Managing construction projects can be complex and time-consuming, with avoidable mistakes that can lead to delays and unexpected costs.
In real estate development, you’re responsible for overseeing multiple construction projects simultaneously, each with its own set of challenges. Problems like poor communication, lack of visibility, and manual processes can lead to countless issues that cut away from your bottom line.
One way to mitigate these issues is by using the right construction inventory management software. Let’s review a few of the common challenges facing real estate construction and how your choice of software can make your organization faster and more profitable.
Managing multiple vendors and projects
You’ll often find yourself managing multiple vendors and different material qualities, prices, and other variables. This can be complex and time-consuming.
For example, you may have two vendors that supply marble at different grades and prices, and you need to decide which projects get which type of marble, and from which vendor.
The right inventory management software (such as a custom solution built on the 3Di Engage software platform) will include a case management system and an incident management system, working seamlessly together to help you manage these complex processes and track details in a centralized place.
This case management environment allows you to track important information about each vendor, such as quality, turnaround time, and return policies, all in one place. This can help you make quick yet informed decisions about which vendor to use for each project, and ensure that you are getting the best value for your money.
Similarly, if you have an incident with a vendor that supplies defective marble, you can use an incident management tool to track the details and take action to address the issue.
Lack of visibility of material inventory
It can be difficult to keep track of inventory levels and locations in real-time, especially if you are working on multiple construction sites or have a large amount of equipment and materials. This makes it more difficult to make informed decisions about what to order and when.
Construction inventory management software provides material management tools, providing real-time visibility into inventory levels and locations, allowing you to track the movement of equipment and materials across all of your construction sites, and simplifying the return of excess or defective material.
For example, if you are working on a residential development and need a specific piece of equipment, you can quickly check the inventory management system to see if it is available at another site or if you need to order it.
Inaccurate inventory forecasting
It can be challenging to accurately forecast inventory needs, which can lead to either shortages or excess inventory. You need to be able to accurately forecast your inventory levels to ensure that you have the necessary materials and equipment on hand when you need them.
If you consistently underestimate your needs, you risk delays and additional costs due to shortages. On the other hand, if you overestimate your needs, you may end up with excess inventory that takes up valuable storage space and ties up capital.
Construction inventory management software can help you create more accurate forecasts by tracking historical data and using it to predict future inventory needs.
For example, if you tend to use a higher quantity of roofing shingles on your projects than expected, the reporting tools on 3Di Engage can use that data to identify adjustments needed, and help you make better decisions about how much to order.
Slow, manual processes
When you’re managing multiple construction sites it can be challenging to keep track of everything using manual processes. From scheduling, ordering materials, and tracking inventory levels, there’s a lot of tedious work and mistakes are common. This can lead to expensive delays on tasks and projects, especially when you’ve paid for pricey equipment or services, and you don’t have the right people or materials to get started.
Construction inventory management software can automate many manual processes, such as ordering materials, scheduling employees, and tracking inventory levels, which can save time and reduce the risk of errors.
With 3Di Engage, you can customize, track, and automate your processes as needed, adapting the platform to the way you prefer to work. For example, if you need to order additional lumber for a project, you can use software to place the order automatically when inventory levels are low.
Poor communication, internally and externally
If there is poor communication within the team, with vendors, or other stakeholders, it can lead to issues with managing inventory, such as confusion about who is responsible for ordering materials, whether orders have been placed, or whether payments have been made.
Inventory management software includes features to help you improve communication within your team and with external stakeholders.
A CRM (customer relationship management system) like the one on 3Di Engage simplifies customer communications by providing comprehensive contact information in a central location that’s always up to date. If you have a team member who is responsible for ordering materials, they can use the software to place orders and update inventory levels in real-time.
3Di Engage’s omnichannel communication feature allows you to send and automate notifications, alerts, and other communications through email, SMS, social media, and app push notifications, which can help you stay connected with everyone.
Failing to process billing and payments on time
With multiple projects underway at any given time, each with its own fee structure and billing requirements, manual invoicing processes can be time-consuming and prone to errors, which can lead to delays and additional costs.
Inventory management software helps put all your construction payments, invoices, and billing in one place.
If you are working on a residential development project and need to invoice a client for materials, you can use 3Di’s billing and payments feature to create the invoice and process the payment all in one place. This saves you time and makes it easier to track payments, which ensures you are getting paid on time, and helps avoid delays or disputes.
Managing inspections and identifying issues or trends.
You likely have a local team that is responsible for inspecting materials on your construction sites. If you are using manual processes for inspections, it can be time-consuming and prone to errors, which can make it difficult to quickly identify any issues or trends.
Inventory management software includes a field inspection mobile app and portal, to complete inspections in a fraction of the time and give live updates from the field.
With custom checklists and the ability to instantly upload findings, you have real-time visibility into any issues or trends on your construction sites. This can help you identify problems early on and take corrective action to prevent delays or additional costs — even when you’re out of town.
Book a demo to see how 3Di can streamline your next construction project. We assemble your customized software requirement into a complete solution with the help of prebuilt components, allowing us to give you an affordable solution that’s ready for use within weeks.
