Cushman & Wakefield Singapore has released its latest report, Rethinking Facility Management, exploring how the facility management (FM) industry is evolving to support smarter, more sustainable, and future-ready built environments.
The report highlights a growing opportunity for property owners and service providers to reimagine how FM is delivered as Singapore’s real estate landscape continues to evolve and occupier expectations become more discerning. This includes adopting more integrated, technology-enabled, and outcome-based approaches. These strategies can help create stronger value and improve operational resilience.
Supporting Asset Performance Amid Evolving Operational Demands
Rethinking Facility Management highlights the importance of balancing operational excellence with asset performance as property owners navigate cost pressures from inflation, labour, and aging building infrastructure. It explores how organisations can remain competitive while continuing to enhance tenant experiences and future-proof their assets. This reflects a broader global trend, with facility maintenance costs projected to grow around 5 percent annually through 2023-2028 according to International Facility Management Association.
“World FM Day is a timely opportunity to recognise the role facility management plays as a strategic driver of value across the built environment,” said Natalie Craig, Chief Executive, Cushman & Wakefield, Singapore. “As expectations around workplace experience, sustainability, and operational performance continue to rise, FM is becoming increasingly collaborative and outcome-focused.”
“Outcome-based IFM strengthens alignment between landlords, service providers, and tenants by centring on shared goals and measurable results. When the industry comes together around this approach, it unlocks opportunities to build more resilient assets, deliver better workplaces, and create lasting value for the communities we serve.”
Driving Long-Term Value Through Outcome-Based IFM
Traditionally, integrated facility management (IFM) has improved efficiency by consolidating service delivery and reducing fragmentation. Building on this foundation, outcome-based IFM represents the next evolution of the operational model by aligning remuneration with tangible results, such as energy efficiency and enhanced asset uptime. This approach encourages greater collaboration, proactive management and the integration of new technologies.
Market trends reflect this evolution. Frost & Sullivan estimates that the IFM sector in Singapore comprised 32.5 percent of the outsourced market in 2024 and is forecasted to grow to 33.3 percent by 2030, signalling continued momentum toward consolidated, performance-driven outsourcing. According to Cushman & Wakefield, outcome-based IFM can reduce total costs by 5 to 15 percent compared to traditional models by streamlining staffing, maintenance, and energy management through a more centralised and data-driven system.
Scaling Operational Excellence with Technology
In an outcome-based IFM framework, technology plays an increasingly important role in enabling real-time oversight, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making, helping organisations enhance operational efficiency and service delivery. The report revealed that selected technology upgrades contributed to savings of 1.8M kWh, representing an 11.1 percent reduction in total energy consumption.
Leveraging technology would also help organisations optimise manpower deployment and improve operational resilience. For example, industry case studies have shown that self-storage operators in Asia are leveraging technologies such as video analytics and AI-powered alerts to strengthen security operations. In some cases, organisations have achieved meaningful manpower efficiencies and significant annual cost savings through these implementations.
While the upfront investment in these technologies may be higher, organisations are recognising the wider benefits achieved through optimised energy consumption, minimised equipment failures, and reduced labour requirements.
Integrating People, Places and Processes
As Singapore continues to advance toward a more sustainable and resilient built environment, FM will play an increasingly important role in shaping productive, efficient, and people-centric spaces. FM requirements and cost structures vary across office, retail, and industrial assets due to differences in operational intensity, system complexity, and occupancy behaviour. The report highlights the importance of understanding these distinctions to support more effective budgeting, benchmarking, and operational planning across asset types. By integrating people, places, and processes through smarter FM strategies, the industry has an opportunity to create environments that better support businesses, communities, and sustainable asset performance.
