Changing face of the FM industry

“Often forgotten, misconstrued or simply not acknowledged, Facilities Management (FM) is an industry that is required across multiple industries to enhance the quality of core business processes and increase their value. When everything is going okay, nobody remembers the efforts that go in to keep it running fine, however one breakdown and everyone cribs about Facilities Management,”says Rajesh Pandit, Managing Director - Asset Services and Head of Global Workplace Solutions, CBRE India. By definition, Professional Facility Management as an interdisciplinary business function has the objective to coordinate demand and supply of facilities and services within public and private organizations. Facility management was not officially recognized as a discipline until the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) was organized in the early 1980s. It was truly a reactive service conducted by anyone and everyone. Since then, the sector has come a long way and emerged into a vibrant sector creating opportunities for those taking proactive steps to adapt to evolving customer needs. Responsibilities in the sector have increased, duties have expanded and the scope has broadened. Consequently, the level of outsourcing is increasing and clients have become more demanding and sophisticated in procuring FM services. Today, not only global companies but Indian companies as well equally understand the importance and advantages of outsourcing. Markets and markets in a recent report projected the facility management market to grow from USD 28.90 Billion in 2016 to USD 56.67 Billion by 2021, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.42%. APAC is expected to dominate the facility management market during the forecast period. As business is burgeoning globally with growth detected across all markets and regions, the demand for facility management (FM) outsourcing is increasing.More and more companies are looking to outsource all or part of their facility-related operations to FM service providers in order to be able to solely focus on the work that is core to the business. Today, facilities management holds strategic importance by applying expert knowledge, proven best practices and processes, best-in-class technology, procurement leverage and energy and sustainability initiatives, to enhance value, streamline operations, manage operational risk, and reduce operating expenses for its clients. In an extremely dynamic and ever changing business environment today which demands constant innovation in all fields and Facility Management is not untouched.Globalization and opening up of markets has led to transformations and trends in this industry like new regulatory and economic developments; increased appetite for outsourcing, increased service integration and demand for value added services catering to customer specific needs. Clients today look for more integrated FM solutions to benefit not just from more efficient service provision but also to reduce the internal cost of procuring and monitoring those services.  Thus leading Facility management companies innovate and transform their services to meet the changing demands of the customers These demands are driving FM providers to reshape their proposition in order to take advantage of evolving customer requirements and help enhance an organization’s environment and improve staff efficiencies by providing consistency of service, combined with locally tailored, customizable solutions.