After a period of intensive trialling the University of Melbourne Enginuity 2025 Competition is underway, with a competitive field of teams all battling for supremacy against their peers.

And so to the action, and all the teams made excellent starts, with the early pacesetters after 40% growth being "Slytherin" with 1,401 pts, but they cannot rest on their laurels with the chasing pack not far behind led by the "McLaren Team" and "GlobENG". However, it is early days, and there are sure to be plenty of twists ahead as the journey through the Early Years unfolds.

The early signs are that the competition will be very competitive, with all the teams improving their overall position in period 5. However, this was not unexpected. After being formed at the beginning of period 1, overhead costs were incurred whilst the companies were being established, without any profits being generated. The companies were now in a position to generate profits against a more stable overhead base, and this was reflected in improved operating profits. Of course, growth will be impossible without an effective strategy, and all the management teams have had time to think about this carefully, and come up with a set of objectives to deliver business success for their stakeholders.

2024 proved to be another turbulent year for the UK. Politically there was a change of government in July with the first Labour government since 2010, and Prime Minister Kier Starmer promising a 5-year plan of growth. In the economy growth figures were better than expected with GDP growth of around 1%, helped by the Cost Of Living crisis easing as inflation fell, and the Bank of England were able to cut the base rate from 5.25% to 4.75% between August and November, and the green shoots of recovery are expected to continue in 2025 with projected GDP growth of 1.6%, but continuing conflicts around the world add some uncertainty to these projections.

Further afield global real GDP grew by around 3.2 percent in 2024, and is expected to continue at this rate during 2025. India remains the strongest performer among major emerging economies, with robust growth driven by domestic reforms and foreign investment. However geopolitical factors, including changes in tariffs and industrial policies in the United States when President Trump takes office in January 2025 could alter global forecasts with the potential for trade wars, and continued conflict in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine could trigger broader inflationary pressures.

League table at the end of period 5

After the impressive growth figures posted in period 5, not unexpectedly period 6 proved to be a much tougher quarter. This was largely driven by the companies being unable to win as much work as they had previously, with the corresponding reduction in forward workload and margin KPIs. However, impressively over 70% of the teams were still able to post positive growth figures.

At the top of the table new leaders emerged as "GlobENG" climbed 2 places and into pole position with 1,518 pts, and open up a 47 point gap to the chasing pack. The "McLaren Team" are still operating in the fast lane, and remain second, with the "Ingenuity Engineers" and "Sunshine Industries" not far behind in 3rd and 4th respectively as previous leaders "Slytherin" slipped back to 5th. Further down table the most impressive performance and positional gain came from one team, "ACORN INC", whose 13% improvement catapulted them 21 places up the table into 11th place, and demonstrated what can be achieved in one period with effective decisions.

With KPI points hard earned it will become increasingly important that the management teams look very carefully at every aspect of their business for potential improvements, and those that are most successful in doing so should prosper the most. Two areas that the teams need particular attention are Marketing strategy and Procurement (rival bidders), which are discussed in more detail below.

Marketing is possibly the area of the business that requires the most thought, as there are numerous strategies that could be adopted. The market trend can only be gauged for one year ahead, and not always accurately, and as marketing departments are expanded, the choices of where to direct the marketing effort are wide ranging, by sector, country and job size. The task is not an easy one, but has a major impact upon procurement options, and the future work undertaken, and ultimately on the long term prosperity of the company.

Another important consideration is that rival bidders do not necessarily stick with the same bidding strategy, and as time goes by they can change their strategy according to market conditions. This makes it imperative that teams keep a close eye on the margins rival bidders are applying, and how they may be changing. Evaluating these strategies could make the key difference between success in securing work, or not. To complicate matters even further there may be UNKNOWN rival bidders, and the only clues to these may be in the ENGINUITY NEWS NETWORK (ENN) for the period.

League table at the end of period 6
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 6

Period 7, the halfway point in the Competition, proved to be a successful one for the majority of the teams, with over 70% posting positive growth figures, and none more so than for "Campio Ltd", whose stunning 16% improvement, the best in the round, enabled them to climb 16 places up the table, and into the top 10. Further down the table the 13% improvement from "VAE" also stood out, and it lifted them well away from the lower reaches of the table.

As previous leaders "GlobENG" dropped down to second, the "McLaren Team" moved into overdrive to finally secure pole position with 1,630 pts, and the chasing pack may need to find another gear to keep up with them. The "Ingenuity Engineers" remain 3rd, and heading a group of teams all well placed should the two leaders slip up in the second half of the Competition.

IEWP = SUCCESS

A leading industry think tank have come up with a simple formula for running a successful construction business.

1. IDENTIFY new work
2. EXPAND the infrastructure (capital base) of the company to take on more work
3. WIN new work through competitive bidding
4. PROFITABLY PROGRESS of the jobs won

Another essential part of running a successful business is being able to form an effective Risk Management Strategy to keep the business as profitable as possible. 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. However, even when these mitigating actions are taken, risk can still be costly to job and company profits, and during period 7 problems with structural defects affected the construction of a new health spa for the client, Orlando Adventure World, in the United States, with an estimated risk cost of around 280k before mitigation.

League table at the end of period 7
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 7

Period 8 proved to be a successful one for the majority of the teams, with over 60% posting positive growth figures. However quite a number of teams saw their overall KPI score dip as they lost out on key bids as UNKNOWN rival bidders, such as the Crayford Road Group, caused havoc by submitting aggressively low bids that caught other teams by surprise, and they will need to allow for this potential bidding banana skin when considering their margins going forward.

With just 2 rounds to go in the Competition it is gearing up for a dramatic race to the line with the three leading teams well clear of the rest of the field, but only separated by 11 points. The "McLaren Team" are still in pole position with 1,730 pts, but they were outperformed by "GlobENG", still in second, and "Solidcore", whose posted impressive 13% growth to move up one place to 3rd. Who will get to the chequered flag first ?

Further down the table "HAKIMI" posted the best results in the round, a stunning 20% improvement that lifted them 17 places up the table, but even their rise was surpassed by the "Big Masters", who rose 18 places, and well away from the foot after an 18% improvement.

League table at the end of period 8
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 8

Period 9 proved to a story of growth almost across the board, with an astonishing 95% of the teams posting positive growth figures, and there were some outstanding performances. In particular "Phoenix Engineers", who rose like the mythical bird from the flames with an incredible 25% improvement, and the best positional gain in the round with a 13 place gain to move them up to 4th and into contention with the leaders.

As the teams head into the final round of the Competition, a dramatic finale is in store, and a photo finish is a distinct possibility. The "McLaren Team" are still in pole position with 1,857 pts, and extended their lead slighty over "GlobENG", but the gap between the top two is still a narrow one of just 27 points. and don't write off "Solidcore" who remain well placed in 3rd.

Further down the table there were many performances of note, but a special mention has to be made to the management team of "Easy Money" as the previous basement team posted an eye catching 21% improvement to lift themselves well away from the bottom of the table, and stave off a threatened emergency shareholder meeting to discuss the company's plight, but not anymore.

With just one round to go each team will be looking to finish strongly, and every decision will count in the final reckoning.

League table at the end of period 9
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 9

In a dramatic final round it was the "McLaren Team" who held off a strong challenge from their rivals to emerge as the University of Melbourne Enginuity 2025 Champions with a very impressive finishing score of 1,904 pts. Ultimately their success owed much to them demonstrating one of the guiding principles in running a successful business, consistency, having led the competition for 4 of the 6 rounds.

In the Final Round "Sunshine Industries" nearly caused a major upset with a 9% improvement that saw them move 6 places to finish the Runners Up, and within 30 points of the Champions. "Auctora" finished 3rd, and "Solid Core" dropped one place to 4th. All across the final round there were mixed results, with "Buildcore" and "Voltcore" posting the joint best performance with eyecatching 16% improvements that lifted them both into mid table.

In the final analysis all of the teams finished with stronger, more sustainable companies than when they took over in period 5, a testament to the skill and application shown by the management teams in what was a roller coaster of a journey through 6 simulated quarters of management.

League table at the end of period 10
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 10