Commercial Construction Firm

Custom ERP transformation delivers improved efficiency and operating ratio

Summary: Atigro partnered with the operations division of a multi-billion dollar commercial construction company to develop a customized ERP to meet its aggressive growth targets. The enhanced system can seamlessly handle all tracking, ordering, billing, and maintenance activities across 500 job sites nationwide.

The Opportunity: Build a scalable tracking, ordering, billing, and maintenance system for operations and logistics

Our client is a national provider of construction management, general contracting, design-build, and integrated project delivery services. They serve 24 markets in more than 60 offices nationwide and are one of the fastest growing construction companies in the United States.

At the core of their business are the individual operating groups across the country that offer clients the attention of a small business with the resources of a national company.

The recently established Operations division encountered a number of challenges fulfilling its mandate to profitably deliver services, supplies, and equipment to job sites in the U.S. Disconnected legacy systems required redundant data entry and were not designed to scale or adapt to their complex business operations. The new division needed a system that could:

Manage equipment rentals
Serve as a purchasing hub for supplies
Route equipment and supplies
Schedule equipment setup
Monitor equipment performance and optimize maintenance schedules
Automate core operational processes
Track all services (trucking, fencing installation, repairs, etc.)

The Operations team knew their division’s needs exceeded the capabilities and adaptability of its existing ERP and software. They recognized that a solution was necessary before moving forward with the company’s ambitious growth plan.

Operations began working with us to build an ERP system that was customized for their unique workflows. The solution had to be able to optimize equipment management, serve as a single source of truth, track inventory, execute rental reservations and service orders — and be managed by a small team.

The Solution: Optimize workflows and build a flexible, custom solution

Atigro collaborated with the $100M Operations division to map workflows for four business units – equipment rental, maintenance, service, and small-scale construction. Once mapping was complete, we knew a flexible system would enhance productivity and seamlessly handle every tracking, ordering, billing, and maintenance scenario across 500 job sites nationwide.

While numerous off-the-shelf systems manage work orders for maintenance and logistics, the complexities of this division’s needs required custom software. We worked with the client to create streamlined procedures and then we built software that perfectly fit the procedures.

Optimizing the software to fit procedures did much more than create an efficient system. It also supports employee retention. If employees in a growing industry feel bogged down by a cumbersome IT system, they can easily find new job opportunities elsewhere.

Atigro selected a rapid deployment software framework and integrated it with the enterprise Azure cloud for swift prototype development and testing. As we iterated, we identified opportunities for our client to modify their existing workflows, leading to further productivity gains. We also brainstormed how to improve operations and processes as we went, and we adapted the software as we built it.

We used Django for a flexible backend for core staff, .Net for a customized intranet ordering system visible to the enterprise, and React Native for a mobile field service app.

The logistics system’s new functionality captures every task required for efficient operations:

Equipment management, scheduling, and availability
Rental management and scheduling
Maintenance scheduling
Inventory management, including parts inventory
Mobile field service
Automated work orders and work order prioritization
Asset management and asset tracking
Resource allocation
Cost management
Supply chain management
Track billing and invoicing for all of this

Meanwhile, the field service app allows employees and vendors to quickly add updates from the field, including equipment and supply pickups, service completion, work order results, hour tracking by site, receipt of goods, and equipment damage.

With augmented ERP and field service solutions, the division has a more flexible and efficient business model that supports its rapid growth and the company’s overall success.

Integrating this new system with their main enterprise ERP and accounting package kept the central office and CFO happy. They have the sophisticated financial reporting they worked with the ERP to create, along with a modern operations division.

The Impact: Enabling productivity and growth

Overall, this comprehensive system provides significant ERP transformation. No matter where a job site is located, the division’s enterprise software supports tracking, ordering, billing, and maintenance for each business unit.

Users can now enter required information on their devices without duplicate data entry or cumbersome inputs. Autofill capabilities and integrated set solutions run off a single database, replacing disconnected legacy systems.

The system handles every scenario, significantly decreasing the volume of emails this division’s team handled. Now, decision-makers are presented with all possible options and can process orders, deliveries or repairs without generating unnecessary emails, delays, and inefficiencies.

Enterprise-wide reporting provides executives, directors, and managers with enhanced insights into equipment locations, demand, and how to better support construction jobs.

The billing module accommodates complex rules, including overtime, full-time, worker limits, and region-based billing, all integrated with hours collection and approval processes.

The number of equipment rentals and supply purchases is expected to triple over the next year. Even as they process a greater volume of transactions, productivity gains will allow the team to remain the same size and take on additional responsibilities.

Our client’s overall operations will experience reduced project delays, lower costs, and a more competitive position in the market. Most importantly, their job sites will receive equipment, supplies, and services faster and the division’s team will spend less time managing ordering and logistics processes.

The Bottom Line

Our team examined in detail a multitude of use cases and obstacles presented by the client and then incorporated them into streamlined workflows using a combination of sophisticated database procedures and interface options.

We applied modern e-commerce concepts typically used in consumer-facing retail scenarios to their revamped intranet, and we worked diligently to understand and streamline very complex billing procedures.

Looking for help customizing your construction or logistics management software?
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