SiteStuff - Ready for Commercial Rooftop?

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1 OnSite third quarter 2005 SiteStuff to Invest Over $1 Million to Enhance Procurement Platform SiteStuff has allocated over $1M in 2005 to upgrade the existing procurement platform supporting Product Sourcing, Bid Management and Information Management offerings. The investment includes migrating to Oracle s latest e-business suite. In addition to providing more features to expand current capabilities, this investment will also procure new servers to enhance scalability, reliability and performance. By upgrading to a more robust platform, SiteStuff is able to provide expanded capabilities in our existing offerings as well as future growth opportunities of the SiteStuff procurement solution. The upgrade of our core electronic order processing system is further confirmation of SiteStuff s commitment to driving customer value through our application, said Director of Product Management, Brad Chandler. The improvements in reliability and scalability will better support our clients and represent a real opportunity to improve their operational performance. The benefits are clearly client driven with some externally visible while others are internal process-driven that will indirectly improve the client s experience with SiteStuff offerings. The roll out of our upgraded platform is scheduled for late Q4 of As progress is made toward this goal, SiteStuff will provide regular updates regarding timelines and functionality. The primary means of communication will be through our OnSite and New@ news letters with the website acting as a repository for all communication. All information will be available on the website and updated on a regular basis. This will allow anyone to obtain the most up-to-date information regarding this investment. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this investment and migration, your central point of contact is Mrs. Angie Goertz at (512) or angie.goertz@sitestuff.com.

2 Talk About Visibility SiteStuff s new web-based reporting and information management capabilities offer breakthrough visibility into your spend, allowing you to quickly and easily generate detailed reports that help you save time, save money and gain control. During the budgeting process, you can use these reports to review your overall spend by specific product, category, G/L code and even SiteStuff SKU. Throughout the year, these reports will provide detailed spend information to help you prepare variance analyses. Now you can view high level spend and RFP activity by portfolio, region or even property. The new reports even allow you to drill down to a specific product/service category, timeframe, or contract value. You will now have the ability to quickly and accurately compare actual expenses to projections, as well as generate and review valuable information on multiple projects and properties in an instant. Best of all, you can accurately forecast and effectively plan for the future. These new reporting capabilities let you: Track and manage spending and budget variances at detailed product levels Define opportunities for product standardization and cost savings Compare per square foot costs between properties Demonstrate adherence to internal bidding policies and procedures Check the SiteStuff/Grainger special pricing before you go to a local branch That s what we call seeing clearly! Look for the new reports later this summer under the new Reports tab when you log-into the SiteStuff website. SiteStuff to Expand Field Presence to Provide Better Customer Service SiteStuff, Inc. is dedicated to delivering the highest possible service to our clients, increasing customer satisfaction and enhancing the SiteStuff experience. In order to maximize the SiteStuff value, we have renewed our attention to our end users: the property personnel using our site to purchase product and bid contracts. In an on-going and continuous effort to increase the value our clients realize with SiteStuff, we are pleased to announce a dramatic increase in our field presence with SiteStuff resources located in markets where our customers have the greatest concentration of business. The Regional Account Managers will now have smaller territories to manage and therefore have the ability to concentrate their efforts on developing deeper customer relationships in their markets. We are also realigning our Austin team to provide dedicated resources to our customers outside these large markets. In addition to helping our clients through direct interaction, our team will continue to enhance the experience at the delivery level by working closely with local distributors to observe and upgrade performance where necessary. They will also be available to help you use the Bid Management Platform, and increase its effectiveness by developing relationships with local service providers in order to create a more robust nationwide service provider directory. By increasing support for all of our clients, we can provide measurable value and maximize the benefits realized with SiteStuff. The new organizational structure will be in place by September at which time you will receive an notification with representative names and contact information for your particular property. Until that time, please continue to contact our Customer Care department with any issues or concerns. We are excited about the opportunity to better serve our clients.

3 SiteStuff Salutes our 2005 TOBY Award Nominees and Winners The TOBY award is the most prestigious program in the commercial real estate industry, recognizing quality in office buildings and corporate facilities and awarding excellence in building management. SiteStuff would like to congratulate our 2005 nominees and winners! Nominees Building Management Company Location One Monument Place Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc Fairfax, VA Highland Oaks II CB Richard Ellis, Inc. Downers Grove, IL Murdock Plaza PM Realty Group Los Angeles, CA Mellon Everett Jones Lang LaSalle Everett, MA 303 West Madison CB Richard Ellis, Inc. Chicago, IL The Pointe, Bldg. 400 Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. Atlanta, GA The Water Garden Trammell Crow Company Santa Monica, CA Seventeenth Street Plaza Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. Denver, CO LaSalle Bank Building Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, (Illinois), L.P. Chicago, IL UnitedHealth Group Trammell Crow Company Maryland Heights, MO Hibernia Bank Plaza Trammell Crow Company Houston, TX Arboretum Plaza I + II Trammell Crow Company Austin, TX And the winners are: The Water Garden Trammell Crow Company Santa Monica, CA Hibernia Bank Plaza Trammell Crow Company Houston, TX SELECTING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR BY RANDY AXELSON, CENTIMARK CORPORATION Let common sense guide you in your search for a roofing contractor. The roofing of commercial and industrial buildings is a monumental undertaking. It requires a time intensive commitment of hours of detailed planning and preparation dealing with the intricacies of building codes, OSHA standards and an assortment of other involved specifications. The financial aspect of such an undertaking can seem daunting. As a decision maker, you are the owner of this task, starting with obtaining competitive bids from qualified contractors. But what really constitutes a contractor as being termed qualified? It s more than just construction knowledge. It includes financial and operational uniformity and stability. Let experience and common sense guide you in your decision. Just consider what s been happening in the commercial roofing industry lately. In the late 1990 s different groups of investors bought and rolled-up smaller roofing companies into large ones, with grandiose visions of IPOs and earning a quick buck, not necessarily a better roofing company. As it stands today, three out of these five roll-ups have failed! So when you choose a contractor, look for experience and financial stability. Make sure that the contractor will be able to handle leak repairs and honor the warranty.

4 Here are ten suggestions for pre-qualifying your roofing contractor. brought to you by: 1. Make sure your contractor is professional with a permanent place of business, phone, tax identification and a business license, if required by your state, county or city. Look for at least ten years of roofing experience. 2. As for proof of liability and worker s compensation insurance coverage. Make sure the coverages are paid up through the completion of the job. 3. As for financial information financial statements, annual reports, credit references. The contractor s net worth should be at least five times greater than the value of the contract. 4. Check references. Make sure their customers were satisfied with the contractor, the type of roof system and the followup to installation. 5. Check with the Better Business Bureau, Department of Professional Regulation or regional or national industry associations like the National Roofing Contractors Association. 6. Get everything in writing description of work, specification, starting and completion dates, payment procedures and warranty information. Photos are useful. Get documentation on local codes, permits required, bonding and insurance requirements. Warranties should be non-prorated with one company responsible for installation, labor and material costs. 7. Verify that the contractor is licensed or approved by the manufacturer of the roofing products. Most roofing product manufactures require special application expertise by the contractors. 8. Determine who will be in charge of the roofing project on a daily basis, how many workers will be on the roof, the specific work hours and days, quality control procedures and noise issues. 9. Verify that the contractor provides 24 hour repair, warranty and emergency service. Make sure they can make repairs to all roof systems. 10. Safety first! Ask about the safety training and education of the roofers. Inquire about the safety, noise and debris that may affect your tenants, employees and guests. Prepared by Centimark Corporation with information from the National Roofing Contractor s Association (NRCA). For more information, contact Randy Axelson, Managing Director-Real Estate and Healthcare Division at Centimark, (800) You can also find us in the Contact Services section of the SiteStuff website at or you can contact your SiteStuff Customer Care representative at or by at customercare@sitestuff.com.

5 Jan-SiteStuff-HlfPg_C07jul05.qxd 7/7/05 3:05 PM Page 1 Advertisement When it comes to building and facility services, your choice is clear. As one of the nation s largest building and facilities services companies, ABM can offer advantages others cannot: An operational infrastructure that covers all 50 states Cost containment through purchasing power and other economies of scale A history of reliability built over a century of experience ABM Industries provides complete janitorial, parking, security, engineering and lighting services for thousands of commercial, industrial, institutional and retail facilities in hundreds of cities across the United States and British Columbia, Canada. For service that s clearly the best, call today. Or go online at: ABM Industries, Inc. 113 Clermont Ave. Alexandria, VA brought to you by: Letting Commercial Carpet Maintenance Pay for Itself Carpet represents a significant investment for any business or commercial property, but due to budgetary or other organizational pressures, it is often not properly maintained. This can have a major impact on overall building operations and appearance indoor air quality can suffer, monthly budgets may be inconsistent, and carpet may need to be replaced much more frequently. This doesn t have to be the case. The key is to schedule programmed maintenance rather than carpet cleaning, which is simply the removing of apparent soil. By gaining a better understanding of proper carpet maintenance and considering some of its key principles during the bidding and estimating phase, a business can significantly prolong the average life of its carpeting. In fact, according to CRI, proper maintenance can extend the average life of commercial carpeting from seven to ten years. In that sense, carpet maintenance can pay for itself. But to achieve that kind of benefit, proper maintenance must be addressed in the bidding and estimating phase. In other words, have a plan. Today at ServiceMaster Clean, our customers are approaching programmed carpet maintenance much more thoughtfully than the typical organization did just a few years ago.

6 Critical factors to consider when bidding and estimating carpet maintenance include cleaning and maintenance frequency, cleaning systems and vendor evaluation and management. It s important that as part of the bidding and estimating process that communication expectations and procedures are discussed. Both the facility manager and the vendor should be prepared to address problems, communicate regularly and report on how and when things get done. It s easy to think that a proper carpet maintenance estimate is as simple as looking at a facility s square footage and the man-hours needed to clean it. However, if an organization is going to maintain its carpet for the long-term and derive the maximum return on its investment, facility managers must take a much broader perspective on the bidding and estimating process. The potential impact is too great to ignore. For more information on ServiceMaster Clean commercial cleaning services, visit our Web site at or check us out on the SiteStuff Web site at

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8 12401 Research Blvd. Building I, Suite 250 Austin, TX PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SITESTUFF.COM Register for Online Bid Management Tool Classes Today Register today for online training for the SiteStuff Contract Services Solution. SiteStuff conducts weekly RFP training demonstrations for anyone interested. In this short session (usually less than one hour), you will learn the benefits of the SiteStuff Bid Management Tool, as well as how to use it. With the tool, you can save time and make your bidding process more efficient. To sign up for upcoming Property Manager RFP Training classes visit: We look forward to meeting you on the next call!