Companies have largely put a hold on their expenditure due to market uncertainty. They are waiting for something to happen, whether it is tax reform or the elimination of regulations, to trigger them moving to the next phase. What an executive needs to understand is, delaying critical infrastructure and technology projects greatly impacts their bottom line and it is imperative to address issues head-on. JDR Consulting is a great resource to lean on to help throughout the entire project, including initial planning, project scope, budgeting, and staffing, to ensure the highest levels of efficiency and results.
JDR Consulting was established in 2004 as a management consultancy for Real Estate organizations in the United States. Since then, they have not only expanded their offerings, but also expanded operations into Canada in 2015 and Australia in 2016.
A Prominent Implementation & Technology Advisor
JDR Consulting, LLC is a certified small business, leading management consulting firm and technology advisory specializing in project management, implementations, IT solutions and managed services. They serve major players in the Real Estate, Financial Services and Investment Management industries. Their experience spans across Residential, Commercial, Single Family, Multifamily, Mixed Use, Affordable Housing, Public/Assisted Housing, Senior/Assisted Living, Military Housing, Student Housing, Condo, Co-Op and HOA and Canadian Social Housing.
As a technology advisor, they provide the expertise necessary for organizations to effectively integrate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions into their critical business processes. Through workflow automation, custom programming and focused end-user training, their clients are able to achieve optimal performance. They further support these technologies through accounting, system administration, helpdesk and other managed services solutions to ensure that their clients continue to benefit from their investment.
The Brainchild behind the Business John D. Rivers, President and CEO, founded JDR Consulting in 2004 to provide stellar work to the most demanding companies. Since that time, John and his team have managed hundreds of system implementations, upgrades and conversions. Their work includes extensive training, helpdesk staffing, business process optimization and accounting services. JDR has also been recognized by Yardi as a premiere partner consulting firm.
He has had an entrepreneurial spirit ever since he was a boy, when he had an opportunity to take on a paper route from his paperboy. He loved the idea of running his own business and somewhere in his heart he knew that one day he would be working for himself. Fast forward 20 years, he had worked and trained in Corporate America at firms like Deloitte and Grant Thornton, when he was in the Tax Department he realized that he needed to help clients solve their business issues.
With a consulting career that spans 25 years, with a commitment to superior performance and a personality rife with warmth and humor, John Rivers is an excellent ally for business leaders facing challenges and change. John directs his staff with perceptiveness towards inclusion and support, believing that positive esteem and teamwork are an important aspect among what differentiates JDR.
“I believe that everyone has something to offer. I don’t care who you are or what your role is; I want to know you, and I want you to be comfortable. Every single person has something to offer that makes us all better.”
John’s entrepreneurial journey towards prominence has not been easy.
“I had started another firm with a group of friends, and we worked together for a year and half then parted ways. I was back to waiting tables and preparing friend’s taxes when Yardi (one of the software’s that JDR supports) came to me with an opportunity to project manage an implementation that a client was handling internally. The Opportunity was supposed to be 16hrs per week, and I quickly realized that it was more like 80hrs per week. The client was a large institutional pension fund,, and they were rolling their RE portfolio under one ERP system,” asserts John.
John added, “JDR quickly grew to 4 full-time staff and I ran around the US for 18 months training and supporting the client. This was the platform where JDR took off and my success has been through my ability to relate to clients and clearly hear and understand their needs. If our clients succeed, we as JDR succeed!”
With perseverance and dedication for his entrepreneurial seed, JDR Consulting, John has worked hard to nurture and develop the company over the years.
Exceeding and Outshining Clients’ Expectations
JDR follows a consistent, high quality and high impact delivery methodology, of Discovery, Design, Implementation and Support, which results in measurable, long term solutions for their clients. Their reputation of being a company committed to achieving results, delivering value and exceeding client expectations is well-known both among their business partners and within the industry.
Through expert staff augmentation, record system implementation times, unique technology work-around and historical data conversions, JDR consistently saves clients both time and money while freeing up internal resources to focus on their primary responsibilities.
Their primary goals for every engagement are to ensure that their clients: are equipped with the right technology for their needs; are able to integrate that technology into their organization’s own unique workflows and processes; and continue to experience returns and benefit from their investment.
Assisting Clients and Companies Competently
Technology can create efficiencies in many areas, not just IT. JDR’s seasoned team of associates specialize in identifying problems, solving business challenges and streamlining processes – not just solving technical problems.
The best way they support their clients is by first getting to know them. JDR meets with each organization to conduct a Business Process Review (BPR) so that they get to understand both their current and future needs. They strive to review every aspect of their ERP system setup including general setup, permissions and workflows to identify its ability to meet and support these business needs and any areas for improvement. Once the analysis is complete, they present the findings to the client with recommendations, an actionable road map and project plan.
In addition to technology expertise, JDR offers project management resources to ensure every aspect of the project stays on track. Their project management team identifies appropriate resources and monitors progress closely to prevent scope creep and ensure tasks are completed both on time and on budget.
JDR recognizes that many end-users receive only the initial training provided during implementation. After using the system for some time, there may be new users or questions that didn’t come up initially. In addition, ERPs continually make enhancements to their product to improve functionality and performance, so it is important to provide refresher training and share up-to-date best practices.
JDR’s experienced trainers can provide training on core platform functionality as well as any ancillary modules. Their in-depth knowledge of ERP systems helps them to guide their clients better. In addition, they have close relationships with the ERP providers which allow them to stay on top of enhancements and modifications.
Their primary goal is for their clients to realize increased efficiency, productivity and returns on their software investment by using the technology to its full potential. When users bring back skills from training, they can not only perform more successfully in their jobs but do so with more confidence in their abilities.
Some Out of the box Strategies by JDR to prove themselves Effectual
Many consultancies specialize in either implementation OR technology advisory roles. JDR excels at both. They not only have technical systems expertise, but they also contribute over 25 years of industry experience and best practices learned from previous implementations, to help make sure the client’s system is optimized for their specific goals. No matter what challenges their clients have or how they currently use their ERP, JDR can help them take full advantage of the technology.
Another unique aspect of JDR’s offering is the Business Process Review. JDR highly recommends a BPR for each of their new client engagements so that they can get to know them inside and out. They want to understand their culture, workflow processes, standard procedures and user security rights to ensure they get it right from the onset.
John advises Fresh Frontrunners in the Market to:
“Follow your heart, and there is no right or wrong answers but how will you respond to the challenges that come about from your choices. I’ve carried this motto for a long time – “Think Long, Think Wrong.” We (people in general) tend to over think situations and we miss great opportunities right in front of us. Also as an accountant by trade you need to know/understand your financials.”
“Always keep a good accountant, lawyer and insurance rep in your back pocket. Your accountant should be able to not only handle your taxes, but also to help with bank loan applications and seeing financial pit falls you may not see. Your lawyer will advise on your contract terms/conditions for your clients and on NSAs and reviewing contracts you receive. The insurance rep will help you with your liability and WC insurances. They all should have your company’s best interest at heart. The main advice that I can give is LOVE what you do and it does not feel like work and as soon as you see it has become work then you may need to find something else to do.”
JDR’s Concerns and their Ray of Hope:
The team at JDR is currently building strategic relationships to accelerate their launch into the European market.
As they expand globally, one of their concerns is the adoption rate of new technologies. Whereas in the United States, thousands of organizations may be utilizing a technology, when they expand beyond their borders, they’ll find that perhaps less than 100 organizations in a given area utilize the technology. Although this narrows JDR’s potential client pool, it can also be seen as an opportunity as there is many times a shortage of local expertise to support the technologies. Another challenge JDR finds is that, culturally some nations are not accustomed to using consultants. This can create barriers to break into new markets until the organizations are able to realize the value of a consultancy.
As the software providers JDR supports global expansion, and look forward for providing superior services to new users of these specialized technologies. They believe that organizations in these emerging markets can greatly benefit from their years of experiences, including best practices learned and customized training resources, to help get their organizations off on the right foot.
