ABSTRACT
Care needs to be taken to ensure that for each activity based management (ABM) project, the specific steps to follow and the detailed content of each step are tailored to the needs of the company. Once the ABM project is completed, the ABM model becomes a dynamic decision support tool. An important aspect of the ABM project is the technical embedding of the methods employed so that future refreshes of data can be achieved quickly and with fewer resources. The use of consultants to support an ABM project would follow the usual criteria for seeking outside help. Consultants should transfer skills and knowledge to the client team and build a centre of expertise among the company's team members. Most team member's returns to the business, while a nucleus continues to keep the model up to date and work with managers to extract the maximum value from the model. ABM model outputs provide the basis for performance improvement by business managers.
