Using specialist construction software will transform the way your company works.
Stepping up your company's project win ratio can often seem like an impossible dream; especially in a sector suffering from wafer-thin margins, skill shortages and fierce competition. However, ambitious management teams are fast discovering that construction software can go a long way to overcoming those strategic challenges.
Of course, it's not a magic wand which can be waved over a failing business to transform its survival hopes. Construction software should be an essential element of any management team's toolkit as they look to build their business alongside an economy that ticks upwards in 2015. The first step is to discover the scale of the problem your bid team is facing and how well its performance stacks up against its peers.
It could be, of course, that you're still wondering if you really need construction software to address one of the sector's biggest long-term challenges - slender margins. After all, you might think, we've survived so far using spreadsheets, experience and a fair bit of understanding about how the industry works, so do we really need to embrace a new approach?
If that mindset still prevails, then KPMG's informative report - Construction Barometer: Recovery in Sight? - should convince even the loudest naysayer. Its conclusions are based on analysis of the cash balances, operating margins and order books of 14 Tier One companies from 2007 to the end of 2013.
If the industry's giants are struggling on these three KPIs, how much greater are the challenges facing companies further down the supply chains?
Construction software can help you address another major strategic headache - tackling the skills shortages which have bedevilled our industry for so long. By smoothing the relationships between a construction firm and its sub-contractors, and delivering greater efficiencies in terms of working time, the software also frees up staff to work on more complex tasks. Removing such frustrations from the working day also creates a more positive environment and encourages greater commitment from all concerned.
Innovative management teams who have already realised the significant benefits of such construction software can improve bid strategy and satisfy the demands of eager customers, just to name a few things.
Ask yourself:
- Is your project win ratio as good as you'd like it to be?
- Have you thought seriously about using construction software?
- What's your strategy in 2015 for boosting your profit margins?
