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The strategic choice of a One Stop Shop is a partnership and collaboration with consultants and contractors. This is referred to as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). This enables the firm to minimize mistakes in the design and construction processes, and thus save time and money, as well as get reputation for smooth project delivery. In order to support this strategic choice the central varying choices are to hire collaborative architects interested in working on IPD, and to have all consultants using same software. The unique choice is to form long-term partnerships with consultants and contractors.
Architecture has been done the same way for decades and many architects take the standard process of project delivery without questioning it. On the another hand, IPD is new and architects are still learning how to best collaborate with all parties involved early on. It is important to hire people that are interested in learning now to work in this new way and to avoid people who automatically gravitate to the old, comfortable ways. Once these people are hired, because their job is mostly based on collaboration, it is best to keep them working as long as possible so as not to lose relationships with consultants and contractors. To do this a reinforcing choice of implementing retention strategies is needed. The better the people can work together the faster they will be able to find a compromise or solution to a difficult problem.
The choice of using the same software with partners makes the process of working together more efficient as well as indirectly bringing partners closer together. In my experience, I have worked on a project where an architect used Revit and a mechanical engineer used AutoCAD. We had to convert files every time to combine the drawings. During file conversion some information was lost or not transferred correctly, so it was necessary to review all drawings and make corrections by hand. As a result, we were not willing to work with this consultant again unless they would switch to using similar software with us. On a different project, we worked with a structural engineer who used Revit as well. It was bonding to share our opinions on this software and helped us develop a better working relationship.
This brings us to a unique central choice to establish long-term partnerships with all consultants and contractors. With this network the firm is ready to take on a project any time because the collaboration process is established. The partnership also works as a tool to get new clients in through the consultants. For example, if an electrical engineer is asked by the client to refer an architecture firm, this engineer will most likely refer his/her partner firm to strengthen the relationship further and because there is a certainty that the partners work well together.
These choices lead to the virtuous cycle consequences of more referrals and returning clients. More work leads to greater profits up to a point, and if the firm positions itself in such a way that the demand is not elastic it can enjoy higher fees. Firm can position itself by either leaning towards being like a design firm type or a niche firm type discussed earlier.
Despite the benefits of this network system the architect is not currently the leader in the IPD approach. Since the contractor has the construction budget under control, their party is taking the role of orchestrator on projects delivered in this style. It is possible to change this paradigm if an architect becomes more budget-conscious, because typically the client chooses to control the money rather than controlling the quality of design.
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