ERP in Construction Industry and Why You Need It?

Are the tight budget and fixed deadline of your construction project choking your success?

Are you facing the last moment rejections and changes to the project plan?

Or are you seeing your efficiency getting imbalanced on the plank of risk?

If the answer to all the above questions is YES, then ERP in a construction company is your only rescue tool. ERP software in the construction industry is cemented to multiple benefits which elevate the level of project efficiency. It takes care of each step, including scheduling, planning, managing, etc.

What is ERP in Construction?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) in the construction industry is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real-time and mediated by software and technology.

ERP or enterprise resource planning is not restricted to any one particular industry. Instead, it has marked milestones in almost every sector of the economy. In the construction industry, we can define enterprise resource planning as using analytical tools and data to provide a fool-proof business solution.

It integrates the core function of construction with all the other company modules like financial management, inventory management, contractor management, human resource management, bid management, vendor management, CRM, and more. It is equally effective across businesses of all sizes, types, and verticals.

In the construction business, lots of effort is required to systematically manage the resources, tools, and equipment involved in the successful execution of any project. Therefore, there is a need for an ERP project plan that can strengthen the efforts needed in giving a final form to the project.

The team of Software Suggest has therefore brought together all the top ERP software vendors on one platform, just for you. These ERP software providers are the best fit for the construction industry.

Features of enterprise resource planning application in the construction industry:

• Project scheduling
• Centralized database
• Inventory management
• Expense management
• Workflow management
• Reporting and document
• Procurement of resources
• Customer relationship management
• Ease of tender and bid management
• Productivity or performance monitoring
• Easy wage calculation for the human resource
• Contract and Purchase Order (PO) management
• Human resource management and payroll management

Benefits of ERP for the construction industry

1. Automation of operations
   

   Construction companies operate on a large scale. They have multiple operations, like project management, client handling, staff management, cost estimation, and procurement management. Depending on the company’s size, the individual size of each of these operations also gets wide. Thus, making flawless management an enormous challenge for enterprise managers.
   But, with an enterprise resource planning application, the task becomes much easier. ERP modules automate and handle all the tasks with profound accuracy and also reduce the chances of any human error.

2. Optimization of project management
   

   No construction company can survive its life term or make long-term clients, in the absence of proper project management. Even a minor flaw in the form of delayed delivery or error in construction can cause big and long-term losses.
   But, with ERP software providers, the company can effectively manage multiple projects at the same time. ERP application ensures better optimization of projects by choosing and applying the right resource at the right time at the right place. This also means cost control and an increase in profit margin.

3. Effective internal communication
   

   The absence of good communication across all the departments can lead to failure in meeting the project deadlines.
   So we require an effective ERP solution provider to improve internal communication among various departments. The inbuilt chat forums with video interaction potential is a very impactful feature of any ERP tool. The chat forums can be used by all the members of a particular project to initiate team discussion or discussion of any significant matter concerning the project. This way, all the concerned members get communicated at the same time with no delay.

4. Mobile friendly
   

   ERP in the construction industry getting mobile-friendly today. This is because of the versatile presence of mobile across all locations and sites. The access to project-related information on mobile speeds up the overall operations of the business.
   The mobile-friendly attribute of ERP software makes use of SMS alerts and bulk SMS communication as the prime tool to elevate the productivity of the business. The access of ERP on a mobile device ensures that real-time update of the project keeps taking place from every project site.

5. Marks 24*7 presence
   

   The ERP software in the construction industry ensures that any project suffers no delays because of the absenteeism of any resource. Therefore, it ensures that all project-related inquiry and information is available to every concerned project member across all locations on time. It marks a 24*7 business presence. Regardless of your site location, you can access all the essential documents from your mobile or laptop as and when needed. This also ensures based on work flexibility for the employees.

6. Ease of data transfer
   

   As shared earlier, the construction industry has a massive pool of operations and simultaneous documentation. So, the overall management and allocation of data become a challenging task for business managers. This gets more complex when the size of the business gets bigger.
   An ERP database management is of great help to construction industry professionals, as it centralizes the data effectively regardless of its size. It also enables the safe and quick transfer of data across the departments of the organization. So, one can easily trace the needed records within seconds, when required.

7. Efficiency in decision making
   

   With effective centralization of data and operations, managers can conveniently make all business decisions with no flaws or delays. Problems can be foreseen and resolved before they create a bottleneck situation.

8. Improves the marketing strategies
   

   An enterprise resource planning application for the construction industry offers an in-depth data analysis to improve and optimize marketing strategies. The data collected from various departments gets analyzed on a common platform to help develop and execute strategic goals.

9. Construction bid cost and revenue estimations
   

   In the construction industry, marketers need to bid for contractual projects. This bid is made based on cost estimation, and the company with the best pricing wins the bid.
   ERP for the construction industry comes into use while making these cost estimates. It helps to make proper cost estimations based on the resources to be used and other relevant parameters. It also helps to calculate the overhead liabilities of the project. AI-based ERP for the construction industry ensures that there is minimal deviation in the actual and estimated cost.

10. Digital documentation
    

    The use of ERP in the construction industry minimizes use of the paper for documentation. Also, the digitally stored data are accessible from any location and at any time of the day. Unauthorized access to the documents also gets reduced, thus ensuring the privacy and secrecy of confidential data.

Top 5 construction ERP software providers

1. Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite helps organizations grow and adapt to change. Its cloud-based applications are fuelling the profits of over 15,000 customers across 200+ countries. It provides real-time integration of modules and also permits foreign currency translation, thus aiming at the globalization of the economy.

2. Focus 9

Equipped with the best construction management software solutions, Focus 9 automates and elevates the level of business operations to a great extent.

It reduces manual efforts in the execution of strategies to solve complex business problems.

 

3. Tally.ERP 9

Tally.ERP 9 construction solutions are effective in the management of property and building projects. It eases the sale and post-sale activities for various construction projects. Its key features are inquiry management, flats booking, property and amenities configuration, collection of installments, and MIS report handling.

4. CREST ERP

CREST ERP is specifically designed for the manufacturing and trading industry.

It takes care of the procurement of inventory, manufacturing, finance, sales, project management, and human resource management.

 

5. TCS iON

TCS iON service model allows the automation of multiple business operations related to a particular project. It comes with global expertise and result-oriented digitization solutions. This cloud-based ERP software solution for construction bujsiness can easily be accessed through mobile devices too.

The Potential of AI-enabled Construction ERP Software

On a daily basis, a large volume of data from various sources gets accumulated in construction companies. From customer-related problems to plot design changes to RFIs to project plans to budgets, everything should be analyzed, classified, and categorized to make appropriate business decisions. Here’s where AI comes into play.

AI in ERP systems acts as a smart assistant that sifts through millions of data points, analyzes and interprets it, and provides predictive and assistive insights that are meaningful, critical, and actionable.

Below discussed are a few outstanding areas where AI-enabled ERP systems can benefit construction companies,

• Inventory management

A construction company might have to handle multiple projects. That being the case, it might get a little tricky for them to schedule materials, equipment, and workforce for each project precisely.  

With AI, inventory management can become an easy undertaking. AI-based ERP systems will study historical and present data points, study patterns, and reveal predictive insights on stock levels, customer requirements, demand optimization, and other inventory-related processes. 

• Finance management

Ensuring accurate financial reporting is vital for the success of any construction company. With a standardized ERP system, companies can get a bird’s eye view of their financial status, no doubt. However, to get all the data into one platform, employees have to key in data from various sources like invoices, amounts payable, the budget allotted, and more. With humans getting involved in this whole scenario, there are fair chances of errors. Also, this repetitive task can cause fatigue, which can ultimately lead to missed deadlines. 

On the other hand, Software can easily read, analyze, pick critical financial data from sources, and enter the details in the required fields. Also, it can verify reports for completeness, accuracy, and quality by comparing numbers with data sources.

• Effective resource management

Construction companies have always faced this problem – limited availability of resources. Hence, the key to staying ahead in this competitive market is to devise a powerful strategy for the effective management of resources. Leveraging AI-based ERP software for the construction business is one of the best options that can be included in this strategy.

With AI’s power to forecast accurately, companies can gain assistive predictive information on budget estimation, employees to be assigned, and time for project completion. Also, by tracking the project progress in real-time, AI-enabled ERP systems can help in the reallocation of resources, if required.

• Customer service

Customer service is more than just the service you offer customers at the point of sale. It’s more about how well the service was, whether the pricing was fair, and how soon did you attend them, and did the work was done as promised. AI-enabled construction ERP software can improve customer service in these areas.

With AI-enabled construction ERP software, construction companies can have a holistic view of customers’ buying history. This data serves an important point for AI-enabled systems to pick point frequent, long-term vendors/customers and give them the best, profitable, and exciting deals.

Conclusion

In this digitally advanced economy, every industry needs to refurbish its operations with the aid of software solutions like ERP. The construction industry is no different. It also requires enterprise resource planning solutions to make its operations quick, accurate, and profitable.

Construction ERP software solutions provide proper workflow and monitoring of all industrial operations. Furthermore, the ERP also helps in attaining much profit for the industry.

But, one needs to make a rational choice, when it comes to subscribing to construction ERP software vendors. If, apart from the provided information, you need any further guidance in short-listing a software solution, feel free to contact us. We will be glad to fuel the success journey of your business.