities, the company focuses on performing various activities in order to either meet the requirements of the job, satisfy the needs of the consumer, or maintain pace at the workplace. These associated services include a set or number of activities that depend on the requirement of the consumer and the project and vary from model making and feasibility studies to quantity surveying and comes surveying.

Supervision Engineering Planning Architectural Design Figure 5: Services of Sahil Engineering

Organizational Structure

Taking into account the goal of my business, the company uses organizational structure, which has been very common in companies lately. It is a team-based organizational structure.

With this type of organizational structure, Saahil Engineering Consultant takes full advantage of all the benefits that flow from them. These are in particular the

following aspects

o low formality - few rules, focus on output goals o decreases the level of hierarchy o higher motivation for employees o high level of communication and cooperation o prompt decision-making system o easy identification of the entire organizational structure In my plan of organizational structure, I have to take into account a limited number of employees from the beginning. Looking at the organizational structure of the company, it is clear that at the beginning of its activities

will fully employ three workers

Admin Manager General Manager External Collaborators Maktumsaheb CEO Figure 6: Leadership Chart of Sahil Engineering Leadership The company’s most valuable asset is the people it employs, a beautiful combination of cultures as well as nationalities. Each team that works in Sahil Engineering Consultants combines a wide range of professional experience with strong individual talents and contributes to the success of the projects that are assigned to them.

The company prides itself on its unique way of working together, both within the company and with customers.

Sahil Engineering Consultants is made up of over 50 employees including engineers, architects and designers and is headed by two main directors.

• A. Maktumsaheb Abbas Kazi - uses his knowledge

and experience in arranging events, communication strategies, communication with the media and also fulfills the duties associated with the function of a partner of the company.

• B. General Manager - the duty is to provide negotiations,

dealings and supply chain associated with the function of a partner.

• C. Account Executive - project work management,

graphic work and production, creativity, supply chain and budgeting is important.

• D. External Collaborators - e.g. graphic designers,

accountants, suppliers, vendors, etc.

The company currently has only the General Manager and the Admin Manager listed on the website apart from the two CEOs which shows that the company’s website needs more work to showcase the professionals who are working in its team.

Restructuring During Covid-19, a lot of engineering firms saw a delay in their supply chain as they are often global.

Sahil Engineering Consultant was no different, as the consultancy deals with many suppliers and vendors. The company had to restructure how it does business by creating a new risk management team. This team then evaluated the estimated delay in each task and informed the clients beforehand so that they were on top of information regarding their projects.

Construction work was slowed down in the UAE in the year 2020 and with the postponement of Dubai Expo 2020, and the country was struggling in terms of development. However, in 2021, we can already see the situation improve. However, the company should still retain its strategy of risk management and delay estimations for all future projects and should look for local partners which will be able to provide resources during another situation like this pandemic in the near future.

The company Saahil Engineering Consultant promotes the following strategic goals, which are gradually adjusted according to the current market situation and

customer preferences

¡ Customer orientation - to be able to satisfy customer requirements as much as possible, to adapt to their individual wishes ¡ Strive for a favorable and affordable price of services offered - offer individual payment terms suitable for customers in any given situation ¡ Completely specific offer of services - uniqueness of services ¡ Ensure the largest possible profit margin ¡ Focus on a certain market segment ¡ Continuous self-education in the field of crisis management and crisis communication Their main strategy is to provide customers with the most unique services and help the customer realize their dream of building a house. For that reason, the company employees, architects, engineers, interior designers, graphic designers and other visionaries do not just give customers an idea but rather create a model of that idea in concrete form.

Providing customers with unique ideas.

Designing the customer's idea in concrete form.

Providing a final product based on the unique idea.

Figure 7: Sahil Work Flow Chart Operation Strategy As described above, the main operational strategy used by Sahil Engineering Consultant is dividing its employees into teams and delegating work. The company has only 50 employees, which makes communication easier as all employees are treated to be at the same level and ideas flow all ways. Every team has a leader assigned who reports on the work progress to the CEO every morning, and a documented report is submitted at the end of each day to keep a log of progress.

• Order Confirmation

The consultancy meets with the client and discusses their requirements. The consultancy then negotiates the costs with the client. After the cost has been decided a formal contract is drafted. The contract is signed by both parties. The order receipt is sent to the relevant department.

• Order Development

The team of collaborators is contacted and assigned tasks. A timeline is made for the order. The blueprints are developed and sent for approval. After approval, the construction starts. The construction is completed with the help of collaborators under the supervision of the general manager.

• Order Completion

The order is completed and drafted. The lessons learned are created for the project. The order receipts are cleared. In case of complaints, a monitoring team is sent to the building.

Order Confirmation Order Development Order Completion Figure 8: Sahil Engineering Ordering Steps

The company currently strives for an active marketing policy, with the clear goal of focusing on the individuality of the customer’s required order. The customer’s needs must be 100% satisfied.

• Customer Identification

A characteristic customer of Saahil Engineering Consultant is an entrepreneur, self-employed person or legal entity that needs help, support, advice in establishing a building for their business or residential purposes. A typical agency client can be characterized by several requirements, such as the need to be visible, take a position in the market, open a physical store for an online business, launching a new business with store launch, building a house for family or renovating existing properties to meet the demands of the current time. He needs this help or support because he does not have the necessary ideas, the required time or a sufficient number of employees.

• Cold Calling

The customers are contacted through cold calling after identification. The customers are made aware of the various offers by the company. The customers are sent contact details. The customers are then engaged by sales representatives.

• Online Marketing

Emails are sent to potential customers. The customers are sent various offers to make them aware. The customers are given contact details. The customers are given a clear view of the competencies of the company’s staff.

• Advertising

One of the main advertising tools for the company Sahil Engineering Consultant is the use of the Internet. The company’s website contains a basic description and introduction of the company, headquarters, contact and continuous updating of projects. The web link is also placed on the major search engines to ensure the visibility and reachability of the company.

In the form of sponsorship, the company is interested in various social events, regularly contributing to a pre- selected charity. In the future, the company would like to participate in projects for non-profit organizations.

Contact the government of the UAE, and offer them assistance in solving urgent tasks in the field of engineering consultancy. Regular advertising in the Yellow Pages, advertising newspapers, etc. is also done by the company. Organizing courses and seminars in the field of engineering management and consultancy.

Marketing Strategies Customer Identification Advertising Online Marketing Cold Calling Figure 9: Sahil Engineering Marketing Strategies Pricing Strategy The company Saahil Engineering Consultant provides consulting services on the basis of a pre-agreed hourly rate. Other services, if used in blocks, will then be valued individually, according to the difficulty of the problem.

The customer who comes to Sahil Engineering Consultant knows in advance the schedule of steps, at the end of each week with a written report on the progress of work.

Throughout the consultant’s work (both externally and internally, at the customer’s site), the customer will have the opportunity to specify or change the course of work performed. Individual payment plans will be available for regular customers.

Sales Strategy After the customer contacts Sahil Engineering Consultant and expresses an interest in their services, an appointment is usually arranged. At the meeting, the consultant will briefly introduce the company Sahil Engineering Consultant and hear what the customer’s problem is. Either evaluate the proposed solution or suggest how to proceed in a given situation. After both parties have agreed on the content and scope of the work, the consultant then draws up a draft contract and the estimated financial costs.

It is possible to discuss the contract with the customer and modify it. If the situation requires it, a financial plan and a repayment schedule are drawn up. Provided that the agreement is satisfactory to both parties, such an agreement is signed and mutual cooperation can begin.

Prices are fixed, but depend on the type and length of work. References and recommendations of existing customers will also be ready for inspection.

Price Offer of Individual Services The main individual services offered by Sahil Engineering Consultant are blue prints designs, interior design and architectural design. The company also offers consultancy training to individuals regarding construction laws and standards in the UAE. These courses normally cost 1,500 to 2,000 Dirhams depending on the length of training.

Construction and engineering organizations are generally familiar with cyclical recessions. However, COVID-19 has had an unprecedented force and speed at which it has hit the industry. Projects have been either cancelled or delayed with most chains of supply being threatened.

Contractors and employees alike are concerned for their occupational health and a number of challenges exist in terms of conducting social distancing in such a workplace. Organizations that have to work with labors and staff may see these times as well as the coming years as being highly challenging and as most contracting and construction companies, primarily those such as Sahil Engineering Consultant, function of substantial capital reserves, the impact of such closures may push it to restructure, risk insolvency, seek newer types of capital, or amass debt.

Another challenge that is currently facing the company is the fact that there seems to be a gender imbalance on their team and that signifies a bigger problem. If the company wants to succeed in the current climate, they need to become more inclusive and give equal opportunities. While it is commendable that their team is diverse, there seems to be a lack of female employees due to an overall lower number of women in the industry itself.

However, the company can very well establish itself as a trendsetter by seeking out female employees who suit the profile for their future employment requirements.

This can also be done by removing all bias during the recruitment process as this field has been biased against women for a long time. It is very well possible that the bias itself is unconscious, however, it does not discount the fact that this is still happening.

For most companies such as Sahil Engineering Consultant, financial stability is a priority and in order to maintain or even achieve it under the current conditions, it requires companies to overlook their corporate and capital spending budgets alongside looking toward options of fundraising through either stimulus packages of government stabilization. Conversely, a deficit of clarity in terms of the market, the economy, and the chain of supply can make the reduction of expenses a highly challenging, if not impossible task to accomplish.

Amidst such uncertainty, no possible single solution exists; rather a number of models have to be utilized in order to estimate the financial opportunities and needs, based on the impact and duration of COVID-19 scenarios, as to how the business should approach its current position as well as prepare for the future. Such models necessitate highly accurate available data, something that generally occurs at the project level because of each project’s contractual and repository provisions. Thus, the company would need to continually gather better and new data in order to update its future scenarios analyses. Conversely, most companies that currently have not begun utilizing advanced data analytics may also be attempting to achieve this, as these instruments are likely to help provide possible solutions to the current pandemic as well as the impact it is leaving behind in its wake.

By utilizing data analytics, companies such as Sahil Engineering Consultant can derive scenarios and solutions to the current pandemic for themselves thereby making highly informed decisions, maintaining staff competence and safety and ensuring that the least number of employees are exposed to COVID-19. Primarily, the company should continue to practice government issues safety protocols whilst also ensuring that those employees who are not needed in the workplace are given the appropriate equipment to work from home in a manner that furthers the company’s goals and objectives.

Additionally, apart from providing employees with sufficient PPE (personal protective equipment), the company can practice other measures of safety including prohibiting visits, maintaining distances between employees, shift changes that are periodic or on a day-to-day basis to ensure that employees do not interact with one another as often. By double checking the current cyber security efforts in place, the company can ensure that members of its staff working from its office as well as those working from their homes are able to continually maintain contact, thereby allowing for the exchange of information to a considerable extent, thus further projects from two sides rather than having employees maintain a set position to communicate with one another. Additionally, this would help the company maintain contact with its customers thereby being able to improve its reputation as a consistent and readily caring brand.

The company has worked quite well for its run until now and has found an efficient way to work around the pandemic. However, there is still room for improvement as the company is still small. The company needs to increase its resources of information for the public to really get an idea into its working since it is a company that is advertising to the general public. It is promising to help people with building their houses and that requires some more detailed information regarding the company.

The company should also look to expand its capabilities and offer more services than just building. For example, the company can help clients get in contact with suppliers and vendors for a small fee without interference from the company itself. However, the company can negotiate the prices with the suppliers so that the customer doesn’t try to bypass their pricing. The company should increase its workforce. Currently it is only 50 employees, however, with more employees, the company can then take over bigger projects.

In conclusion, Sahil Engineering Consultant is a company with great potential as it employs many professional individuals and the operation strategy is also really good, however, it needs a long-term vision to become something more than just an SME.