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News
Mid-Year Report. Interview with Managing Partner and COO, Dan EmehiserJuly 15th, 2008 – Des Moines, IA By any measure, Fulcrum Consulting came off a pretty good year in 2007. Even with a slowing national economy, the organization continues to show growth through the second half of 2008, and is forecasting double-digit growth for the balance of this year. During a recent Growth Company Forum, associate editor of Legends News, Karen Houle sat down with Dan Emehiser, Fulcrum’s COO, to discuss what lies ahead for Fulcrum, the marketplace and the industry. Legends: 2008 is looking like it might be a pretty good year for you. Emehiser: Fulcrum has enjoyed double-digit growth rates since its inception. We believe we will show a lower rate of growth for 2008, but still ahead of the industry for the year. Legends: Is the lower forecast for 2008 due to the economy? Emehiser: We know that the current slowdown has impacted certain industries, like financial services and some segments of retail. However, we are still seeing an emphasis on performance improvement, operational efficiency and large scale implementations that are helping us to grow. It’s unclear what the long-term economic implications will be to the industry, but it does not feel like the downturn we experienced earlier this decade. Legends: What impacts has Fulcrum had due to the slowdown? Emehiser: We have had to rationalize certain aspects of our business operations, but for the most part our pipeline is strong and many of our customers have not shown an indication that they will be spending less. There are opportunities for us. Legends: What are some of the opportunities you have in your long term forecast for 2008? Emehiser: On the Professional Services front, we have a good level of demand for traditional consulting and contracting services. Our advantage in this area is the broad range of customer and industries that we have. We are also seeing steady technology spend levels in areas like ERP, Architecture and Ecommerce. As such, we have a steady pipeline of needs for project management, analysis, systems integration and quality management services. With respect to management and financial consulting, we are seeing an increasing level of spend on workforce planning and performance improvement. For us, this means increased service demand to help out with impending workforce migration issues, operational improvement, outsourcing and development of new financial strategies. Fulcrum has enjoyed double-digit growth rates since its inception. We are excited about the opportunities we are pursuing, but we are always looking forward to make sure we are focusing on the right things. Legends: What are you doing in support of focusing on the right things? Emehiser: From my experience I know that good organizations change before events change them. We continue to grow and have success, but we always have to look forward. I regularly challenge our organization and ask them what is the next level we can get to? We regularly take a look at how we go to market, what processes we use and what our customers are asking for. Internally, recruiting and retention are big for us, and it includes our new diversity program. Our overall attrition rate gets better each year. Beyond our growth in new customers and revenues, this is the best indicator that we are doing something right. About Fulcrum Consulting: Drawn to the company’s client focus and consultant first philosophy, large businesses have turned to Fulcrum Consulting for business guidance and the provisioning of IT and Financial staffing services to help them meet their business goals and objectives. Founded in 2003, Fulcrum Consulting has grown to become a market leader in business and technical leadership services. Please direct questions to inquiry@fulcrumconsult.com Fulcrum Debuts Corporate Sustainability Service OfferingMarch 1st, 2008 – Kansas City, MO At the foundation of Fulcrum’s 2008 strategic plan is an intense focus on translating core strengths into business results. One of the key components of this strategy is the development and focus on new management service offerings. As Eric Mahler, Managing Partner and CEO of Fulcrum Consulting, commented, “The more we specialize in a few things and do them well, the more our reputation will become one of excellence”. “Fulcrum will leverage strategic offerings to gain market share, achieve its financial objectives and, in the process, gain name recognition in the Fortune 500”. Consistent with this strategy, Fulcrum Consulting in conjunction with its partner company, Insight Consulting recently launched a new Corporate Sustainability offering. Fulcrum’s Corporate Sustainability offering, under the leadership of Practice Manager Vern Fries, is designed to help Fortune 500 organizations understand, plan and remediate the issues surrounding workforce migration. “Many factors are increasing the rate at which organizations are losing critical Business Knowledge, including the aging workforce, increasing energy costs, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, consolidation….all creating risks to corporate sustainability” says Fries. “Our emerging services in this area help organizations understand what they don’t know, why they don't know it and how to mitigate the risk by discussing straight forward, efficient and cost effective ways of identifying where the risks lie and creating a living picture for future risk mitigation caused by knowledge loss.” Fulcrum will be focusing its service offering efforts on performing assessments of the business impact of workforce migration issues on client organizations. Using its proprietary methodology and Riskculator modeling tool, Fulcrum will perform rigorous impact assessment studies and work closely with key members of a client’s staff. “Our initial effort in the U.S. will be in client awareness and mobilization in order to assess the impact of workforce migration issues on their businesses and develop action plans that address those issues,” says Fries. “Fulcrum’s pursuit approach will be targeted. Initially, we will pursue a limited number of accounts in all industry sectors. We will also work closely with Fulcrum office locations to leverage Fortune 500 customers, Fulcrum’s good reputation and experience, as we provide training to build up our delivery resources in the U.S.” Says Eric Mahler: “We will continue investing in the development of new service offerings, like Corporate Sustainability to enhance Fulcrum’s competitive position. This new service offering, along with on-going investments to strengthen our existing ones, will fuel our growth in the future years…We have created an environment the is becoming rich with opportunities to learn new skills, work locally, as a first class team.” About Fulcrum Consulting: Drawn to the company’s client focus and consultant first philosophy, large businesses have turned to Fulcrum Consulting for business guidance and the provisioning of IT and Financial staffing services to help them meet their business goals and objectives. Founded in 2003, Fulcrum Consulting has grown to become a market leader in business and technical leadership services. Please direct questions to inquiry@fulcrumconsult.com About Insight Consulting: In a world as complex as today's business environment, it is important to maintain a clear intent: to provide distinctively value added assistance to our clients in their pursuit of sustained competitive success. Founded by a group of seasoned consulting professionals in 1994, Insight's foundation consists of over two decades of expertise and experience gained from both past and present professional affiliations. Our roots stretch back to the early 1970's when many of our principals began their careers in the consulting practices of Big Five firms and in selected industries. Our key players are not only successful management consultants; they also have served in senior management roles in complex business organizations. Practical experience is a key attribute of how we approach our work. Fulcrum Consulting Unveils New Company and Website BrandingFebruary 1st, 2008 – Minneapolis, MN Fulcrum Consulting today unveiled a transformation of its corporate identity. The new brand is designed to reflect today's Fulcrum, a consultant and customer-centric company built on a legacy of providing innovative services that meet the needs of large businesses. "Our new and improved branding reflects who we are, the markets we serve and the services that differentiate us in our industry,” said Dan Emehiser, COO and Managing Partner of Fulcrum Consulting. “We have expanded into new markets, created new businesses, acquired new capabilities, developed technologies that launched new industries to ensure we make it easier, faster, and less costly for our customers to leverage our full line of capabilities." “The new Fulcrum logo is the only constant in our branding change -- The “Fulcrum” name with a vibrant red arc to emphasize the company’s capability to help organization achieve positive action and results.” "Our brand is a growing company assets and the value it brings to our business is immeasurable." "Our customers, our consultants and our staff connect the most with what the brand stands for -- quality, flexibility, customer and consultant-focus and a values-rich culture.” “Today, we're strengthening all our attributes and giving our brand a contemporary look that is more reflective of the changes and investments we have made for the future." "From the outside looking in, I've watched Fulcrum transition its business from a management consulting provider to a true partner in helping companies better achieve results - whether it's consulting, professional services or both." "At the same time, Fulcrum has built a stronger company across the board and attracted new customers through new markets.” “Changing the brand was a logical next step.” The company's Web site, www.fulcrumconsult.com , goes live tonight with the new brand identity and Fulcrum will now start changing the logo on marketing materials in a transition that is expected to take over the next month. The results of Fulcrum brand changes were based upon research conducted with Fulcrum consultants, customers and management staff. The new brand was developed by Code 9 design. It was unveiled to the company's employees today as part of a broad based communications announcement. Company Results for 2007 and 2008 OutlookJanuary 31, 2008 - Minneapolis, MN "Fulcrum Consulting experienced triple digit percentage growth in revenues when compared to the prior year, said Eric Mahler, CEO of Fulcrum Consulting.” “Similarly, we exceeded our goals for the year in profitability, new market and account growth, consultant headcount and most importantly, consultant retention. 2007 was an exceptional year and consistent with the pace of growth we have experienced since our inception.” Market and Services Update: “Fulcrum was founded with a focus on Management Consulting services in the areas of business and IT strategy formulation, operational improvement and change management.” “Since our inception, we have continued to invest in the broadening of our services to include IT Professional Services, Financial Staffing, Outsourcing and Vendor Management Services.” “IT Professional Services accounted for over 75% of company revenues nationally, and it represented the fastest area of growth in 2007.” “This is a significant flip over our revenue mix in earlier years when Management Consulting revenues were in the majority.” “Similarly, the organization has grown from 12 Fortune 500 customers in 2003 to over 80 of the largest companies in the Fortune 500.” “Over the past 5 years, we have diversified our industry mix to include financial services, manufacturing, transportation, consumer goods and healthcare.” “With respect to new markets, we have offices in over 12 cities at the close of 2007 and consultant presence in over 15 of the largest U.S. domestic markets.” Customer Satisfaction: “Our customers continue to tell us that our level of responsiveness, quality of our people, our level of flexibility and commitment to meeting/exceeding their expectations are our biggest differentiators.” “To that end, we ended the year with a national customer service rating of 4.78 out of 5 (5 being the best).” Consultant Retention: “Our national retention rate at the end of 2007 was 86%.” “This above average industry measurement speaks to the strong opportunity pipeline we have built and the variety of assignments we can offer our consultants and opportunities for advancement we offer our consultants, management team and office staff”. 2008 and Beyond: “We recognize the growing concern regarding the state of our national economy.” “With industry slowdowns, unexpected company layoffs and general recessionary concerns, many are concerned about job security.” “Despite these concerns, we believe the consulting and professional services industry will be strong.” “We believe there will be short term corporate spending swings and related unknowns attributable to the change in domestic leadership after this year, but the long term forecast for what we do should be steady.” “Between the ongoing change in workforce demographics, the need for large companies to maintain competitive to survive, cost reduction, M&A activities, human capital management, etc., our industry should be strong for those who are focused on quality of service.” “Our goals for 2008 and over the next 5 years are continued growth in revenues and market share.” “In support of these goals we will continue to work toward “fair share” in existing Fulcrum markets by investing further in infrastructure that helps us to grow.” “Additionally, we will continue to examine and invest in new markets.” “We have a goal of adding one to two new markets per year through organic investment (“new start ups”) and acquisition of businesses that align to our service offering goals and direction….” (Excerpt from CEO, Eric Mahler -- Analyst Presentation, 1/3/08). FulcrumPRO Software Release to Support Managed Service OfferingOctober, 3,2007 - Minneapolis, MN. Fulcrum Consulting today announced the FulcrumPRO product line, a software application developed to addresses workforce procurement and resource management challenges for the Fortune 500. Through scaleable, web-based applications, FulcrumPRO administers the hiring cycle to identify, leverage and manage the enterprise-wide spend on human capital. Through a combination of Fulcrum Services and Software, Fulcrum Consulting can deliver a supplier-neutral approach to Human Capital Management, reducing the cost of managing contingent labor while delivering workflow efficiencies through integrated applications and services. “Our human capital management solution is process-based and supported by workflow-rich software” said Dan Emehiser, COO and Managing Partner, Fulcrum Consulting. “The key differentiators for our solution are the software, process and people.” “The benefits of our solution deliver cost savings for most enterprise customers.” “Our approach provides clarity to fragmented business processes, managing vendors and resource acquisition and allocation.” For more information regarding Fulcrum Consulting’s Managed Services Offering and/or FulcrumPRO please contact us at 1.866.975.3102. Fulcrum Announces High Customer Satisfaction Rating for the Six Months Ended June, 2007July 15th, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN Fulcrum Consulting has announced the highest overall rating from its customers in a recent survey of 95% of its customer base. Customers gave Fulcrum the top satisfaction marks in four of five categories, including meeting customer expectations, quality of consulting services, responsiveness and customer service. Fulcrum also ranked No. 1 among customers when asked if they would recommend the vendor. "Meeting customer expectations is essential," said Dan Emehiser, COO and Managing Partner, Fulcrum Consulting. "Fulcrum is known for consultant quality and customer services, but these recent surveys show we've made strides in delivering even higher business value that impacts our customers' bottom lines. We intend to continue this momentum with our focused strategy of delivering business and IT technical services with the best customer experience." The Fulcrum Customer Satisfaction Index (FCSI) scores used in the survey were based on the number of customers who ranked their experience as "excellent" and "good," adjusted by the criteria established at the beginning of an engagement. With an FCSI score of 4.72 out of 5 (5 being the best), Fulcrum earned the highest overall rating from the majority of its customers. Of those who took part in the survey, 64 percent held titles of manager or higher, and the rest had technical or senior technical titles. More than 5 industry groups were represented in the survey, including manufacturing, health care, financial services, transportation and consumer goods. Fulcrum Announces the Opening of Milwaukee and Chicago officesJuly 1st, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN Fulcrum Consulting announced the opening of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois offices to support the company's continued growth nationally. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Fulcrum Consulting has additional offices in Des Moines, St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, Sacramento, Detroit, Winston-Salem and Philadelphia. “The opening of these two new offices reflects the overall expansion of Fulcrum' operations, fueled by the company's continued revenue growth and large customer base”, said Dan Emehiser, COO and Managing Partner. "We're excited about the expansion of our business in Chicago and Milwaukee," states Mr. Emehiser. "We look forward to working with large base of Fortune 500 customers and prospects in these market that will benefit from the broad range of services we provide." The new Milwaukee and Chicago offices are located at the following addresses: Milwaukee Chicago, IL |
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