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Beeline to Acquire Utmost: Extended Workforce Tech as a Future of Work Nexus

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

When Stone Point Capital acquired Vendor Management System (VMS) giant and extended workforce platform Beeline back in the spring, CEO Doug Leeby alluded to the fact that the transaction and new ownership would allow the most mature independent provider of VMS technology to be more active and more aggressive in the software acquisition market.

Today, that first domino fell for Beeline, as they have announced plans to acquire fellow extended workforce solution provider, Utmost.

Utmost, founded in 2018, became a growing force in the VMS solutions market over the past couple of years due to its progressive and strategic approach towards extended workforce management and the convergence of HR- and procurement-led functionality, buoyed by its dynamic technology architecture. The Utmost platform boasts a wealth of innovative modules, including an omni-channel talent sourcing solution (“Front Door”), Global Workforce Intelligence (enabling true total talent intelligence), a reimagined services procurement tool, and a burgeoning talent technology ecosystem. For Beeline, this represents a robust opportunity to capture small- and mid-sized extended and contingent workforce programs by tapping into the unique nature of Utmost’s progressive functionality.

“The Future of Work is built on the technology that delivers on the evolution of talent engagement, talent acquisition, and talent management,” said Doug Leeby, CEO of Beeline. “Bringing Utmost’s innovative offerings into the Beeline umbrella of solutions will complement our extended workforce technology and provide our clients with even more value as they optimize they ways they get work done.”

Utmost’s hallmarks, including its ease-of-use automation, frictionless integrations, and quick implementations, will enable Beeline with the ability to tap into the small- and mid-sized markets by offering a nimble foundation of offerings that link directly with these organizations’ key pain points. “Companies in the mid-market require more agile solutions at a lower cost with enhanced access points,” said Leeby. “Beeline is a fantastic “work engine” with massive functionality; Utmost will help us meet the evolving needs of this specific market while keeping our main vision in scope with the ways talent and work are evolving.”

At the center of this major market acquisition are the core constituents of the new world of work: the HR, procurement, and talent acquisition executives that run extended and contingent workforce programs, the suppliers and partners that fulfill their needs for skillsets and expertise, and the talent that drives it all.

“Acquiring Utmost is a representation of the future of extended workforce management technology,” said Colleen Tiner, Beeline’s SVP Strategy. “The transformation of both platforms has been highly complementary from business and functionality perspectives. Combining our market experience with Utmost’s solutions will help Beeline to provide Future of Work-oriented and talent-centric technology to our clients and the market.”

Tiner added that one major result of the acquisition is harnessing the power of Utmost’s strong onboarding and provisioning workflows, as well as the solution’s unique services, and bringing those into Beeline’s extended workforce platform.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange analysis of the acquisition:

  • While there are several redundancies in functionality, the Utmost acquisition represents a way for Beeline to continue doing what is best known for: innovating. There were many logical acquisition targets for Beeline in the wake of Stone Point Capital’s purchase of the company earlier this year, including direct sourcing platforms and specialist solutions (such as AI-fueled software), however, the company chose to go big with the Utmost move. The core of this acquisition is actually quite simple: it will allow Beeline to continue its long track record of being a pioneer and innovator while expanding its existing scope of Best-in-Class extended workforce management technology.
  • “Total Talent Intelligence” becomes “Global Workforce Intelligence.” In the 2022 VMS Technology Advisor, we wrote: “Utmost offers the market’s deepest total talent intelligence through agile and dynamic dashboards that present users with the ability to pinpoint (with regional- and location-specific accuracy) the makeup of FTEs, contingent workers, professional services, independent contractors, etc. and make decisions and take action in real-time (i.e., anomalies regarding compliance, etc.).” Beeline will expand the realm of total talent intelligence through its powerful analytics, AI, and machine learning capabilities to bring its clients “Global Workforce Intelligence,” taking TTI a step or two further.
  • Beeline will have a clear pathway into the HR and talent acquisition markets. Contingent workforce management has never been a pure procurement play, but there was a time when the function dominated how the extended workforce was ultimately managed. Today, as the world of work and talent becomes more candidate-centric, technology platforms must place workers at the center of their models. The Utmost acquisition enables Beeline with crucial HR intellectual property and functionality, not to mention Utmost’s expected influence on Beeline’s greater product roadmap. The infusion of HR-oriented functionality into Beeline’s array of offerings, combined with a global workforce intelligence play that will surely draw the attention of C-suite leaders, make this deal a groundbreaking one for the industry.
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Upwork’s Work Without Limits: Grand Redesign with Tim Sanders

Business LeadershipEventsSolution Providers by John Yuva on

Upwork, a global talent and work platform, recently held its Work Without Limits summit as an in-person and streaming event in Chicago. The main stage was filled with customer and enterprise presenters, including Upwork’s Tim Sanders, vice president of client strategy, who discussed the grand redesign opportunity and what the breakdown of the old rules of work means for companies today. (Check out the Future of Work Exchange‘s coverage of the event.)

Defining Grand Redesign

Sanders began his session with a fascinating story about the rise of Shantanu Narayen to CEO of Adobe Inc. in 2007. Adobe was a behemoth software company known for its innovative products like Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and many others. In the industry, it was second only to its rival Microsoft.

However, in 2007, the company experienced the ramifications of software piracy, losing $1 billion. A year later, the Great Recession took its toll on the company’s flagship Adobe Creative Suite product offering. At a $1,800 price point, companies closed their wallets and revenue declined 20% within the first eight weeks of the recession.

What was Adobe’s response? Mark Garrett, Adobe’s chief financial officer in 2008, recognized the potential of cloud-based subscription models. Thus, the company embarked on its grand redesign, transforming from a physical product-oriented company to a 100% digital, cloud-based subscription service. In 2012, Adobe released Creative Cloud to the world with an entry-level price point of less than $60 compared to $1,800.

Sanders noted that Adobe’s grand redesign was one of the biggest turnarounds in corporate history, growing its market cap from $15 billion in 2012 to more than $200 billion today. Knowing not to rest and accept the status quo, especially during a recession, the company leveraged the opportunity to combine desktop, mobile, and services into a single customer package — shutting the door to the competition.

Our Present Grand Redesign Opportunity

This brings us to today. Sanders explains that companies are experiencing another period of great disruption — the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. Now is the time to move beyond the status quo and redesign the workplace. He says there are six workplace design options on the table.

  1. Remote first. Companies that choose this design option fully embrace remote work and use it strategically as part of their operational and talent acquisition models.
  2. Remote-friendly. More organizations are choosing a remote-friendly design that embraces a distributed workforce for certain roles, talents, and situations. It is not a complete remote first transition, but companies are willing to consider it as a possible default. Sanders says that if companies are not remote first, they must accept remote-friendly to be competitive.
  3. Remote for now. This has been the workplace design model for many companies since the beginning of the pandemic. However, this model will disappear as companies commit to a long-term design strategy.
  4. Hybrid by role. Essentially, certain roles (e.g., doctors, nurses, warehouse workers, etc.) must be in-person due to the work type. Other roles can be accomplished remotely.
  5. Hybrid-by-day mix. In many ways, this is simply a compromise for those who want to be remote. It allows remote work for two to three days per week. The drawbacks? There are no savings on real estate costs and there’s a reliance on local talent.
  6. Onsite first. Everyone is required to work on-site with few to no remote work options. For retail organizations, Sanders questions whether it’s necessary for marketing or back-office technology employees to work on-site. There are remote work opportunities that could be leveraged.
Tim Sanders, VP of Client Strategy at Upwork, discusses “The Grand Redesign.” (Photo credit: Upwork)

Identify Your Model to Rewire Your Organization for Remote-First

Which workplace design model represents your company? Answer that question first, says Sanders, then pose three additional questions.

  1. Are you satisfied with the talent in your local markets to make you competitive to achieve digital transformation and stand-up artificial intelligence? Are you ready? Are your local markets really that strong?

And as a follow-up question, are there any remote-first companies running recruitment ads in your market? If so, that’s going to change the picture even if you think you’re comfortable with the strength of your local market.

  1. Have your leaders figured out managing based on outcomes or are they still stuck in the past of AAA management — attendance, attitude, and aptitude?

If your leaders have learned how to manage based on outcomes, then they’re completely equipped to manage without seeing people physically every day in the office.

  1. Have you invested in tools and training for people to learn how to collaborate and culture-build at a distance?

Culture is not about your office. Instead, culture is a conversation led by leaders about how we do things here. It’s about storytelling and how we succeeded in the past. If you want to build a better culture, focus on cadence, not location.

Sanders says these are the questions to ask yourself. The good news? As you embrace remote-first (or at the very least, remote-friendly) workplace design, you are going to rewire the organization.

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