Global Portfolio Management
1. Managing new projects: For 20 years, I have helped international clients optimize the outcome of new projects by making sure that the right resources, internally (both at central and local levels, with sometimes intermediate/regional levels) and externally, were mobilized, for instance:
Operations
Finance & Taxation
Supply chain
Legal
Insurance & risk prevention
HR
Marketing & Sales
Communication
There are 2 aspects to Global portfolio management:
You may also need to contract with a company specialized in negotiating incentives and tax credits with local authorities for projects relating to a new site.
For many projects, it is safer to hire a reputable commercial brokerage firm. This can be done through one-off RFPs (issuing an RFP for each new project), or on a global basis (issuing an RFP to select a global player, signing a Master Service Agreement (MSA) that will define the terms & conditions applicable to each local project. Each local project is then govern by the terms and conditions of a Local Service Agreement (LSA) that will include the terms of the MSA, and the projects specifics. Some companies choose a hybrid model, issuing a global RFP to select not just one supplier, but a panel of a few suppliers (typically 2 to 4) who will either be consulted for each new project, or who will be allocated to a spectific region or asset type.
I have the experience to assist your company with ready-made, easy-to-taylor RFP models (either for global RFPs or for one-off RFPs), MSA and LSA templates. Depending on the characteristics of your portfolio (size, distribution around the world, asset types, ownership, typical tenure, etc.) and I will help you choose the most suitable model.
I will also implement a proper reporting platform, so that you have real-time knowledge of any project status at any given point.
To achieve this, you need a few things:
Technology: if you have more than 20 sites, MANAGING THEM WITH A SPREADSHEET IS NOT AN OPTION. Indeed, you need a platform that will allow you to store copies of title deeds, lease documentation, photos, floor plans, to display site measurements in various units (square feet, square meters, tsubo, Rai, Dunam…) A proper tool will also allow you to trigger automatic email alerts for any upcoming event, so that you can proactively manage what’s coming up (a huge improvement that will save you significant amounts of money). The platform will also allow you to run IFRS 16 reports if needed.
Regional and local contact people in your organization: people who will be in charge of collecting existing documentation and who will be responsible to send you copies of any new documents such as a lease amending agreement or a rent revision letter from the landlord. Typically we find these people in the finance team.
Manpower to inject all the relevant information in the chosen platform, translating foreign language documents in your company’s language of business. Rather than employing in-house people, we strongly recommend using a 3rd-party provider to do this: it will eliminate the learning curve, dramatically reduce the risk of errors, and ensure consistency in the way data is interpreted and entered in the system.
A robust procedure to ensure that any change, anywhere in the world, is captured immediately in the central system, as it must remain up-to-date on a continuous basis after the initial implementation phase. (please refer to the “Designing and implementing a centralized decision-making process” section for more information on this.)
2. Managing existing sites: to optimize your portfolio management, it is absolutely critical to have a crystal clear vision on:
Any site’s address, size, and occupancy status (lease, owned, other)
Upcoming critical dates (early lease termination, renwal option, purchase option, etc.)
Costs, present and future: base rent, additional charges, taxes in local and HQ currency
Excess space
Occupancy rate (especially for offices)
Output per square meter (industrial or retail sites)
Alignment with current and future needs
Up-to-date SWOT analysis
Up-to-date information gives you clarity on ongoing projects, existing sites, and upcoming critical dates - a prerequisite for optimal performance