Workplace Systems Share Discussion Threads

[mudbath] 18/1/2010 10:29

littleweed.
I have taken the opportunity to repeat an earlier post,which I hope will satisfy one or two of your queries.
----------------------------------------
WorkPlace OnLine.
As much of my optimism over the future of WSI has been instigated by the latent potential for their SaaS offering to generate significant,continuing and increasing revenue streams,it is worth mentioning a few facts that are known about the new offering.
OnLine helps companies to:-
Reduce costs
Track attendance
Manage rosters
Reduce administration.
Most companies,in the present financial climate, look for the solution to be implemented swiftly.
OnLine offers the facility to be "live" within three weeks.
Rather than facing the large upfront costs of a normal solution,where consultants would take many months customizing the software; with their attendant fees; OnLine promises minimal upfront costs as WorkPlace itself hosts the complete system.All the prospect company requires is a computer system and broadband.
OnLine employs service orientated,multi- tenant architecture, rendering it highly scalable, adaptable and configurable. This means that WorkPlace can continually upgrade the software in response to customer feedback,whilst the client enjoys the benefits of inter store/departmental/head office interface.
The format enables any prospect to trial OnLine prior to making an investment decision.
OnLine utilizes the latest biometric technology, giving management/head office real time visibility of staff deployment across the business;which in turn enables payroll to easily and accurately reward work actually done;a difficult and time consuming area where huge amounts of full and part time staff are involved.
Once a client signs up for OnLine,the new revenues are "sticky",in that it is troublesome for the client to subsequently change the installed software .
As regards fees,the client pays a fee to WorkPlace ON A WEEKLY BASIS-BY DIRECT DEBIT-based on the number of staff covered and on the number of biometric terminals installed throughout the client's outlets.
Based on Workplace Systems International own projections,should the client be Krogers,then that company could,through use of OnLine,GENERATE ANNUAL SAVINGS OF £32,000,000.This saving would begin immediately.
HEADY STUFF!!
No wonder WorkPlace OnLine is generating such interest.
All based on my own research and in my opinion.
-----------------------------------------------------
Yes,littleweed the past years do not look as imprssive as ALL..
However,Barney Quinn CEO since his arrival from SSP-who were massively successful in their switch from customised to configured software solutions-is now seeking to replicate the business model at WSI.The value of the US contact is as yet unknown,yet with 4,000 ++outlets,it will not only be be significant but recurring.

If I missed anything,let me know.
Cheers,
Mud.

[littleweed] 18/1/2010 09:57

mudbath.

thanks for flagging up this company on the ALL thread where I have been a long time holder. It certainly looks interesting. Regarding the relative valuations it is not hard to see why the market prefers ALL. Over the last four years its turnover has romped ahead, it has gained the 'traction' all small companys crave. WSI has had five years of flat turnover and has struggled to turn a profit so its current rating is probably a bit rich. But of course its the next few years that holders (and the market) are eyeing up and are they at the start of some impressive growth?. We know your opinion and certainly the story looks compelling. could I ask a couple of questions

1. Post 25 lists an impressive range of customers for such a modest turnover. What sort of services do you think WSI provide to these companys?. I'm guessing small scale consultancy

2. The software package for employee monitoring and management appears to be the key to future growth. do you know how they charge for this?. Is there a significant rental element as opposed to a one off purchase?.

Thanks again for posting on ALL. Moving ahead again I see. Decision time.

[battlebus] 17/1/2010 15:45

Has to be a fair size company if they have several 1000 stores why is disclosing the name an issue as releasing it will certainly put a feather in Workplace's cap.

[mudbath] 16/1/2010 12:02

Most intriguing why the name of the Tier 1 U.S. client remains embargoed.
Barney Quinn CEO,speaking only recently remains recitent,stating,

"WorkPlace OnLine provides visibility of labor allocation and performance allowing senior decision makers to make informed changes to meet organizational objectives. "Many large retailers struggle to know what is happening within stores/regions and WorkPlace OnLine gives specific Key Performance Indicators and detailed information to enable significant savings", continued Quinn. The solution delivers a quick Return on Investment due to short implementation timescales and the ability to meet the needs of retailers. WorkPlace OnLine provides a leading workforce management solution which is simple to use and enabled by the latest technologies.
"WorkPlace Systems were able to implement a WorkPlace OnLine pilot for a major US retailer in 99 stores in a four week period, this demonstrates just how easy the solution is to implement, in fact we are now rolling out to several thousand stores across its entire estate".

[mudbath] 14/1/2010 19:18

When WSI announced losses for the Y/E 31 March 09,it also confirmed the reduction in its central admin costs by £1.4million.With T/O remaining subdued in the 6 months ended Sept 09 @ £4,365,000(against£5,341,000 6M/E Sept 08),the company would have remained loss making(circa£600,000) but for the cuts.Instead this was replaced by profits of £31,000.With the level of revenues being the life blood of a software company,particularly one such as Workplace which enjoys gross profit margins of 97%,its ability to return to profitability on severely reduced T/O was truely creditable.
Any increase in T/O over the £4365,000 half year figure(representing virtually breakeven)
will therefore drop down,in full,to the bottom line and will also equate to CASH generation.
For those who watched the Barnie Quinn video;when asked about future T/O he said that the Market was looking for "flat"revenues,"oddly enough";implying,for me,that they would in fact show a significant advance over the interim figure.Quinn's remark is understandable when the interim statement flagged an upward sea change in activity being seen since Sept 30th across the UK and Europe IN ADDITION TO the revenues already flowing from the hugely influential US contract.
If T/O for the current period mirrors pre IT cuts constrained levels,or circa £5.2million we should see full year profits of say £850,000.Projected forward for 2010,where Quinn is talking GROWTH,we might look for a bottom line figure of slightly in excess of £2million.
Should WSI secure A FURTHER Tier 1 US client(and we know that there are several in the business pipeline),then Workplace Systems International would(imo)move from being a potentially excellent investment to a latent blockbuster.

[mudbath] 12/1/2010 18:13

Chartists might be aware that the WSI share price has recently decisively moved above the smothed oscillator incorporating a range of moving averages.A very bullish happening for those with an analytical leaning.My reading is for a sharp increase in the S.P. into double figures.

By the way,here is a link to the CEO's video.Its 6 months old but still interesting-particularly Barney Quinn's performance related options over 10% of WSI.


Looking at comparables:-
Allocate (ALL) is very similar to WSI,specializing on the healthcare sector.ALL's latest T/O was 15.5 million yielding a net profit of £1.83million and eps of 6.8pence.ALL is capitalized (@75pence) at £33.5million.
WSI,not being cushioned by NHS spending fared worse,yet projections for the current year are net profit of circa £1million.
On comparisons therefore WSI should trade at a M/Cap of at least £19 million or a share price of 13.5pence,coincidentally my short term target.Progress by WSI towards matching or exceeding ALL's profits should see the share price moving up dramatically.

[battlebus] 12/1/2010 12:13

Great summary Mudbath agree totally especially with the last line and believe the next results will be good and shares will follow over the next 24 months. We top up again if we get a slight dip.

[mudbath] 08/1/2010 16:34

Thanks for your comments johnsoho and Saucepan.
battlebus,hello.
My view here is that there seems precious little risk of a decline in the SP,whilst there is apparently plenty of reason to expect that WSI is about to signal/announce strong growth in profitability.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
For this option the software is deployed centrally by WorkPlace and customers simply connect to the services via the Internet paying for the use of the service on a per user per month basis. Benefits of this approach include:
* Increased speed of deployment
* Reduced initial costs to deploy
* Ongoing payments offset by ongoing savings achieved
* Reduction in requirement for In-house skills .
This approach is just what the market is demanding,hence recent client wins including the as yet un-named US Tier 1 company.
WSI has(imo)had the wrong focus over the past 3 years,concentrating on customized offerings,whilst spending £millions on software development.
Now that Barney Quinn has settled in as CEO we have seen a change of emphasis to SaaS configured solutions.Interestingly the intellectual property behind OnLine was purchased for a miniscule £50,000.
Most of my thinking is detailed in earlier posts.
As with most micro-caps,lack of awareness/profile currently constrains the share price at a very modest level.
The next uptick in the share price will however represent a 12 month high,a statistic monitored by many investors.
Importantly, Workplace shares are particularly well held,mainly by the directors,with declared holdings over 3% exceeding 75%.On a rule of thumb,probably a further 15% are firmly held by family and other institutions,leaving a free float of just £1.2million @ todays M.Cap!!
Interestingly one of the holders being Liontrust, has SOLD over 3,500,000 share into the market over recent months and this did not stop the upward,if undramatic rise in the stock.
IF and when WSI delivers the good results,then an upward re-rating should surely swiftly follow.
Cheers Mud.

[battlebus] 08/1/2010 12:24

Hi Mudbath very interested in your work share and bought a small amount to start with. What do you think is the main area of revenue growth over the next 24 months and do you have a target price and earnings for this. ps should have listened to you last time you mentioned it.

[saucepan] 08/1/2010 11:20

Hi Folks, joined you long a week ago.

Mudbath: thanks for the very informative background research on this thread - most impressive.

An encouraging tick up just now

(Nice to discover such a quiet thread; always a good sign)

[johnsoho] 04/1/2010 17:19

mudbath,

many thanks for putting the WSI web page with the other header information

[mudbath] 04/1/2010 14:47

johnsoho,
Done.
Whilst Kroger is indeed already a client,we do not know if they are the recently contracted Tier 1 customer for WorkPlace OnLine.Although I have earlier put "2 and 2" together to come up with Kroger's ;it is only a suggestion.
The full detail should soon be released and I would imagine that the shares could well benefit from such an update.

[johnsoho] 04/1/2010 11:05

mudbath,

Are you able to post the WSI web page address in the header? its you are able it will show that Kroger are already a retail customer...cut and paste below:

Albertsons | Argos | Armani Exchange | Babies-R-Us | Country Road | Focus DIY | Fred Meyer | H&M | The Home Depot | Kroger | Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse | Metro Cash and Carry | Next | PETCO | PetSmart | Raley's | ShopKo | Shopright | Stop & Shop | Toys-R-Us | Tacoma Goodwill | Travelex | Travis Perkins/Wickes | WH Smith Travel | Wet Seal | Winn-Dixie | Woolworths SA | World Duty Free

[mudbath] 03/1/2010 12:33

As stated in the header:-
Workplace Systems International's revolutionary new workforce optimising SaaS software offering "WorkPlace OnLine" is attracting MASSIVE NEW INTEREST incuding their first Tier 1 US client with 4300 outlets.
W.P.O.L. utilises the latest biometric technology.
It can be "live" within 3 weeks of the initial approach.
Fees are collected by WSI on a WEEKLY BASIS by direct debit.
Word is that interest is so strong that some potential sales are actually being held in a queue.
Profit margin on these recurring revenues is 80%.
Covering analysts are poised to significantly upgrade their forecasts.
The shares are extremely tightly held (77.15%) and the directors continue to add.
At the moment this share is generally either unknown or overlooked.
This is about to change.
WSI is a company to watch.

[mudbath] 03/1/2010 09:59

Thanks for the interest jakleeds.
WSI and ALL are not dissimilar in most respects despite focussing on different niches in the market.It will be interesting to see how the shares fare in relation to each other throughout 2010 as both sets of directors are justifiably most optimistic about future prospects.
For me however,in view of their similar attributes,WSI @ 8pence and a market cap of just £11million has to have the edge over ALL @ 67pence and a market cap of £35million.
Best of luck,
Mud.

[jakleeds] 02/1/2010 23:16

Another interesting workforce optimisation stock is Allocate Software. Here's a recent update:



Regards

[mudbath] 24/12/2009 14:23

LSI is a fully owned US subsidiary of WSI.
As such,the following announcement,made in August had much relevance.

It seems as though Kevin Donnelly is now off the payroll;whilst the cross licensing of WSI intellectual property continues.


"Axsium Group Acquires Engineering Assets of Labor Solutions International, Inc.
Workforce management firm adds LSI's veteran industrial engineering team and its labor standards consulting services to Axsium's retail, manufacturing and healthcare practices.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Aug 03, 2009 – Toronto – Axsium Group, the industry's leading Workforce Management (WFM) consulting firm, today announced the expansion of its service offerings to include the development of Engineered Labor Standards, a key component of any highly efficient WFM solution. Through an agreement with Labor Solutions International Inc., Axsium Group has agreed to license the intellectual property of LSI's labor standards consulting practice and will hire several of LSI's key industrial engineering consultants, including LSI's current president, Kevin Donnelly.

The addition of Mr. Donnelly and LSI's engineering experts enhances Axsium's service offerings in its retail, healthcare and manufacturing practices. Labor standards are used to determine workload demand and form the foundation of strategic process transformation initiatives. LSI's industrial engineers have developed labor standards for all retail sectors, and have a successful track record of developing "wall-to-wall" labor standards and integrating them into the leading workforce management software packages.

"We see more and more demand from our customers to help them understand, at a detailed level, the nature and cost of the activities and tasks their employees perform on a regular basis," said Robert Gardner, managing partner of Axsium Group. "From a WFM perspective, this information is a critical input to systematically forecasting the demand for labor. Axsium Group is now the only WFM consulting firm in the industry with the capability to develop engineered labor standards and seamlessly incorporate that data into downstream WFM systems."

Kevin Donnelly, former LSI president and current principal at Axsium says the deal allows Axsium to deliver the most comprehensive WFM solutions available in today's fast paced business landscape.

"I'm extremely excited about joining Axsium and being able to deliver even more value to our customers. Over the last 11 years we've seen increasing demand to operationalize the output of our engineering projects," Mr. Donnelly said. "By joining forces with Axsium, our deliverables will form a critical part of a WFM foundation that generates ongoing and repeatable cost savings for our customers. The ROI potential is enormous."
Commercial details of the agreement were not made available.

# # #

About Axsium Group

Axsium Group, a division of Knightsbridge Human Capital Management Inc., is the industry leader in Workforce Management consulting, dedicated to delivering business and technology advisory services to large, highly distributed organizations. With a singular focus on Workforce Management and through a combination of business and technology best practice expertise, our clients gain access to trusted business advisors and technology experts with unmatched experience. Axsium Group has delivered world-class workforce management solutions for customers such as International Paper, Safeway, American Eagle, Bank of America and Multicare Health Sciences. For more information, visit www.axsiumgroup.com"

[mudbath] 24/12/2009 13:37

Whilst we know Armani Exchange was an earlier US success for WSI,it is pleasing to see an independent voice describing WorkPlace software as providing a "compelling solution".


"Armani Exchange has over 72 stores across North America. To help manage their Store Associates better and further improve Customer Service, Armani Exchange looked to a comprehensive and easy to deploy Workforce Management solution, which included Time & Attendance as well as Scheduling and Budgeting.

"We reviewed a number of established suppliers in the Workforce Management market and after a rigorous evaluation process, selected LSI and WorkPlace Systems." stated Ed O'Connor VP Controller Armani Exchange. "LSI Solutions provided Armani with a compelling solution – the easy to use WorkPlace Retail Enterprise software and LSI's in depth understanding of Workforce Management and Store Operations. We are now focussed on a rapid deployment, which we plan to complete in the next four months."

Commenting on the contract Kevin Donnelly, President of LSI Solutions stated "We are delighted to be awarded this contract with Armani Exchange as it reinforces the value LSI and WorkPlace software can bring to specialty retailers to help contain Costs, increase Compliance and improve Customer Service."

[mudbath] 17/12/2009 17:59

Employee Recognition at Kroger Grocery Stores for Clocking in, Security
Grocery chain adds high-tech touch in employee recognition
Indianapolis Star,

WE should soon ascertain whether Kroger's are indeed the first Tier 1 U.S. retailer; recently contracted but not yet named; to utilise the new WSI SaaS offering WorkPlace OnLine.
"In what labor experts say may be a first for the area, Kroger's Indiana stores are rolling out a system of using fingerprint images to clock employees in and out.

At least two other Indianapolis stores -- at 680 Twin Aire Drive and 4202 S. East St. -- already have the system. All 100 Indiana Kroger stores are expected to implement the technology by sometime next year.

The Cincinnati-based grocery chain has overcome workplace privacy concerns and union resistance to implement the system designed to keep track of attendance and prevent employees from inflating each other's timesheets.

"It's almost -- not quite -- but almost error-proof," said Jeff Golc, spokesman for Kroger. In the past "we've had people who've clocked out for each other, sometimes accidentally because you'd pick up the wrong card."

A spokesman for Kroger's stated,"The grocery industry is incredibly competetive,operating on razor thin margins.Any reductions in operating costs go right to the bottom line."

[mudbath] 16/12/2009 09:24

Mas,try this link.

Enter staff numbers,outlet numbers,give K's the benefit of the best payroll system and press the button.It threw out £41million as potential savings under certain inputs.
Or enter via WorkPlace home page.

[masurenguy] 16/12/2009 07:37

mudbath- 11 Dec09 - 13: Based on Workplace Systems International own projections,should the client be Krogers,then that company could,through use of OnLine,GENERATE ANNUAL SAVINGS OF £32,000,000.This saving would begin immediately.

How have you calculated, or otherwise obtained, this claimed potential cost saving by Kroger if they were to be the projected US adopter of the WSI system ?

[firth] 15/12/2009 20:06

Why is my trade not shown today, bought over 33,000?

[firth] 15/12/2009 13:26

I have been in again this am and bought £3k worth [33thousand] had to pay 8.2.
My trade is not shown yet for some reason,but I see 50k have gone through sub 8p is that a sell? Mudbath 12 of 15 Barney Quinn yes I remember his company of old , good track record. Hoping to get off to a good start here in 2010.

[firth] 12/12/2009 09:49

So if I am reading this correctly,this is a great time to be buying because all the research has been done,the costs associated have been paid, the share price halved. Add in the recession and the need to cut costs the timing is perfect.

[mudbath] 11/12/2009 20:12

Software as a Service (SaaS).
WorkPlace OnLine.
As much of my optimism over the future of WSI has been instigated by the latent potential for their SaaS offering to generate significant,continuing and increasing revenue streams,it is worth mentioning a few facts that are known about the new offering.
OnLine helps companies to:-
Reduce costs
Track attendance
Manage rosters
Reduce administration.
Most companies,in the present financial climate, look for the solution to be implemented swiftly.
OnLine offers the facility to be "live" within three weeks.
Rather than facing the large upfront costs of a normal solution,where consultants would take many months customizing the software; with their attendant fees; OnLine promises minimal upfront costs as WorkPlace itself hosts the complete system.All the prospect company requires is a computer system and broadband.
OnLine employs service orientated,multi- tenant architecture, rendering it highly scalable, adaptable and configurable. This means that WorkPlace can continually upgrade the software in response to customer feedback,whilst the client enjoys the benefits of inter store/departmental/head office interface.
The format enables any prospect to trial OnLine prior to making an investment decision.
OnLine utilizes the latest biometric technology, giving management/head office real time visibility of staff deployment across the business;which in turn enables payroll to easily and accurately reward work actually done;a difficult and time consuming area where huge amounts of full and part time staff are involved.
Once a client signs up for OnLine,the new revenues are "sticky",in that it is troublesome for the client to subsequently change the installed software .
As regards fees,the client pays a fee to WorkPlace ON A WEEKLY BASIS-BY DIRECT DEBIT-based on the number of staff covered and on the number of biometric terminals installed throughout the client's outlets.
Based on Workplace Systems International own projections,should the client be Krogers,then that company could,through use of OnLine,GENERATE ANNUAL SAVINGS OF £32,000,000.This saving would begin immediately.
HEADY STUFF!!
No wonder WorkPlace OnLine is generating such interest.
All based on my own research and in my opinion.