BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY - Nearing the Cutting Edge

When it comes to business technology, nearly three quarters of landscape contractors consider themselves proactive, integrating high-tech systems to increase performance and avoid operational problems.
 
Though, when probed further, a recent Lawn & Landscape business technology survey discovered that contractors more readily invest in and adopt in-the-field technology than back-office systems.
 
For example, nearly 57 percent of landscape contractors budget for business technology purchases, the Lawn & Landscape study shows, and 84 percent earmark $5,000 or less for technology investments and system upgrades.
 
And for the most part, landscape contractors believe their technology investments have made their business processes more effective (78 percent) more so than improving employee performance (66 percent), according to survey data. Overall, 63 percent of contractors believe these investments have resulted in higher profits, the survey says.
 
So what technologies are landscape contractors investing in? Cellular and other two-way communication technology – providing a vital link between the work crews and headquarters – are the most readily adopted by landscape contractors, the Lawn & Landscape study reveals.
 
In contrast, more cutting-edge – and less-proven – technology such as global positioning systems (GPS), while holding the potential for greater efficiency and performance, remains relatively untested in the green industry, survey participants indicate.
 
Having nearly 60 percent of landscape contractors regard business technology as a budgetary line item is not as encouraging as the figure may indicate, says David Sloan, marketing director for Kansas City-based Drafix Software.
 
“It also means nearly half – the other 40 percent or so – dismiss technology,” he says.
 
While unexpected when you consider the vital role business technology plays with many modern companies, Sloan says it may be an accurate reflection for the landscape industry. “A lot of landscape contractors out there are mom-and-pop-type shops that are comfortable in the (low-tech) way they’ve been doing business and are alright with that,” Sloan says. “I would guess that 43 percent who are not budgeting for these improvements are one- and two-man shops who are happy with their paper and pen systems.”
 
A company’s size, though, has a bearing on its attitude towards adopting and implementing business technology. For example, the Lawn & Landscape survey found that landscape companies reporting more than $500,000 in annual revenue budget for technology purchases and upgrades, provide their employees with cellular and two-way communication devices, maintain an active presence on the Web and more frequently update and/or replace hardware and software systems.
 
As a result, these companies more often report a return on their technology investments. Likewise, 92 percent of these contractors report that integrating technology has made their business processes more effective, and 76 percent reported their businesses were more profitable, the study found.

COMMUNICATION. Accessibility drives landscape contractors’ desire to be connected to clients, crews and companies.
 
More than 67 percent of landscape contractors provide their employees with cell phones for communication, according to the Lawn & Landscape survey data. Likewise, 94 percent of firms reporting more than $500,000 in revenue provide cellular devices to some members of their workforce, the study says.
 
So who’s dialing? Overall, contractors say the top employees issued these tools include foremen/supervisors (71 percent) top-level managers (56 percent), and crew chiefs (40 percent), according to the Lawn & Landscape survey. In contrast, the study found less than 15 percent of landscape companies provide their laborers with cell phones, and a small contingent (less than 5 percent) provide them to everyone on staff.
 
Less popular among all landscape contractors surveyed were two-way or Nextel-type devices, with less than a third (31 percent) of contractors using the walkie-talkie/cellular-hybrid communication devices, the survey says. However, two-way devices were more popular among firms reporting more than $500,000 in revenue (62 percent), the data says. And as seen with cell phones, the devices were allocated most often to foremen/supervisors (75 percent), top-level managers (58 percent) and crew chiefs (46 percent).
 
Communication is key to running a successful landscape business, says Scott Hutchings, vice president of operations at Grant & Power Landscaping in West Chicago, Ill. His firm provides all employees with cell phones and adds the investment is worthwhile.
 
“I like knowing I’m connected to all of my foremen regardless of whether I have a landscaping issue or a snow removal issue,” Hutchings says. “And all of our clients like knowing they’re connected to me and can reach me on my cell at any time.”

SOFTWARE. When it comes to updating design, business and accounting software, the majority of landscape contractors are keeping these systems up to date.
 
In fact, nearly 66 percent of landscape contractors have updated their computer software within the last year, according to the study, and an additional 24 percent have done so within the last three years. Only 2.5 percent of contractors say they’ve waited longer than a decade to do so.
 
With regard to landscape design software, the numbers match up to the trends Sloan has observed in the marketplace.
 
“Between 20 and 30 percent of the people I talk to at the shows still do this by hand,” Sloan says. “They seem interested in the technology, but they’re just not budgeting for it. One of the No. 1 challenges we face is getting the message across to these landscape contractors that technology is not your enemy, it’s your friend.”

GPS. Despite its apparent benefits, landscape contractors are not utilizing global positioning systems (GPS) in their operations, the study discovered.
 
More than 85 percent of contractors do not use GPS, and the main reason they dismiss the technology is they do not believe it is applicable to their landscape operations. Other reasons to pass on GPS include the rewards not justifying the financial investment, the need to invest in heavy equipment and the business isn’t largest enough in size to warrant adopting the technology, contractors say.
 
And while some say they are investigating in GPS, nearly 65 percent of contractors not using GPS will not reconsider it over the next 12 months, the survey says. And only 19 percent of those who consider themselves proactive toward technology utilize GPS.
     
Contractors using GPS adopted the technology for routing (62 percent), to increase operations and procedural efficiencies (58 percent) and to track work crews and their progress (44 percent), the study says. And while the rewards have justified the investment for 78 percent of GPS users, the study indicates 52 percent see additional untapped potential in the technology.
 
Contractors don’t consider GPS a good fit for their operations because the technology is more ideal for tracking fleets and personnel for timely matters and issues, says Jamie Mish, sales and marketing manager at Marathon Data Systems in Tinton Falls, N.J. Most landscape matters do not require an immediate response.
 
Rather, Mish says a better investment is software that creates tighter routing for landscape contractors. “A better use of the money is to use technology that will create more efficient routes for the contractor’s day-to-day work,” she says. “This is where you’ll find the cost savings.”
 
Successful integration is an education issue, says Joe Kucik, owner of Real Green Systems in Walled Lake, Mich. GPS technology offers more than fleet tracking, he says.
 
“Fleet tracking has been the big buzz word for GPS,” Kucik says. “Sure, everyone wants to know where their trucks are at, and every owner has fears about having unsupervised crews out in the field all days.
 
“But there’s also the improved safety features in allowing drivers to not have to read maps while they drive and the efficiency factor in getting crews to their destination over the shortest distance possible,” he says. “Contractors using these systems together are seeing a significant increase in productivity, between a 10- to 15-percent increase.”

HIGH-TECH. The use of handheld devices and laptop computers in the field among landscape contractors was split almost evenly, with nearly 45 percent of contractors saying they or someone on their staffs utilize one of these devices in the field. This trend, however, increases with higher-performing firms, the study found, with more than 90 percent of contractors reporting more than $500,000 in annual revenue using these portable high-tech tools.
 
“This is a trend that has occurred over the last few years,” Mish says. “People want to be connected to their office and to information.”
 
The popularity stems from the various applications of the mobile solution hardware and software that increase productivity. Contractors using these devices have access to more information than they ever have had before, whether it’s a project proposal or a client history, Mish says. Likewise, contractors are now able to input information and data right in the field instead of deciphering handwritten notes back at the office. And, mobile devices decrease or eliminate the amount of data entry done by office support staff, freeing them up to attend to other duties, she says.
 
Like many contractors using laptop computers in the field, Hutchings says he keeps his in his truck at all times. “I have a portable printer that goes with my laptop which enables me to write up bids on-site,” Hutchings says. “For me, it’s a tool that makes my job a lot easier.”
 
However, Kucik does not believe such a high percentage of contractors are using this handheld technology in the field. While they may say they are using laptops and handhelds in the field, they most likely are not using the associated industry-specific software systems to their fullest capacity.
  
“I believe the number contractors fully using this technology and these business systems is closer to the percentage who say they are using GPS,” he says.
  
Kucik argues handheld devices allow contractors to integrate, at a cost savings, the innovations associated with GPS along with data collection to create a more efficient mobile system.
 
“These products have a lot of functionality,” he says.
 
THE WEB. While contractors are technology minded, they may not be as savvy with components considered business staple.
 
Sixty-six percent of landscape contractors do not have company Web sites, the study found. Likewise, 63 percent of contractors who consider themselves “proactive” in regard to technology usage don’t maintain a  presence on the Internet, according to the Lawn & Landscape study.
 
The lowest frequency (30 percent) of company Web sites was seen among Midwestern landscape contractors, while the highest (36 percent) is among contractors in the western U.S., the study found.
 
Many landscape contractors still don’t see the business potential inherent in having a presence on the Internet, says Sal Mortilla, owner of Landscaping Unlimited in Long Island, N.Y.
 
“This is a classic example of our industry being in the dark ages,” says Mortilla, who generates about 85 percent of his business via his Web site.
 
Contractors have been slow to understand that many customers prefer to deal with firms who use technology, Mortilla says. “If they didn’t then they wouldn’t be on the Internet,” he says. “I see guys who could be doing so much better then they are if they embraced the technology.”
 
Sixty-six percent of contractors without a Web presence means gained Web leads for the 34 percent of landscape contractors who are active on the Web, Mish says.
 
“Web sites don’t cost much to put up and maintain and the main point of having the Web site is to get sales leads,” she says. ”And the cost per lead is very low. And it’s not like the Yellow Pages where you compete against everyone else on the page.”
 
Grant & Power uses its Web presence as a component of the sales process, Hutchings says. The site enables clients to begin the selection of a “wish list” of what they’d like to have in a design/build project, he says.
 
“When I get to the client’s home they’re ready to go,” Hutchings says. “It takes out a lot of the time lost in those middle steps explaining our services and what’s available. Instead we can start right in and spend more time on the nitty gritty of the design. Ultimately, I’m not selling a single landscaping project, I’m building a relationship.”
 
However, the study reveals that e-mail is a much more popular tool for landscape contractors than Web sites. Nearly 80 percent of contractors say they and their employees utilize e-mail for work-related activities.