THE CHALLENGE

Once the request for proposals for a new CIS and/or enterprise management system is out the door, the selection process begins in earnest. "A difficult process" is how Carl Wolfe, Director of Customer Service and CIS Project Director for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) sums up the effort. "Utilities like ours switch systems very infrequently. We don't know which of the most current technologies actually work, and which only exist as a vendor's sales pitch. That's a primary reason why we turned to TMG Consulting to help us through the selection process. They seem to have all this information at their fingertips, including how system switches at other utilities have gone."

TMG CONSULTING SERVICES

The difficult process that Gary Weseloh and Mario Bauer of TMG Consulting are helping BPU through includes:

• Assessing their functional, technical and business process requirements
• Preparing the Request for Proposal
• Evaluating and ranking the respondents’ proposals
• Creating a vendor short list
• Conducting scripted demonstrations
• Checking customer references by telephone
• Further narrowing the vendor list
• Conducting follow-on, scripted demonstrations
• Visiting relevant customer reference sites
• Final selection and contract negotiation

TMG Consulting's staff works closely with utility staff in a consulting role, facilitating rather than controlling the process. “TMG Consulting helped us manage the entire process with routine visits to the BPU and on-going status reports. I consider Gary Weseloh of TMG Consulting to be just like another member of our internal staff,” says Carl.

RESULTS

The BPU is eight months into its system implementation process. During this time, some project drivers have shifted as the organization's needs have changed. "TMG Consulting brings a continuity to projects because we understand the utilities' needs, yet provide an external perspective," says Gary Weseloh. "The industry continues to evolve during the course of any system selection process. Utilities rely on TMG Consulting to share, up-front, our industry expertise and experience with similar projects, keep them abreast with how other utilities' projects are proceeding, and alert them to relevant changes in vendors' offerings."