Project management services have seen recent growth, expanding beyond industrial to include real estate projects. More projects are outsourced to Project Management Consultants (PMCs) for their organized approach, improving time, cost, and quality. While PMCs cost 2-3 percent of the project, their experience leads to value engineering, saving the client money and delivering a superior end product.
A name which has been profoundly buzzing in the PMC sector today is a young and vibrant Atlas Project Management Consultants. The company’s journey began with the sole aim of delivering projects with a strong sense of ownership. While project management is often perceived conventionally as project monitoring and supervision, Atlas believes in the true essence of project management, which involves substantial value addition right from the project planning, contracts administration and tendering stages.
“We identified a vital disparity between engineering, marketing, and transactions, prompting us to comprehensively broaden our service offerings. In real estate, we embraced project marketing, and in the industrial sector, we introduced transaction management as a core service vertical. The importance of closing this divide is in aligning the comprehension between product sellers and constructors, who frequently operate with restricted insight into each other's procedures. By acting as a unifying entity overseeing both segments, we've discovered a successful formula”, says Vaibhav Shah, Founder at Atlas.
“Our commitment to offering end-to-end services has been successfully realized through meticulous execution. Our partners, who come from a contracting background, have been instrumental in shaping and refining our approach. While, our collaborative experiences have enriched our journey”, adds Krishna Vamsi, Founder at Atlas.
Bharvi Shah, Co-Founder
Promising an All Encompassing Solution Deliverability
Atlas offers comprehensive project management services, covering every aspect of a project's life cycle. From assisting clients in land acquisition to overseeing the construction phase and even facilitating project sales, the company’s involvement has been extensive and rewarding. The company’s ability to engage in the 360-degree lifecycle of any project has been a fortunate aspect of its promising journey. This reflects its commitment to delivering holistic project management solutions.
“For instance, in one of our real estate projects, we were engaged right from the stage of land acquisition. Typically, PMCs are brought in once the project is fully conceptualized, designs are finalized, and statutory approvals are in place. However, we had the privilege of being involved in decisionmaking processes such as determining the types and designs of flats to be sold and providing value-added insights. Some of these insights became the X Factor for that particular project, significantly enhancing its marketability and generating additional revenue”, cites Vaibhav.
The core team attributes their success in the real estate sector to visionary leaders like Dhrumil Patel (MD at Survi Group) and Veer Patel (MD at Lilleria Group), who sit on the Board of Directors at their respective companies. Their support has been instrumental in the company's growth. Atlas PMC's relationship with Survi Group, their first client, has evolved into a partnership where Atlas now serves as an integral part of Survi Group's construction projects. Additionally, through their collaboration with Manideep Anumalisetty (Director at AS Steels Group) and AS Steels Group, Atlas is poised to expand its services across India.
This partnership has bolstered the team's confidence in broadening their reach, particularly in the South region.
Krishna further states that the company is particularly proud of its association with Arvind, one of the early corporate visionaries to place trust in our capabilities. What began with a single project has evolved into a substantial partnership and is currently engaged with them in its fourth project within a relatively short span of one and a half years. This success story extends to Arvind subsidiary, Anup Engineering, where Atlas services deliverability has been recommended and appreciated for setting new benchmarks in project management, consistently delivering multiple layers of value throughout each project's lifecycle. In the corporate space Atlas PMC has now been able to work on projects for renowned names like Gujarat Flourochemicals, AM/NS, Terex, Havells, First Cry, D-Mart, Manjushree, Meghmani Organics and others.
Speaking of the journey, Bharvi Shah, Co-Founder at Atlas highlights, “It has been an incredibly rewarding journey witnessing our growth day by day. Many aspects of this venture were new and challenging, especially considering our diverse backgrounds across different sectors. Managing the delicate balance between these elements and ensuring seamless coordination to propel our company's daily growth has been the essence of our journey, and it has truly been a wonderful experience".
A Competent Team at Disposal
In addition to the trust that the clients have placed in Atlas’ competency, the company is fortunate to have had numerous team members join it on this promising journey. The team comprises individuals who have previously worked with renowned names such as SPCL, L&T, Tata Projects and other prominent players in the construction and project management domain. Having their trust in line with Atlas’ vision and dedication has been the driving factor for the company’s growth bandwagon.
Mitigating Challenges & Ensuring Seamless Project Completion
Clients often encounter challenges in gaining acceptance from other stakeholders when they appoint a representative to oversee the project on their behalf. It's common for clients to feel the need to be intricately involved in the day-to-day aspects of the project. However, Atlas has successfully addressed this challenge by adopting an approach that doesn't play into the typical dynamics. With Atlas, clients no longer find themselves in a situation where they have to answer to one or two parties. Instead, they are now also accountable to a single point of contact which they have appointed as their representative.
Vaibhav Shah, Founder
“We have effectively managed to mitigate these challenges. This is evident in our extensive clientele and the numerous projects we have undertaken. The number of projects we have executed surpasses the number of clients we serve, primarily due to repeat business. Clients who have previously partnered with us have developed a deep trust in our capabilities and view us as an extension of their own team”, explains the core team.
A Versatile Company With No Bounded Horizon
In addition to excelling in real estate, Atlas has also expanded into the industrial sector, where PMC concepts were less familiar. Despite facing entrenched competition, their dedication and earned trust from industry leaders have propelled them forward. Atlas now manages a wide array of projects, spanning specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and real estate. The seasoned core and second-line team members empower Atlas to excel in diverse construction and project management endeavors. Their aspiration is to be a dynamic and prominent player in the industry, as exemplified by their diverse project portfolio.
Atlas offers comprehensive project management services & real estate advisory services, covering every aspect of a project's life cycle
When clients engage a consultant, they expect the PMC to take the lead in driving the project. At Atlas, the team ensures this by deeply involving themselves in every project. At least one of the founders is actively engaged in each project, striking a balance between delegation and hands-on monitoring. Furthermore, Atlas has always believed the project owner's involvement, especially during escalations or critical decisionmaking moments.
“Our success stems from robust internal systems and a strategically composed team. It's not solely about handling numerous projects, but about deeply comprehending each one and identifying the key players within our core team for optimal involvement. This nuanced understanding and adaptability set us apart from competitors, allowing us to consistently achieve outstanding outcomes for our clients”, asserts Krishna. Going forward, Atlas plans to expand into successful segments with set targets and milestones every 3-6 months.
Its diverse team shapes the company’s roadmap, fostering collective growth. In the next five years, Atlas plans to grow from 5 to 20 million sq. ft. of real estate by 2027, with a target of 10 million by 2025. Further, the company is also increasing its team’s strength from 43 to 90 professionals by the end of this year. Having successfully served various industries, Atlas would be focusing on involving itself into pharmaceuticals and infrastructure domains. Additionally, it also aims to deliver one million sq. ft. of interior fit-out projects by 2027.
“We visualize this beyond project management; we're like valuable project insurance, ensuring excellence and trust whilst protecting investments of our clients”, summarizes Vaibhav. “Considering more than project management, we believe it to be viewed as project ownership management”, concludes Bharvi.
