'EMPRESAS' PROJECT - CORPORATE and INSTITUTIONAL CLIENTS
São Paulo / SP / Brazil
ABN AMRO was established in Brazil in 1917, having now over 28,500 employees maintaining 5400 branches and mini-branches servicing 9.7 million retail clients and over 3,500 corporate clients, including 400 of the largest corporations in Brazil, being the fifth largest privately owned bank by total assets and the second largest foreign bank in the country. Since 1998 ABN AMRO has been acquiring local banks such as Banco Real, Bandepe and Sudameris. The corporate culture of ABN AMRO in Brazil includes initiatives such as: social-environmental policy when making decisions on loans, the ?Real MicroCrédito? (providing financing for small businesses and entrepreneurs) and the implementation of the Ethical Fund (the first Social Responsible Investment fund in Brazil).
When starting the restructuring process of ABN AMRO Corporate and Institutional Clients, named the 'Empresas' Segment, we called to develop a zoning, design, space plan and stacking project that met the new business structure. The Brazilian operations encompass many companies, which are aligned with a global business framework, being able to provide a full-spectrum of financial services. The 'Empresas' Segment is responsible for the demand of middle market and large regional companies and global corporations operating in the consumer, general manufacturing, healthcare and chemicals, industrials integrated energy and Telecom, Media and Technology markets.
The 'Empresas' Project was developed over several months, simultaneous to the setup and approval of the new structure at corporate headquarters. By working simultaneously with the top management on this project, we were able to quickly introduce new elements and evaluate impact on facilities of operational changes, and thus, finish the projects almost simultaneously with the introduction of the new business structure. This project involved 5000 square meters of offices spread over 3,5 floors of the Brazilian Headquarters in São Paulo. This Project was fully implemented in 3 weekends (starting Friday night at 7 pm till Monday morning 6 am), with one peak weekend moving 750 people in 2 simultaneous projects, without ever interrupting normal operations during weekdays.
The concept of this project was employing existing resources, but finding new forms to meet operational requirements. Project is reviewed yearly and adapted to new requirements to structural adjustments and operational changes, always with the same lead times. The limited space available per floor resulted in several zoning and stacking options that required trade offs between the areas involved and resulted in the final project. This stop-and-go process where the top management is able to evaluate physical implications of their decisions is extremely beneficial to the decision-making process. The project is based on the concept on maximum integration, at least visual, when it?s physically not possible due to compliance issues. The design translates the wish of the 'Empresas' Segment to increase synergy between areas and thus increase business, and the yearly results? evaluation was extremely positive and this project is definitely a success story.
