After 8 intensive and competitive Preliminary Rounds, an international line up prepared to do battle in the Enginuity 2023 Final, with teams from around the globe, and only 162 points separating the teams going into the 6-round Final. Past Champions Jacobs were well represented with 5 teams, with teams from Stantec, Hatch and WSP Australia all hoping to become first-time winners.

During the early years (periods 5 to 12) the teams pitted their management skills in competition against computer-simulated rivals, but in the final, known as the later years, they were in direct competition for work against each other, with just one additional simulated rival. Only the team able to cope the best under the increased pressure, and with the most effective and robust strategy for competing in this challenging global environment, would eventually emerge as the 2023, and 14th Enginuity Champions. Who would it be ?

And so to the action in the first round of the Final, and period 13 saw the immediate impact of the increased competition, as growth rates and procurement margins were significantly down across the board, and the increased competition for work resulted in 2 teams, "Glasgow ES&T" (Jacobs, UK) and "Stage 6" (Hatch, South Africa, UK) failing to win any new work, due largely to their client relationships not being strong enough to win jobs when bidding was close with rival bidders. They will need to adjust their bidding strategies in the next round to avoid a similar fate again.

The leaders at the end of the Preliminary Rounds "Whatever It Takes" (Stantec, Italy) slipped back to 3rd, but moving in the opposite direction were their colleagues from across the Atlantic, "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States), who climbed 3 places to become the early leaders in the final with 2,260 pts. Sandwiched in between the them are "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK), who moved up one place, and there is a mere 7 points between the 3 leading teams, who have opened up a 70 point gap to the chasing pack, led by "Pixies" (Stantec, India) in 4th. However, it is still early days, and there will be lots more twists and turns in the 5 remaining rounds before we know the identity of the 2023 Champions.

A new dilemma being faced by the management teams during the later years is the level of dividend to pay their shareholders. In the early years there had been more certainty in the affect of paying particular levels, but the increased competition has seen shareholders looking around to see what others were receiving, and this was causing fluctuations in the dividend affects on share price as expectations went up and down. However, it is not just a matter of paying huge dividends, as this could put company finances under threat, and the key was to find the right balance between keeping shareholders happy, and what the company could afford.

Individual League Table after period 13
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 13
Share prices at the end of period 13
Bidding results for period 13 (PDF) (XLS)

Period 14 saw 10 of the 12 finalists post positive growth figures, suggesting that they are beginning to get to grips with the harsher bidding environment. The best performances in the round, both 9% improvements, came jointly from "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK), helped in no small way by 4 new contract awards, and "Stanwreckers" (Stantec, UK), whose success was built upon one of the largest job awards in the quarter, a large 24m project with Sport England in the UK, secured after they held off competition from five rivals, and it was their superior relationship with the client that tipped the balance in their favour despite have a slightly higher bid than another company.

It could not be tighter at the top of the table as 4% growth from "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States) moved them onto 2,361 pts, and just enough to hold off "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK) by just one solitary point. "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK) moved up to third after their starring performance in the round, and to within strking distance of the leaders. At the wrong end of the table the quest for new work is becoming desperate for "Glasgow ES&T" (Jacobs, UK) after 2 periods with no new contract awards, and rumours are rife that their procurement manager has been called into an emergency shareholder meeting to explain the company's plight. The affects will be seen shortly.

Those of you who were following the predictions of the Enginuity Crystal Ball in the Preliminary Rounds may be wondering why the sage of all things Enginuity has kept quiet so far in the Final. The simple truth is that the oracle never offers a prediction in the final because experience has shown that the final is always unpredictable, although he/she (we are not sure which) does apologise to his/her many followers for not offering any guidance at this stage, and says 'its nothing personal'.

With margins under pressure, progressing work as profitably as possible takes on added significance, and one key element of this is an effective risk management strategy. This can take a number of forms, firstly by building sensible risk contingencies into the original bids based upon the likelihood and cost of the risks occurring. Secondly, and just as importantly is mitigating the affects of any risks that strike through targeted investment into risk management companies, using a BIM model if available, and employing the most suitable project managers to jobs in progress.

This approach was demonstrated perfectly in period 14 on the project to construct new 132 kV substations in Dubai for Emirates Energy. A lack of resources that had been highlighted as a medium potential risk struck in the third quarter of the planned year long job. This was unfortunate for the contractor, "Stage 6" (Hatch, South Africa), and should have inflicted around 120k of additional cost. However, the contractor had taken some of the effective risk management actions outlined above, and this resulted in the final cost of the risk being reduced substantially by 50%. A source from the marketing and publicity department at the Company commented that the company devotes a great deal of effort to mininising costs and delays to their contracts, and that risk management was a key tool in the company's management armoury.

Individual League Table after period 14
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 14
Share prices at the end of period 14
Bidding results for period 14 (PDF) (XLS)

Period 15 was another good one for the majority of teams, with growth for most, and significantly for the first time in the Final every team won some new work. This was particularly important for "Glasgow ES&T" (Jacobs, UK) with 3 new contract awards that boosted their forward workload and margin, and enable them to post the best results in the round, a highly impressive 12% improvement that enabled them to close the gap to the teams directly above them.

And what a dramatic round it was at the top of the table as previous leaders "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States) lost some key bids that cost them dearly as they slipped back to 4th. This opened the door for their nemesis "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK), to finally takeover top spot with 2,471 pts, with "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK) also moving up one place to 2nd to make it a Jacobs 1-2 at the top; It is only the halfway point in the Final, but have we witnessed a significant development in Jacobs' quest to retian the Enginuity Crown ? Watch this space!

Individual League Table after period 15
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 15
Share prices at the end of period 15
Bidding results for period 15 (PDF) (XLS)

As the teams entered the second half of the final there were mixed results, with a number of teams posting deteriorating growth, and "Stantogether" (Stantec, Australia) and "Stage 6" (Hatch, South Africa) failing to win any new work. However, this was not the case for "Engineering4Future" (Jacobs, Italy/India/UK), with 3 new contact awards and an impressive 12% growth, the best in the round, which propelled them 4 places up the table and back into contention.

And what another dramatic round it was at the top of the table as previous leaders "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK) were unable to hold onto their brief position in top spot, slipping back to third, and once more it was "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States) who tookover the leaders' jersey with 2,519 pts, after 7% growth, with "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK) staying put in second. intriguingly only 24 points now separate the top 3 teams, and anything is possible in the final two rounds ahead before we know the identity of the 2023 Champions.

Further down the table there is also drama at the other end as "Glasgow ES&T" (Jacobs, UK) maintained their resurgence from the previous period, and demonstrated that 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going', with 3% growth that enabled them to climb 2 places up the table, leaving "Stanwreckers" (Stantec, UK) and "Stage 6" (Hatch, South Africa) to battle it out below them.

At this stage an effective procurement strategy is critical to securing profitable work, and growing the business. As a result of previous marketing decisions, targeting marketing effort into particular countries and sectors can enable a company to find a NICHE MARKET, with potentially very few rival contractors bidding for the work available, and if the company has built up strong client relationships this can also increase the chances of winning the work where the bids are close. In period 16 one example of nich bidding really caught the eye involving "Engineering4Future" (Jacobs, Italy/India/UK). The Tender Report for the quarter reveals that the company were bidding for a large Water and Sewage contract in Australia to upgrade a major dam for ANZ Water, and they were only bidding against Rooks Hill Construction, and were able to secure the job, and guarantee further workload for the company's workforce because they had a better client relationship than their rival bidder after the bids were very closely matched. If there had been more companies submitting bids it could have been a different story.

Individual League Table after period 16
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 16
Share prices at the end of period 16
Bidding results for period 16 (PDF) (XLS)

Period 17 saw another change at the top of the table as previous leaders "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States) slipped back to third, opening the door once more for "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK) to move back to the top of the table with 2,615 pts after solid 5% growth. The ever consistent "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK) remained in second for the 3rd consecutive period, and are only 24 points behind the leaders, and as the teams enter the final round of this year's competition it is beginning to look like Jacobs could retain the Enginuity Crown after "Babble Royale"'s success in 2022, but nothing is certain in what has been a sea-saw battle so far.

In a period of largely growth across the board, every team managed to pick up some new work, and "Stage 6" (Hatch, South Africa) with 3 new awards were the best performers in the quarter, a really eye catching 13% improvement that enabled them to move up 2 places and away from the foot of the table. The last round is all about deciding upon effective decisions that can enable each team to finish in as high a finishing position in the final league table as possible, so the midnight oil will being bun until the very end. Good luck to everyone in the final round.

Individual League Table after period 17
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 17
Share prices at the end of period 17
Bidding results for period 17 (PDF) (XLS)

After getting to the top of the table at the end of the last period, "briJ" (Jacobs, India/UK) never relented under the pressure as they held off the chasing pack in impressive style with 9% growth in the final period, to become the Enginuity 2023 Champions with a finishing score of 2,847 pts, and the first team comprising of some team members from the Indian subcontinent to win the title. In the end after a titanic tussle in the final they won with a convincing 154 point margin of victory, and in doing so they ensured that Jacobs' name remained on the Enginuity Crown for the second successive year. Congratulations to the team so expertly led by Abhishek Singhal for demonstrating their superb management skills against a high quality field of finalists.

Commiserations go the valient "Whatever it takes" (Stantec, Italy), whose amazing 12% improvement in the final round enabled them to climb 4 places up the table to finish Runners Up for the second year running, and once more stamp Stantec's place in the top two. In third place were "Factory X" (Jacobs, Germany/Israel/UK), finishing just ahead of the team that led the final for three of the six rounds, "Stanchievers" (Stantec, United States), and three teams behind the Champions were only separated by 40 points, highlighting once more what a competitive final it has been. All the way down the final table the teams should be proud of their performance, finishing in the top 12 of another large international field of starters, a superb effort, and they would all be a sound long term investment if it was the real world.

The journey has certainly been a long one for the finalists, involving three and half simulated years of management through the early and later years, both in the UK and globally. The global nature of the challenge opened up numerous strategies that could have been adopted, and the teams will look back at their own, and whether they would have done things differently if they could start all over again. In the end there can only be one winner, but they have all demonstrated that they have developed exceptional management skills, combined with effective team dynamics, both essential drivers to success.

Individual League Table after period 18
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 18
Share prices at the end of period 18
Bidding results for period 18 (PDF) (XLS)