B4 Consulting, Inc.
Integrating Innovative Technologies for Construction-Centric Business Solutions

Klaus Schottenhamel, president and CEO of B4 Consulting (r), is a sports fan who admires the managers of some of the most successful sports teams. “You don’t win a world cup or World Series title on a single game–it takes a sustained team effort. Managers understand this. They capitalize on the skill set of each person in their organization and leverage those skills to win in every aspect of their business–from the back office to the field,” says Schottenhamel. At the helm of a company that specializes in integrating business processes and technologies globally, Schottenhamel is striving to do likewise. He nurtures a team spirit and effectively utilizes the expertise of his consulting team to drive customer success in the construction space.

Schottenhamel believes that beyond technology, construction companies need to understand how to exploit technology to grow their business. This is where B4 Consulting comes into play. As a solution provider for the construction industry, B4 Consulting not only sells innovative technology, it helps companies implement them as well. B4 Consulting also specializes in integrating visual design capabilities into a number of business functions and processes such as estimating and project controls, and field mobility solutions. “These technological innovations create industry differentiation and can drive new owner/contractor interoperability,” says Schottenhamel. “Regardless of the solution, our customers realize quantifiable benefits of integrating technologies–ranging from the Cloud to ERP systems–with their business processes on a single platform.”

B4 Consulting also partners with customers on business change management initiatives, which enable users to adopt new technologies and ensure they get the highest return on their technology investments. “We can deliver incremental business technology enhancements and also provide solution upgrades, which go a long way in helping customers integrate all of their business processes—from the back office to the field,” affirms Schottenhamel. “Increasingly, companies partner with us to help them streamline their operations. And, we help them eliminate multiple and redundant applications by implementing a single technology platform that provides complete business visibility and a single version of the truth company-wide,” he adds.

The company has helped customers including Kiewit, Fluor, Zachry, Dominion, FMC and the Minto Group among many others to implement a range of solutions spanning from SAP for Engineering and Construction, to SAP for Real Estate Management, SAP for Mobility, and more. An example of B4 Consulting’s innovative approach to technology integration is its work with Kiewit. At Kiewit, B4 Consulting implemented its OutsideIn approach to revitalizing Kiewit’s IT landscape. “The field is where the action is and what happens in the field should be fueling all desktop applications and driving all decision-making in headquarters.

Construction companies need to understand how to exploit technology to grow their business

“Our OutsideIn approach makes this dynamic a reality,” continued Schottenhamel. “OutsideIn creatively integrates solutions for a range of activities such as operations management, small tools management, mobile work orders, dashboard KPIs, ECM, CAD, reporting, estimating project management, and project cost management with a company’s ERP system,” he explains.

Moving ahead, B4 Consulting sees Cloud solutions on every CIO’s roadmap and is pushing the envelope by partnering with companies such as OpenRoute. The OpenRoute™ OnSite Wi-Fi solution provides access to the Cloud or internet right at a construction site. Furthermore, with the ability to personalize user interfaces, B4 Consulting can create a user-friendly experience that allows workers to consume information in a manner that suits them, so any notion that new technologies are too expensive or difficult to adopt becomes void. “We are passionate about Cloud computing and eager to demonstrate its true value to construction CIOs,” concludes Schottenhamel.