Security Technology Firm Relocates U.S. Headquarters on Schedule and $3M under Budget

Consolidation and relocation of U.S. headquarters was completed on schedule and $3 million under budget. The project included closure of the former headquarters, management of the relocations, retentions, and rehiring of key personnel.

Company

The client is a global leader in the provision of threat detection and screening technologies for military, transportation, Homeland Security, and resilience applications.

Challenge

The company needed to consolidate operations and relocate their U.S. headquarters. This involved closing the existing headquarters, retaining or relocating key employees through the move, relocation of numerous operations including customer services, accounting and finance, and research and development laboratories. The objective was to save operating costs and create improved opportunities for customer service and scientific collaboration. PM Solutions was brought in after the project had been initiated; the company had already announced the closures and moves to employees, customers, and public. Cost and savings expectations had been announced to the company board. Additional challenges included:

• Specific state laws regarding human resources notifications
• HQ was moving to one facility, while many services were moving to another
• No down time in customer services was permitted
• Relocation and removal of Hazardous Materials
• A major SAP change was required to accommodate changes in accounting and operations.

Solution

Working with the client, key personnel, and various stakeholders, a collaborative team was established to rapidly assess the issues, challenges, and legal requirements to expedite execution of the move. PM Solutions’ Senior Project Manager worked with a team of a client-provided Project Manager and Project Finance Manager to reduce risk by creating and managing a program of key employee retentions and relocations, as well as managing the critical path of legal notifications and tasks. Progress was accelerated by defining the requirements for all departments and provide all necessary facilities in the new locations.

Results

The relocation project was completed on schedule and $3 million under budget. The project also coordinated with other essential programs at all sites to accommodate moves, customer services, training, and manufacturing.

“A major relocation like this requires precise execution — with no room for error. We trusted PM Solutions to orchestrate all the moving parts, and they delivered. Our investment decision to bring in outside expertise paid for itself many times over considering what we saved in expected costs.”
— Director of Communications, Client