The 4,000 regional banks in the U.S. today are facing unique challenges. There’s pressure to scale up or consolidate to compete more effectively. Many are feeling the pressure to contain costs, be more operationally efficient and assume more control over maintenance and repair spend. And at the same time, they have a responsibility to support local suppliers and provide a community connection.

A centralized facilities management (FM) platform can address all of these challenges, giving regional banks powerful new tools to operate their retail branches and offices at a lower cost and more efficiently. Larger commercial banks have already embraced centralized FM, but many regional banks perceive cost as a barrier to entry. A scalable FM platform could be the answer.

At a time when margins are slim and cost containment is critical, having a scalable facilities management plan in place can give new visibility into the efficiency of buildings, spaces and equipment. Banks of all sizes can assume more control over their maintenance budgets in addition to a better understanding of vendor and technician performance, eliminating the burden of many mundane administrative tasks from the local staff.

For some smaller regional banks, who might be outsourcing FM for the first time, it can feel like a big step, which is why it is important to have a partner that can help simplify the process, and easily add or remove resources as needed – such as moving from mobile technicians to dedicated on-site staff. Over time a program can add energy and sustainability initiatives, capital project management, location strategy and much more.

Local supplier relationships are incredibly important to regional banks. Having the right partner can bring new supplier relationships or support the ones already in place. JLL Marketplace, for example, offers more than three million curated products and transparent, pre-negotiated rates with leading industry suppliers. Banking clients would have access to those savings and relationships or have the option to assimilate their local vendors into the program. Transparent pricing models allow banks to mitigate repair and maintenance costs and have full visibility into spend.

Certain patterns indicate when there is the need for a more structured FM model, such as when branch managers managing facilities on their own with inconsistent results or when work orders are tracked manually or on an ad hoc basis. Unpredictable or escalating maintenance spend can also indicate the need.

For many regional banks, the first step to outsourced FM is building a technology foundation that brings together work order management, asset data and Service Level Agreement (SLA) oversight in one place. This integration streamlines day-to-day operations and creates the conditions for a shift from reactive to preventative maintenance. From there, cost-effective shared services can centralize dispatch, governance, and vendor coordination, which can allow internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

Banks that adopt a structured and technology-enabled facilities management approach often find that they have reduce reactive maintenance by 40%[AV1] [DV2] through preventative schedules. Post-merger integration timelines can also be dramatically shortened.

“One regional institution we worked with was able to successfully onboard many newly acquired locations to a single work order platform in 30-45 days from notification to vendors all while maintaining uptime and customer service levels,” says Villa. “That is how you know a platform is working.”