At MCS, 2023 was a big year for growth and change—including some big wins along the way. Andrew Nolan, President of Commercial and SFR at MCS, shares his thoughts on 2023’s highlights and where the company and the commercial facilities maintenance industry are headed in 2024 and beyond.
A major win was the successful acquisition of Chain Store Maintenance and adding the diverse service offerings they bring to MCS. Chain Store Maintenance has been in business for 34 years. It took them around five years to reach a million dollars in revenue, but since they hit that mark, they’ve grown steadily at a 10% CAGR over the past 25 years. Chain Store Maintenance is already a well-known brand in the commercial facilities maintenance space, and they now offer exterior commercial property services and have self-performing capabilities that they didn’t have in the past, so it’s Chain Store 2.0, with new investments in their capabilities and technology.
IN 2024, we are combining all our commercial facilities maintenance services under the Chain Store Maintenance - an MCS Company. This allows our clients to get all the interior and exterior facilities maintenance services they need from a one provider.
Maintaining a strong balance between self-performing and having a network of trusted service partners has allowed us to better meet each of our customers’ individual needs because they don’t all prefer the same model. We can build a program tailored to a client’s needs because we have the structure in place to provide services in multiple ways, regardless of what type of work they need completed or where they are located.
Historically you had issues where companies were using different technology platforms that didn’t integrate or communicate with one another. Now, that’s not as much of an issue as systems work better together. But there’s still work to do, and we need to continue to have API integrations. We’re currently in the process of upgrading our platform. It takes time and capital to complete these API integrations, and we’re committed to spending the time and resources on it.
Everyone is focused on AI right now. I do think it’s going to impact our business more, and we’re already leveraging the technology. For example, we’re looking at ways to employ it in client prospecting, enhancing customer service, recruiting service partners, improving our quality control and providing additional services our clients need.
Labor and training have been an ongoing issue—obviously not just for MCS but across the industry. Qualified service technicians are aging across the industry, and there aren’t enough young ones yet in the pipeline to replace them. That’s a gap that we need to solve, not just as an industry, but as a company to reach the aggressive growth goals that we have.
So, we’re trying to develop ways to train the next generation of tradespeople. We believe part of the solution is building training programs dedicated to teaching young people out of high schools and trade schools and providing them with opportunities to practice their skills and gain experience.
This was more difficult to do when we only had a handful of self-performing markets, but with 25 and growing, it’s getting easier. For 2024, we’re exploring the implementation of these types of apprentice and training programs.
Overall, I think it would have to be that so many retailers used to single-source everything, but now they’re going to multiple providers for different services. There are a few reasons for that. One is that they may have concerns with putting all their eggs in one basket. Another factor is simply advances in technology that have made it possible, so you don’t have to put your eggs in one basket now. You can go to 15 different people, and the technology gives you the same experience. That means we need to work harder for their business at every level, and we’re proving we can do that.
Looking for a new services partner for your commercial properties? Find out how Chain Store Maintenance can help. Contact CSMsales@ChainStore.com to learn more.