I’m not sure if it’s an urban myth but I once heard the story that a senior Purchasing manager at a well known Bavarian car company proudly exclaiming

“We demand clear communication and do not use TLA’s at BMW …. “

TFM is the latest TLA (Three Letter Acronym) to be heard in the corridors of purchasing offices up and down the country. But what is TFM?

A Total Facilities Management Solution can incorporate all FM service lines from Maintenance and Building Fabric Repairs to Catering and Cleaning all from one trusted source.

A TFM supplier will self-deliver wherever possible and will operate under a ‘One Team’ model that enables cross-skilling and multifunctional responsibilities throughout the various service streams.

What are the benefits?

A TFM solution provides a one stop shop for delivery and because the supplier will typically self deliver greater than 70% of the services they are able to aggregate spend and optimise the delivery model that generates savings for the customer.

Savings levels will clearly depend on the relative scale and maturity of the existing service model but customers can expect to reduce their annual operating cost by between 10% and 30% which provides a compelling rationale for any CFO.

Customers that have taken the TFM step are seeing a number of non cost benefits including;

o Increased security of business operations and mission critical areas. In today’s business environment this can be a key factor for protection of both personnel and sensitive data

o Flexibility for adapting to any unforeseen circumstances including robust disaster recovery planning

o Improved accountability and tracking of service delivery performance.

o Any in house headcount will typically TUPE across to the service provider and because FM is the ‘ bread and butter ‘ of that organisation staff morale and motivation often improves as there is greater scope for progression and growth.

o TFM providers are well versed in managing the transition from in house team + multiple third party providers to a TFM solution and contract novations are managed efficiently.

o Total cost transparency creating a pro-active culture developing a long standing relationship

o Continual development and improvement upon the delivery of services with reviews against measurable service level agreements

In summary TFM can provide tangible cost improvements to your business and deliver greater control of your environment. Maybe BMW will start using TLA’s once again.