In the fast-paced realm of construction, knowing if the materials purchased align with your budget isn’t just best practice—it’s essential. The profitability of construction projects often hinges on this very factor.

With the industry getting more competitive, contractors need to safeguard every ounce of profit. Thus, mastering construction supply chain management becomes indispensable.

Yet, steering a project without an omnipresent gaze on on-site activities? It’s akin to navigating a maze blindfolded. Project managers frequently find themselves engulfed in a deluge of data, investing hours chasing updates and cross-verifying if the materials ordered resonate with the budget.

It’s high time contractors embraced digital procurement strategy.

Enter Speedbrick COMPOSE, a construction procurement software that bestows real-time visibility, empowering decision-makers to chart swift, informed courses. Witness authentic collaboration between the construction site and the office as cloud-based procurement software for construction bridges them on a single platform for an efficient purchasing cycle.

1. Real-Time Insight Into Material Spending

• Stay updated on every phase of the purchasing journey. Foresee spending risks.
• Foster unity among purchasing teams, site supervisors, project managers, and quantity surveyors. Ensure accountability.
• Equip management with real-time material spending reports. Pinpoint risks instantaneously.

2. Centralized Data for Seamless Construction Management

• Monitor every Material Requisition Form, Purchase Order, and Delivery Order.
• Trust in data transparency, and access raw data sources with mere clicks.
• Obtain a clear audit trail and assess supplier performances at a glance.

3. Take the Reins with Full Visibility

• Get real-time alerts for potential overspends.
• Root out material ordering mishaps immediately.
• No more urgent orders.
• Execute confident material orders swiftly with construction project management software capabilities.

4. An Unparalleled Purchasing Ally

• Customized dashboards highlight priorities.
• Keep the communication channels flowing seamlessly.
• Minimize delays and costs with this top-tier building construction software.

Stop expensive material mistakes with Speedbrick COMPOSE today. Experience this state-of-the-art contractor software by scheduling a free demo today.

Delve Deeper into Speedbrick Solutions

Speedbrick doesn’t just offer a construction management system. It’s a portal to a range of tools, from subcon management to a business analytics dashboard, designed to empower contractors to anticipate risks, even on the go.

To learn more, head to www.speedbrick.com.

In the grand theatre of construction, managing a project is akin to orchestrating a symphony – with its crescendos, decrescendos, and occasional unexpected pauses. Here’s a breakdown of the seven most challenging segments directors (read: contractors) face, and how the right construction software can make the performance a standing ovation.

1. Setting the Concert Date: Unrealistic Projected Completion Dates

Just as maestros don’t rush a symphony’s debut, contractors shouldn’t be hurried by premature deadlines. Thankfully, construction project management software like Speedbrick can ensure a harmonious flow of tasks, lending a tempo to the digital procurement strategy, making every movement count.

2. Scouting for Talented Musicians: Shortage of Qualified Labours

Ever tried to replace a violin virtuoso overnight? Government regulations make sourcing skilled labour almost as challenging. With construction supply chain management software, you can keep your construction symphony in tune and adapt to the ever-changing orchestra members.

3. Striking the Right Note: Shortage of Qualified Employee

The Malaysian stage has seen many talents move away. Yet, when contractors lack proficient site supervisors, the entire performance may falter. With the resonance of construction software in Malaysia, contractors can master the rhythm and ensure even novices play like maestros.

4. Writing the Music Sheets: Failure to Document Project Changes

In the vastness of a philharmonic, tracking every variation is crucial. Expecting site personnel to recall every change is like asking an oboist to play from memory. Here, construction management system tools become the written score, documenting every note and nuance.

5. Delayed Applause: Delay in Payment

Awaiting applause post-performance can be heart-wrenching, as is waiting for due payments. But with cloud-based procurement software for construction, payments come in a timely encore, ensuring contractors aren’t left waiting in silence.

6. Tuning the Instruments: Dispute between Parties (Employer, Contractors, Consultant, Employee)

Even in the best symphonies, instruments can clash. Similarly, construction disputes can disrupt the entire melody. Speedbrick’s contractor software ensures clarity and harmony among all players, reducing chances of discord.

7. Keeping the Orchestra in Harmony: Poor Coordination between Contractors

An out-of-tune violin can throw off an entire symphony. Subcon mismanagement is the construction equivalent. Thankfully, there’s software to orchestrate subcon management, ensuring a harmonious performance from start to finish.

Conducting with Speedbrick

Picture Speedbrick as the conductor’s baton, guiding contractors through the melodious highs and challenging lows of the construction symphony. With tools ranging from a digital procurement platform to construction procurement software, Speedbrick ensures every note (your project) hits just the right pitch, from start to finish.

Discover the rhythm behind successful construction management at www.speedbrick.com.

Running a construction enterprise is a multifaceted endeavour. With several construction sites scattered across different locations, ensuring timely delivery of purchased materials within budget becomes crucial for the profitability of a project. But if you’re using Excel for this purpose, you’re risking your project’s profitability, as errors often go unnoticed until it’s too late.

According to Market Watch, nearly 88% of spreadsheets contain errors. It’s hardly surprising given they are manually compiled. A minor manual error such as a misplaced decimal point can result in significant mistakes, costing your business a hefty sum. The effort that goes into identifying and rectifying these errors is a sheer waste of precious time.

Real-time data is indispensable when making multi-million dollar decisions. Unfortunately, Excel-generated reports don’t guarantee up-to-date information. A variety of damages can result from using Excel spreadsheets, including mistakes, double data entry, wasted time, and security issues.

In addition, management often struggles to verify the accuracy of an Excel-generated report or whether it’s been manipulated to present a rosy picture. Shuffling material budgets between columns, conveniently forgetting to record correct data, or being “too busy” to produce a report are common issues contractors face.

Contractors, you need to ask yourself: Is there a better way to manage your materials? Given that you:

1. Can’t afford constant mistakes,
2. Deserve a better tool,
3. Have a team wasting over 50 hours monthly on Excel,
4. Risk losing your data.

So, what’s the superior way to manage materials?

Opt for a cloud-based construction procurement software like Speedbrick COMPOSE, a dedicated digital procurement platform that collects information as your construction team uses it to monitor budgets, order materials, generate purchase orders, confirm delivery orders, and match invoices. All material records are updated instantly. This eradicates the risk of cut-and-paste errors. With everyone involved in purchasing having access to the same information, no one needs to worry about data accuracy or a newer version of spreadsheets stored on someone else’s computer. Management can trust the data to make informed decisions.

To gain an accurate overview of your company’s performance, it’s essential to harness business intelligence technology. Relying on a printed copy of Excel reports or scrolling through different spreadsheets is time-consuming, diverting your focus from decision-making. Furthermore, the data quality on spreadsheets is heavily contingent on manual entry. One single formula error can keep you busy identifying and correcting it. But with digital procurement platforms, finding vital information is a breeze. A few clicks, and you get to visualize real-time information.

Moreover, a digital procurement strategy eliminates the worries of a hard disk crash or computer virus. All your purchasing data is securely stored on remote servers with backups. Every action taken by your team has an audit trail, enabling you to know what was done, by whom, when, and why.

Construction projects can spend up to 70% of the contract value on material purchasing. One wrong buying decision can considerably slash the profits of your construction projects.

Switching to digital procurement can unlock:

• Real-time Data: informing you who buys what, why, and whether it exceeds the budget.
• Access: Stay connected with the procurement cycle wherever you are.
• AI Equip Digital approval: Make approval decisions backed by AI analytics.
• Efficient team: Reliable data empowers your construction team to act faster and better.
• Standard workflow: No shortcuts, enforce your company’s

standard.

The immediate benefits of digital procurement include:

1. One platform to store all purchasing data: Never lose a document.
2. Work from anywhere: Enable your team to work from anywhere with a digital platform.
3. Audit trail: Record who did what, increasing accountability.
4. AI processing: Identify and alert potential spending mistakes; intelligent capabilities guide business decisions.
5. Visible supplier performance: Know how your suppliers perform at a glance.

Digitalization is the future, and it’s here now. Experience how technology can protect your financial health and keep you competitive.

Speedbrick COMPOSE is the cloud-based procurement software for construction that you need for your construction business.

What we do

We’re redefining the way your construction business orders materials with Speedbrick COMPOSE – an intuitive building construction software designed to digitize the entire procurement cycle. We aim to reduce blame games between sites and offices by getting all stakeholders on board on one common yet personalized construction management system.

Who we help

Specifically designed for contractors, Speedbrick assists construction businesses in saving money, time, and effort.

Why Speedbrick

Hear it from our users:

“Speedbrick is different from other software as they understand construction… I can see every information I need, I can make decisions faster. Now I have more time for myself.” said Mr. Ong Tien Ling, Director

“It’s a systematic way for me to work. After we use Speedbrick, my boss can know how much material is ordered and delivered. And whether we are within or exceeded budget. My boss now knows my work performance.” Mr. Tan Boon Chin, Site Supervisor

“It’s convenient, easy, I love it! I no longer make ordering mistakes. I can know how much was ordered and balanced. I know if we have exceeded budget. It’s all about money, we have to control our budget” Mr. Wong, Site Manager

“We run over 10 projects simultaneously, it used to be very difficult for us to monitor material. Now, I can easily pull out relevant data for reports and audit” Ms. Chua, Credit Controller

Get in touch with Speedbrick today for your absolutely free demo consultation service.

About Speedbrick Solutions

Speedbrick Solutions develops user-friendly construction software for contractors to do more with less. Currently, Speedbrick offers four products: procurement management, revenue management, subcontractors management, and business analytics dashboard.

Find out more at www.speedbrick.com.

At Speedbrick, we’re transforming the construction supply chain management landscape with our digital procurement platform, Speedbrick COMPOSE. Designed with contractors in mind, this platform is the streamlined construction procurement software solution your business has been missing.

Building Efficiency with Speedbrick COMPOSE

Imagine a single platform where your construction business can conduct all purchasing activities. Welcome to Speedbrick COMPOSE, a cloud-based procurement software for construction that digitizes your entire procurement cycle. It’s time to put an end to the blame game between sites and the office by bringing all stakeholders on board a unified, personalized digital purchasing platform.

Why Choose Speedbrick COMPOSE?

Here are just 5 reasons Speedbrick COMPOSE can benefit your construction business:

1. A Unified Digital Procurement Strategy

   By consolidating all your purchasing data into one single platform, Speedbrick COMPOSE significantly reduces the risks of misplaced or lost documents.

   It also aids in maintaining a clean, organized workspace, allowing for easy reference and seamless access to critical information.

   This leads to more efficient and effective project management, reducing the time spent on searching for documents and enhancing decision-making capabilities.

2. Work From Anywhere

   Speedbrick COMPOSE’s cloud-based procurement software for construction eliminates location barriers. No matter where your team members are, they can access the necessary information, communicate effectively, and execute their responsibilities.

   This offers your business more flexibility and continuity, especially valuable in situations such as global pandemics, natural disasters, or even just everyday remote work scenarios. This means projects can keep moving forward without delay, saving both time and money.

3. Accountability and Transparency

   Speedbrick COMPOSE’s audit trail feature offers a detailed record of all actions within the system, promoting a higher level of accountability among team members.

   Each step of the procurement process can be tracked and traced, fostering a culture of responsibility and integrity. This transparency reduces disputes and miscommunications while encouraging ethical practices, thereby building trust among your team and with your stakeholders.

4. Leverage AI Processing

   With its cutting-edge AI capabilities, Speedbrick COMPOSE identifies potential overspending or procurement mistakes before they become costly problems.

   The AI-driven insights allow for smarter decision-making and a proactive approach to cost management. By alerting you to potential issues, you can avoid expensive errors, improve your procurement strategy, and allocate resources more efficiently.

5. Evaluate Supplier Performance

   Understanding the performance and reliability of your suppliers is vital in construction. Speedbrick COMPOSE allows you to assess supplier performance with quick-glance data.

   This insight empowers your business to make informed decisions about supplier relationships, negotiate better terms, and ensure the high quality of materials and services, ultimately enhancing the overall success and profitability of your projects.

More Than Just a Construction Management System

Speedbrick COMPOSE isn’t just another construction ERP software. Our construction project management software provides unique benefits designed specifically for contractors. But don’t just take our word for it; here’s what our users have to say:

“Speedbrick understands construction… I can make decisions faster and have more time for myself,” says Director Mr. Ong Tien Ling.

Site Supervisor Mr. Tan Boon Chin loves the systematized approach to work: “After using Speedbrick, my boss knows exactly how much material we order, deliver, and whether we’re within or exceeding our budget.”

Site Manager Mr. Wong emphasizes the monetary benefits: “It’s all about money. We have to control our budget, and Speedbrick helps us do that.”

And for Credit Controller Ms. Chua, who manages over 10 projects simultaneously, “Speedbrick makes it easy to pull out relevant data for reports and audits.”

Speedbrick Solutions: Empowering Contractors

Speedbrick Solutions is more than just a construction software Malaysia company. We build user-friendly contractor software to empower contractors to do more with less. Our range of products includes procurement, revenue, subcontractors management, and business analytics dashboard.

Contact Speedbrick today for your free demo consultation service or find out more on our website.

Having subcontractors is a vital part of your construction business as they perform part of your contractual obligation. However, things get messy when you have too many subcontractors.

Technology can help.

Streamline your subcontractor management in an online, centralized platform like Speedbrick ECHO+ to better track work performance and minimize overpayments.

Here are some tips on how you can utilize technology to manage all your subcontractors:

1. Recognize the costs of manual processes

Whether it’s having data scattered all over the place or departments working in silos, manual processes will cost extra time and money.

Some challenges commonly faced by contractors are as follows:

• The contract team is unaware back charge has been issued to subcontractors
• Take time to look for data
• Back charges not recorded in payment certificates
• Overpayment to subcontractors
• Subcontractors’ variation orders are not being claimed under the main contract
• Subcontractors’ documents scattered all over the place
• Payment evaluation workflow not standardized
• Take time to manually compile data entry reports

2. Improve visibility with construction management software

Unlock unlimited benefits by going digital with construction management software like Speedbrick ECHO+.

Streamline and organize subcontractors on one platform. Get new insights into subcontractor performance every step of the way.

Some benefits include:

• Tracking subcontractors payment
• Tracking work scope
• Tracking back charges and variation orders
• Eliminate manual processes and manual data entry work
• All project teams work on one platform
• Automate reporting with 100% accuracy
• Keep everything organized and instantly traceable
• Deploy standard payment certificate template across all projects
• Generate payment certificates digitally – print, download or share them whenever you want
• Standardize back charge issuance and automatically link to payment certificate

Speedbrick ECHO+ is an easy-to-use construction software designed to assist contractors to boost standardization, productivity, profits, and accountability. It allows management to stay informed and get insights into subcontractors’ financial payments.

In summary, adopting a digital procurement strategy and using construction project management software can revolutionize your subcontractor management, saving time and money while increasing efficiency and transparency in your projects. Embrace the future of the construction industry with cloud-based procurement software for construction like Speedbrick ECHO+.

Find out more at www.speedbrick.com.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely searching for the top construction procurement software to streamline your construction business’s purchasing process. Construction projects procurement is unique, as it involves multiple stakeholders and various construction sites located across different locations.

This post will guide you on how to find a digital procurement platform that addresses your construction business’s key challenges.

Identify Current Challenges in Your Purchasing Cycle

Most contractors still rely on manual purchasing cycles. Before deciding on a construction procurement software, identify the current imperfections in your purchasing cycle. Some contractors have identified the following issues:

• Data silos: Management lacks spending visibility
• Expensive mistakes occur
• Lack of accountability: Blame games between sites and offices

Once you’ve identified these issues, determine what you want to improve. Some options include:

• Standardize workflow from budgeting, site material requests, to delivery
• Ensure collaboration between sites and offices to stop the blame game
• Get real-time insights to prevent mistakes from happening

Read the article: Steps to Standardize Your Purchasing Cycle in Your Construction Business

Request Demos from Vendors

When you’ve identified the outcomes you want to achieve with a digital procurement strategy, source for vendors and invite them for demos.

Questions to ask during the demo session:

• Can the system integrate with existing accounting software?
• Is it cloud-based or on-site?
• Is customization required?
• Does it work on mobile?
• Is there a satisfaction guarantee?
• How long does implementation typically take?
• What is the IT infrastructure needed for implementation?
• How many system “outages” have they had? For how long?
• How good is the customer support?

These answers will give you a decent understanding of the strengths of each construction supply chain management software.

Ask Speedbrick for a demo here.

Tips: Accounting software is not a suitable purchasing software for construction.

Choose the Construction Management System that Your Team Loves to Use

Contractors can only get good data from any purchasing software when employees actively use it. User buy-in is essential. Here are tips for selecting a suitable software:

• It’s easy to use
• It connects sites and offices on one platform
• Site supervisors can order materials on their mobile devices
• The system alerts decision-makers of potential spending risks
• It automatically compiles reports
• It gives management better control over construction sites with mobile access
• Allows management to monitor supplier performance
• The ROI is higher than the investment

See the article: How to Shorten Site Material Orders from Days to Minutes with Digital Procurement Software

Tips: Don’t get stuck on price. If a tool can save you hundreds of hours, provide strategic insights, and prevent mistakes from happening, you’ll see a return on investment in no time.

Common Mistakes Contractors Make When Choosing Construction Procurement Software

• Deciding solely based on price: Many contractors base their decision on the software’s price, only to later find out that it isn’t suitable for their business operations, employees refuse to use it, and the software collects dust in a cabinet.
• Obtaining software not designed for construction: Construction is different from other industries. Using software designed for other industries can lead to detrimental effects, as workflows must be altered to fit the system, creating more work.
• Creating double work for employees: A good procurement tool should reduce workload, not increase it. Construction businesses are busy, and your team is scrambling to get things done. Choose software that reduces work, not adds to it.

Tips: If your employees aren’t using the software, no matter how cheap it is, you won’t see any return on your investment.

When looking to use technology to monitor your construction material supply chain, you’re already adding value to your construction business. Speedbrick understands that finding a suitable tool is a long process with many considerations. Contact us for a free consultation and learn how we’ve designed the best construction eProcurement software for your construction business: Yes, I want a free consultation

About Speedbrick Solutions

Speedbrick Solutions builds easy-to-use software for contractors to do more with less. It allows contractors to monitor risks ahead of time on mobile devices. Currently, Speedbrick offers four products: procurement management, revenue management, subcontractors management, and business analytics dashboard.

Find out more at www.speedbrick.com.

You are running a multi-million construction company. You have a challenge on site inventory management. You are looking for a procurement system to help you manage your site inventory, ensuring material purchased is within budget. Preferably one construction software for every department to use. You want reports in real-time, alerting you before mistakes happen.

You began sourcing, met with a few vendors. Finally identified the dream digital procurement platform. The one that can give you full control, streamline workflow, give you real-time alerts on spending mistakes. It comes with an artificial intelligence analytics dashboard too. You love it.

And then, you looked at the price. Your jaw dropped.

Why do you need to spend money on digital procurement? You have to pay for an annual license, user license, hosting, and maintenance?

Now you have doubts. You have staff that helps you manage site material, why do you still need construction procurement software? It is an expense. You persuade yourself there is nothing wrong with the manual process. You might decide to improve the manual process by hiring more staff. Most likely cost controllers. Bridging the communication between contract, site and purchasing department. Whose job is to produce a better Excel report for you. This may work, yet one tiny manual mistake will cost you a bomb, and you only found out when it’s too late.

Cost is preventing you from going digital

Deciding not to digitize is like deciding to walk, while you have an option to drive a car.

Purchasing your first construction eProcurement software is a lot like buying your first car. The question is not whether you need a car, but which car.

Determine which procurement software depends heavily on your business size and projects volume. You can’t rely on a free software and expect it to do a good job of running your multi-million worth of projects.

How digital construction management system helps save you time and money

Investment in technology should not be captured as a cost center but capital. When implementing the right technology, you will see the below improvement:

Save You Time with a Construction Management System

• Site order – speed up site order and reduce urgent order by 98%
• Approval – speed up order approval from days to minutes
• Check quantity – automate quantity conciliation rather than calculating with spreadsheets
• Document Matching – automate PO/DO/Invoice matching, eliminate double entry
• Reporting – automatically generate reports, eliminate manually produced spreadsheets

Save You Money with a Building Construction Software

• Do more with less – get more things done with lesser or the same resources
• Risk alert – artificial intelligence alerting you before over buying occur
• Prevent expenses mistakes – prevent mistakes before it happens
• Staff training cost – standardize workflow makes it easy for new staff to hop onboard

Before you decide which digital procurement software to use, get a free consultation on Speedbrick COMPOSE – a cloud-based procurement software for construction designed for medium and large contractors.

Benefits of Speedbrick COMPOSE

Keep Your Material Spending in View

• Be informed on every step in the purchasing cycle. Identify spending risk before it happens
• Connect the purchasing team with site supervisor, project manager, quantity surveyor on one platform. Everyone is accountable.
• Management gets a real-time material spending report. Identify risk in real-time.

Single Source of Truth, No Matter Where Your Sites are Located

• Trace every Material Requisition Form, Purchase Order, Delivery Order
• Data never lies, drill down to source of raw data with just a few clicks
• See who has done what with a detailed audit trail
• Know how your suppliers perform with a glance

Gain Full Visibility with a Construction Project Management Software. Regain Control

• Be alerted instantly on material overspending risk
• Eliminate material ordering mistake, instantly
• No more urgent order
• Obtain material order with confidence within minutes

The Best Purchasing Tool for Your Construction Team

• Personalized dashboard keeps stakeholders focused on what matters
• Keep the flow of information going
• Reduce waiting time and overall cost

Stop expensive material mistakes with Speedbrick COMPOSE today. Get a free consultation now.

Why Speedbrick

Hear it from users:

“Speedbrick is different from other software as they understand construction… I can see every information I need, I can make decisions faster. Now I have more time for myself.” said Mr. Ong Tien Ling, Director

“It’s a systematic way for me to work. After we use Speedbrick, my boss can know how much material is ordered and delivered. And whether we are within or exceeded budget. My boss now knows my work performance.” Mr. Tan Boon Chin, Site Supervisor

“It’s convenient, easy, I love it! I no longer make ordering mistakes. I can know how much was ordered and balanced. I know if we have exceeded budget. It’s all about money, we have to control our budget” Mr. Wong, Site Manager

“We run over 10 projects simultaneously, it used to be very difficult for us to monitor material. Now, I can easily pull out relevant data for reports and audit” Ms. Chua, Credit Controller

Contact Speedbrick today to get your absolutely free demo consultation service.

About Speedbrick Solutions

Speedbrick Solutions builds easy to use software for contractors to do more with less. Allowing contractors to monitor risks ahead of time, on mobile. Currently, Speedbrick has 4 products: procurement management, revenue management, subcontractors management, and business analytics dashboard.

Find out more at

www.speedbrick.com

Did you know that 15% of materials delivered to construction sites end up in landfills due to mismanaged scheduling and purchasing? That’s a shocking statistic, and it’s just one of the many inefficiencies holding the construction industry back from reaching its full potential.

Construction Industry’s Inefficiencies: The Profitability Drain

Despite being a vital sector contributing $8.8 trillion to the global economy, the construction industry is stuck in the past, relying on manual processes that are time-consuming, inefficient, and often inaccurate. It’s no wonder that contractors are seeing their profitability drain away.

Material waste is not just an environmental issue, but a financial one too. The cost of wasted materials can add up quickly and have a significant impact on a project’s profitability. By reducing material waste through better procurement practices, contractors can save money and increase their bottom line.

Streamline Your Procurement Process with Speedbrick COMPOSE

In Malaysia, there’s a game-changing technology that sets contractors apart from their competitors in terms of efficiency: Speedbrick COMPOSE. This easy-to-use digital procurement software empowers contractors to digitize the entire procurement cycle, from purchase orders to payments, and everything in between.

Speedbrick COMPOSE is designed to streamline the purchasing cycle and get all stakeholders onboard on one common yet personalized digital purchasing platform. This helps to reduce the blame game among sites and offices and ensure that everyone is on the same page. By digitizing the procurement process with Speedbrick COMPOSE, contractors can ensure data accuracy, reduce the risk of errors, and increase transparency throughout the construction supply chain management.

Digital procurement strategy is essential in today’s fast-paced construction landscape. By adopting a cloud-based procurement software for construction, you can revolutionize your construction procurement and reap the benefits of increased efficiency and reduced costs.

At Speedbrick Solutions, we build easy-to-use software that allows contractors to do more with less. We offer four products that empower contractors to monitor risks ahead of time on mobile devices: procurement management, revenue management, subcontractor management (sub con), and business analytics dashboard. With Speedbrick Solutions, you can optimize your operations and focus on delivering quality projects on time and within budget.

Don’t let long-standing inefficiencies hold your construction business back any longer. Contact us for a free consultation today and discover how Speedbrick Solutions can help you achieve your goals. Visit our website at www.speedbrick.com to learn more about our construction purchasing software, procurement software for construction, and purchasing software for construction solutions.

To ensure profitability, contractors must ensure raw material spending is within construction budgets. Yet, budget control is complex. Many stakeholders are involved and collaborative effort is required between construction sites and office. Different contractors have attained different ways to manage material procurement spending. Generally, material spending reports are compiled manually between the purchasing and cost control departments. Spending data is spread and stored in different locations: the contract department, the sites, the purchasing department, the cost control department, and the finance department.

It takes time to collect data from different locations, compile and reconcile what was ordered, delivered, and how much was spent. Most companies rely on data entry onto spreadsheets to churn out accurate spending reports. It’s time-consuming, resulting in many contractors not being aware of their material spending until it is too late. Overspent has occurred.

The benefits of real-time material spending report

Spending visibility allows experienced management to detect any fraud or anomalous in the construction sites. It allows contractors to know how much material is on-site and how to avoid over-purchasing. It gives contractors the ability to control material spending and curb unnecessary spending before it’s too late.

Real-time material spending visibility allows contractors to have a holistic view of how money is being spent. Contractors can have full visibility of the company’s entire purchasing cycle. For example, when the site supervisor has raised a material order, within seconds management is able to get a real-time report of whether the material ordered is within or exceeded budget. Management gets a full picture of how every dollar is spent, curbing overspending at its infant stage.

Construction companies can utilize purchasing software for construction such as Speedbrick COMPOSE to easily monitor material spending with consumption data that is visible and accessible in real-time, via mobile phone.

Contractors can make better decisions with greater material spending visibility

1. Identify spending mistakes

Material spending mistakes are one of the main reasons why contractors exceed project budgets. Construction procurement is complex. It involves at least five different departments in a construction company. Although processes may vary between different companies, they are generally summarized as follows:

The purchasing cycle and the supply chain management for construction are complex. Many stakeholders are involved. Manually managing them means going through a lot of MR, PO, DO, invoicing documents, and manually recording them into spreadsheets to identify if there are any spending mistakes. It’s time-consuming and rarely sustainable in multi-million projects. This results in expensive mistakes. When management is making spending decisions blindly without accurate data from a construction supply chain management software, millions of dollars of potential savings are lost.

It is crucial to have material spending visibility at each step along the procurement cycle, mistakes can quickly be identified and addressed by the different stakeholders who may be making spending decisions without knowing that it affects the project’s bottom line.

The best way to address this is to use a digital procurement platform where all stakeholders perform purchasing tasks on one platform. Contractor’s purchasing system can be utilized to automatically collect, process, and identify spending mistakes, alerting the relevant stakeholders before spending mistakes happen. With the right digital procurement strategy in place, the management can easily access accurate spending reports in real-time, no matter where they are, curbing mistakes when it happens.

2. Identify saving opportunities

Material spending visibility allows contractors to view purchases and the amount spent. By tracking material spending, you will be able to identify if the material ordered is needed and the quantity of material across multiple projects will determine if you can obtain a better price from your suppliers.

When procurement data is stored in multiple systems/tablets, this often leads to misplacement or loss of data resulting in inaccurate reporting. Sometimes the data sets can be incomplete and inaccurate as it relies on manual data entry, and spreadsheet calculation mistakes are likely to happen. Hence, stakeholders will have to spend time identifying the mistakes. It’s inefficient, and windows of saving opportunities are being missed.

By not having a good automated procurement system to store and process data, contractors are often left behind struggling to find and make decisions based on good data.

3. Use digital procurement platform to achieve material spending visibility

When all material spending data is collected, compiled, and consolidated on one construction digital platform, it is beneficial to management as all crucial data is accessible when management needs it.

Speedbrick COMPOSE is a digital procurement platform that is used by all stakeholders involved in the material purchasing cycle. It is easy to use, with multiple permissions control. Stakeholders utilize the platform as a tool to order and approve material. It completely replaces existing manual processes. Speed up the purchasing cycle by 132%.

Speedbrick’s digital procurement software is personalized to ensure data security. Stakeholders can only see information that helps them get work done. It’s personalized according to their job description, helping stakeholders to focus and quickly identify material spending mistakes before mistakes happen.

Using purchasing software for construction like Speedbrick COMPOSE, material spending reports are automatically compiled and available at each step of the purchasing cycle. During order, the site supervisor will be given a status report on the material he is currently ordered, the budgeted quantity, total ordered, and delivered quantity. During digital approval, approvers will be given a real-time report that helps approvers decide with confidence.

Material spending data will be automatically compiled and processed by Speedbrick’s robust backend technology, churning out visual graphic reports on a business intelligence analytic dashboard. This allows management to have a holistic view of cash inflow and spending reports.

Speedbrick simplifies procurement for contractors on a single platform. Speedbrick is the first digital procurement platform for contractors in Malaysia. We simplify the complex procurement cycle and help contractors achieve efficiency by getting all stakeholders onboard on one platform.

By helping contractors get on board with digital procurement, contractors can focus on building while Speedbrick helps to identify mistakes and saving opportunities, helping contractors manage their construction business all via mobile.

In conclusion, using a digital procurement platform like Speedbrick COMPOSE significantly improves material spending visibility for contractors. It streamlines the purchasing cycle, reduces errors, and allows contractors to identify savings opportunities. By adopting digital procurement strategies and utilizing construction procurement software, contractors can make better decisions, achieve efficiency, and enhance their project’s profitability.

1. Design vs Actual Building Work

Regardless of the size of the project, every construction project involves many different subcontractors and stakeholders. Architects and consultants will design the outlook and technical design of the project, whereas contractors are responsible for turning the design into reality. Nevertheless, it is common and expected for redesigns to occur, especially if the initial designs do not suit the actual site conditions. This inevitably causes delay in the entire project.

2. Slow Variation Approval Process

Variation orders are also a common occurrence in almost every construction project. However, in order for a contractor to claim the variation orders later, the variation must be given through an Engineer Instruction (EI) or Architect Instruction (AI). Issuing EI or AI requires finding out who will bear the cost of constructing and accommodating the variation orders, which will take some time. Contractors may sometimes provide free services to proceed without EI or AI, but these will result in cost overruns on the contractor’s side.

3. Unrealistic Work Programmes

The project duration estimation is a necessary task of construction project management. This part is usually done by the main contractor (MC) or project management company (PMC) based on an almost perfect scenario, which does not properly reflect the reality of the work done at the construction site.

Improper estimation will impact the subcontractors and the designed work programme. Subcontractors are not engaged at the beginning of the project, but only before the required trade is to be constructed. So the subcontractor’s opinion on the work time estimation may be solicited, but this is not always the case. Most of the time, the party designing the work programme is not the same party executing the work.

As such, when a subcontractor is engaged, they are then pressured into completing the work according to the schedule provided by the MC/PMC. Depending on the subcontractor’s capability and resources, they may or may not meet the deadlines. In this situation, it is highly likely that the project will be delayed.

4. Poor Site Coordination

Due to the presence of various subcontractors of different trades all working at the same construction site, coordination is a critical part of construction management. With good coordination, subcontractors can properly plan their resources and logistics.

However, most of the time, site coordination only happens during weekly site meetings, which may hinder the subcontractors’ schedules and plans. Furthermore, the subcontractor still has to check the project site multiple times to ensure it is indeed ready for them to begin their work, even despite receiving verbal instructions from the main contractor. For a subcontractor, mobilising their resources too early and ahead of the site readiness is costly. They are more likely to wait until the site is actually ready before entering or starting work.

5. Shortage of Skilled Labour

Resource management must be efficient and smooth in order to properly manage construction projects, as resources are, without a doubt, a key factor in the success of a project. Part of this resource management is balancing the workload and remuneration of the labourers. Local contractors have to compete with foreign developers or contractors, not just for projects, but also for skill labour, as the latter usually offer attractive compensation.

With many employers in Malaysia struggling to find skilled employees, the current employees are also burdened with additional workload, which in turn could lead to more employees leaving the company’s workforce due to inability to cope with heavy workload and poor compensation. Eventually, this shortage or lack of resources jeopardises the ability of local contractors to complete projects on time and within budget.

6. Additional Financial Burden

With the recent instability in the world economy, some currencies may not be performing well, and building material prices continue to rise. Both foreign developers and main contractors are requesting for a higher retention amount. Contractors have to wait for the defect liability period to expire before they can receive their profits. Yet, despite all efforts above, contractors are still paying operating and supplier costs, which places additional burden on them.

7. Stricter Requirements

Aside from project management issues, stricter requirements imposed by local authorities on building materials, and stringent regulations on environment, health and safety also contribute to project delay and cost overrun. This is due to the various interpretations and implementations of such laws and regulations that are more likely to lead to confusion, and even incomplete compliance by the contractors. This, in turn, requires remedial measures to be taken, thus involving more parties (such as legal consultants), which subsequently delays the project and incurs more cost during the project lifespan.

About Speedbrick Solutions

Speedbrick Solutions is a provider of cloud-based construction management software. The platform facilitates a more efficient work approach with a modern touch, specifically for construction industry stakeholders. Among the services Speedbrick offers are material procurement and management, revenue tracking and management, subcontractors claim control, and analytics reporting. Speedbrick has served projects over RM18.6 billion and has helped clients achieve up to 3.6% additional profits, making it a formidable player in its field. With smart construction management software and solutions, Speedbrick also helped its clients to save up to 133 hours per month.

Find out more at www.speedbrick.com .