Integrated vs. À La Carte Land Services -

When you plan a multi-phase project, do you take the integrated or à la carte approach to your land services? No phase or stage of a project is an island unto itself. Many stages of a project build on the deliverables created and provided in earlier stages. Each is mutually supporting as they are elements of a larger and more complex goal – the successful completion of the project. So why not allow a single land company to manage each of those stages?

As the nation and the world slowly emerge from the current health crisis into a seemingly inevitable financial crisis, it will become even more important to run projects efficiently and cost-effectively, no matter the industry. With the pressing need to save both time and money, let’s take a closer look at the differences between an à la carte approach and an integrated approach.

The À La Carte Approach

The à la carte approach is kind of like feeling hungry and driving all over town to pick up different parts of your meal. You waste time driving everywhere, spend extra money at each restaurant, and nothing is hot when you sit down to eat.

 Similarly, when each land service on your project is provided by a different company, it can lead to the   same kind of inefficiencies. Inefficiency inherently leads to waste, losing both time and money.

 Some of the inefficiencies created by the à la carte approach includes:

•  Weak Data - miscommunication and data transfer omissions occur as one vendor hands off their part of   a project to a subsequent vendor, 
•  Lost Opportunities - longer-term opportunities are lost when a vendor leaves the project and changes   their focus to their next client and project,
•  Severed Community Relationships – relationships may be severed as project personnel no longer retain   their outreach to landowners and community leadership,
•  Inconsistent Deliverables - inconsistencies occur when deliverables are unable to be reconciled between   vendor processes and platforms.

The Integrated Services Approach

The integrated services approach allows you to bypass the inefficiencies found with à la carte services. It’s like sitting down to a hot meal, all prepped, cooked, served, and cleaned up via a single source. You actually get to enjoy it without wasting your time and money.

Likewise, by utilizing one land provider for all of your project’s land needs, you can create synergies. This integration allows for the avoidance of waste – waste as to offset time schedules, squandered materials, and imprecise resource allocation.

By integrating services your project gains the following:

• No Extra Effort - needless duplication of effort is removed,
• High Data Integrity - data input is required only once and is readily transferrable between stages and entities,
• Clear Communication - miscommunication between stakeholders is reduced or avoided altogether.

How Does It Work?

By integrating services and bringing each of these necessary functions under one roof, it allows for the most cost-efficient and productive approach possible. With a single, coherent set of processes and an experienced management group, integrating services will:

Efficiency translates directly into time and costs savings. These savings can either be reinvested back into the project, spread to other projects that are running concurrently, or booked as a cost-savings to the department or company budget. A necessary element of a successful project is a completion at or under-budgeted amounts. Only when information and deliverables are thoroughly managed as a project passes between stages are the cost and time savings created that allow for the successful execution of a multifaceted project.

Do you want to try out the integrated approach? Let us help with your next project. Over the course of thirty-five years in service to clients across multiple industries, Percheron has developed an integrated approach to project management that is designed to create and foster cost-efficient synergies for our clients. Reach out by giving us a call at 832-300-6400 or email, Vin Caruso, personally at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Written by Vin Caruso, Managing Director | Percheron

Vin is currently a Managing Director with Percheron. After completing his law degree and practicing at an admiralty and maritime firm in Florida, Vin moved to Texas and began working at OGM Land Company; one of the predecessor companies that merged to become Percheron in 2012. During his fifteen years with the company, Vin has managed site acquisition projects throughout the U.S. for clients in the renewable energy, oil & gas, and hard mineral sectors. As an amateur landscape photographer, Vin prefers to spend his free time with his wife and young son exploring and camping in some of the most remote and beautiful locations in Canada and the United States.