A Client Example: How Superior Electric Benefited From Outsourcing Its IT Function
Universal Advisor, 2007 Issue No. 2

Please also read the companion piece, "IT Cramping Your Style? Reclaim Your Time Through Outsourcing"

Headquartered in Troy, Mich., Superior Electric Great Lakes Company is an electrical contracting company serving the automotive, steel, and specialty industries. Recently, the company made the decision to outsource 100 percent of its IT function to PMV Technologies. Vice President/CFO Jeff Jamerino recently spoke with us about the factors contributing to that decision and the benefits associated with it.

What factors contributed to your decision to outsource your IT function?

For years I handled the majority of the support myself, using various IT companies as Band-Aids to take care of the issues I couldn’t address. It became increasingly time consuming, dealing with error messages on staff computers or programs that weren’t working properly. Moreover, because of the nature of our business, staff tended to be at customer job sites. Sometimes it was physically impossible — or at least extremely difficult — for me to get out there and repair them.

So you decided to outsource your entire IT function.

Yes. I was spending 10–15 hours per week on IT. I thought, “This is silly; PMV can handle everything, so why not let them?”

Why did you select PMV Technologies specifically?

We’ve been a client of Plante & Moran’s since 1994. We’ve always been happy with the level of service, so when they told me about their joint venture with PMV Technologies, it seemed like a natural fit.

What have been the significant benefits of outsourcing?

PMV has the ability to remotely log on to staff computers in order to determine the problem and repair it. In the past, unless someone had an extreme emergency, they were often pushed to the back burner, as the IT function was only one of many responsibilities I attended to on a daily basis. The fact that our staff now has that resource in place to repair their issues in a timely manner is a huge benefit.

Another big benefit is having that partner in place who’s up to speed with the newest technologies, knowing that if there’s a better or more efficient way to do something, we’ll reap the benefit.

Finally, there’s the knowledge that we’re paying what we should for technology. In the past, when we needed new computers, I’d just call Dell, and they’d send them out. With PMV, I know they have a variety of different resources, and I’m confident that they’re maximizing our IT dollars.

Would you recommend outsourcing to other businesses facing the same challenges you were?

Absolutely. For a company our size, we’re not small enough to handle everything ourselves, nor are we large enough to have full-time IT personnel. We’re caught in the middle, and PMV’s services fit that niche very well.