After a period of intensive trialling the University of Portsmouth Enginuity 2024 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 43% growth being "NEX6" with 1,427 pts, but they cannot rest on their laurels with the chasing pack close behind led by "Vertex Construction Company" and "Engenious Minds". 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.

2023 proved to be another turbulent year for the UK. Food and energy prices rose sharply, caused largely by global supply chain disruptions and the effects of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a Cost of Living crisis in the UK, and the Bank of England were forced to increase interest rates many times to combat rising inflation, with resulting growth of only around 0.4% in the whole of 2023.
Hopes were growing towards the end of 2023 that 2024 could see some green shoots of recovery, with interest rates reaching their potential peak. However, many observers are sceptical with the upcoming general election, and a likely change of Government expected to prolong the uncertainty for businesses and delay investment, and growth is expected to fall to 0.3% in 2024.

Further afield global real GDP grew by around 2.9 percent in 2023, but is expected to slow to 2.5 percent in 2024, weighed down by high inflation and continued monetary policy tightening. Growth forecasts for 2024 are generally strongest in emerging Asian economies, and weakest in Europe and the US.
The outlook is not helped by the continued impact of the Russia invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel invasion of Palestine in the Middle East, all potentially putting further global pressures on energy prices across the world.

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, and also the affect on company profits of the increase in labour costs needed to meet a shortfall in existing labour to cope with the influx of new work from period 5. The result was major turbulence in the league table with changes across the board.

As 10 of the 11 teams publishing declining results, one team booked the trend, as "The Mind Mechanics" posted 5% growth that catapulted them 5 places up the table and into pole position with 1,434 pts, and they have opened up a significant gap to the chasing pack.

The chasing pack are led by previous leaders "NEX6" in second place, with "Vertex Construction Company" also dropping once place to 3rd. The teams who found new work difficult to come by will have to look carefully again at their bidding strategy, and in particular at the margins they are setting to try and undercut their rivals and still make a profit on the jobs they bid for.

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 proved to be one of impressive growth figures for many of the teams, and none more so than for teams at the wrong end of the table as "Group 6" and "Engenious Minds" posted the best results in the round, 14% and 13% improvements respectively that enabled them to both climb 3 places and into mid table.

At the top of the table "The Mind Mechanics" held onto top spot with 1,499 pts, but their lead was slashed in dramatic fashion as the leaders from period 5, "NEX6" moverd to within 33 points, with the next 3 teams, led by "T.E.D-E", also not far behind and all with 8 points of each other.

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

The penultimate round of the Competition saw a major turnaround at the top of the table, and largely growth across the board. "The Mind Mechanics" had led for two periods, but despite a 5% growth they slipped back to fourth as teams below them outperformed them. In particular the "Engenious Minds" posted a stunning 17% improvement to leapfrog the teams above them and climb 5 places to takeover the lead with 1,627 pts. "Group 6" also continued their rise up the table with 13% growth to move up to second, and the "Vertex Construction Company" moved up one place to third. There is just 53 points separating the top 4 teams going into the final round, and it is going to be a tense finsh before the 2024 Champions are revealed.

Further down the the shareholders of "Lego Builders" will be buoyed by impressive growth of 11% from their company, building on the small improvement in the previous period. With just one round to go each team will now be looking to finish strongly, and every decision will count in the final reckoning.

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

Having led the Competition during periods 6 and 7, "The Mind Mechanics" had slipped back to 4th place during period 8, but they bounced back strongly in the final round with the joint best performance in the period, 14% growth that enabled them to return to the top of the table to become the University of Portsmouth Enginuity 2024 Champions with an impressive finishing score of 1,788 pts.

Behind the Champions "Group 6" and "Vertex Construction Company" held firm to finish Runners Up and in 3rd place respectively, and the leaders from period 8, "Engenious Minds" slipped back to a 4th place finish. Overall period 9 proved to be one of growth for most teams, and in particular at the wrong end of the table "UFOTech" equalled the best performance in the quarter with 14% growth that left them in a strong position for the future.

In the final analysis all 11 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 one and a quarter simulated years of management.

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