A digital construction marketplace automates the procurement process, making it fast and effective, and more transparent. This results in lower costs, higher RIO, and improved decision-making.
The construction industry will benefit from digitisation by increasing their efficiency and earnings. Procurement is one of the many fields of the construction industry where the innovative digitisation process has the potential to bring profound, positive changes.
Procurement is the process of purchasing goods or services. It necessitates taking a methodical approach to acquiring the necessary products and services while paying close attention to:
- Timeliness
- Quality of the material
- Effective communication and administration
- Client satisfaction
Although achieving all of these can be difficult with a manual process, a digital construction marketplace can automate the procurement process, making it simpler and faster.
How digitisation can invigorate procurement
The potential for digitisation to improve the construction industry is enormous. The following advantages can be achieved through a digitised procurement process:
Process automation
The procurement process becomes more straightforward, accelerated, and simple thanks to digitisation. With a digitised method, what normally takes days can be completed in just a few minutes.
Reduced costs
Human errors are reduced by using a digital platform that focuses on accuracy. Less money is spent cleaning up after expensive problems, so less mistakes contribute to cost savings.
Increased ROI
Distributors of building materials can use a global digital network to extend their scope and communicate with material buyers all over the world. This increases distributors’ revenue opportunities, allowing them to optimize their return on investment.
Improved decision making
Market participants will take advantage of actionable insights into the procurement process and make timely, well-informed decisions thanks to the improved exposure provided by a digital platform.
Enhanced agility
Using a manual approach to orchestrate and operate business processes may be time-consuming. A company that has embraced digital transformation, on the other hand, will ensure that knowledge is shared effectively and quickly among participants.
Standardised Vendor Prequalification Framework
To prequalify contractors for government building contracts, government agencies already have standardised prequalification processes in place. Some examples include the National Prequalification System for Non-residential Building (NPS) and National Prequalification System for Civil Construction. Industry bodies such as ARA are proposing a standardised prequalification process so that businesses can hire the right vendors in a timely manner while also raising the bar for everyone in the supply chain.
Felix Vendor Marketplace
Felix is a comprehensive solution used by industry-leading asset owners, builders, and managers to seamlessly connect their organisations and supply chains. It centralises and streamlines Vendor Management and Source-to-Contract (S2C) processes to significantly increase productivity, manage risk, and reduce spend. Connect all the right people, tools, and information you need in the one platform.
The Marketplace is for people to list, find and hire equipment and subcontractors around Australia – on any device, anywhere, anytime. It also interoperates with other modules of the Felix platform.
Trade Hounds
Trade Hounds is a mobile app connecting trade workers to job-related discussions and employment opportunities. It’s America’s first and largest professional platform exclusively for commercial trades workers. In June 2020 they raised $3.2 million in the seed funding round, which is very impressive. As they are attracting more and more attention, the aim is to be the LinkedIn of the construction industry.
Gearflow
In the construction equipment parts industry, ecommerce is rare. Contractors need to be able to find parts from reputable vendors to sustain their fleet of equipment, but the parts industry is so fragmented that it’s difficult to see all the options without a marketplace.
But Gearflow, a construction industry online marketplace, is gaining momentum as a portal with hundreds of vendors selling items ranging from backhoe and crane equipment to hydraulics and engine parts.
Gearflow serves as a destination for construction companies to find sellers and research their shipping, return, and warranty policies.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there is a huge opportunity in construction technology. Construction technology startup Matrak, which was founded in Melbourne in 2017, has gained $5.85 million in fresh funding. The funding came from cloud software firm Aconex co-founder Leigh Jasper and venture capital fund Rampersand.
Appello Software is in the process of building an exciting new construction marketplace which will be released soon. The platform will help people find, compare and purchase construction materials and products.
Top 10 Construction and Real Estate Software Vendors
Global Construction and Real Estate Apps Market to reach $14.8 billion by 2024, versus $13.5 billion in 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 1.8%.
According to Apps Run the World, here’s the Top 10 Construction and Real Estate Software Vendors in 2019 and their YoY growth rate:
- RealPage – 15.7%
- Oracle – 4.2%
- Microsoft – 12.4%
- Yardi – 5.2%
- Intuit Inc. – 14.2%
- CoStar Group – 24.1%
- SAP – 4.7%
- Trimble – 5.1%
- Constellation Software Inc. – 15.1%
- Sage – 9.2%
Businesses will benefit from improved accountability, performance, and productivity thanks to the automated procurement process. Thus, they should seize the opportunity to embrace the digital wave and reap the benefits of digitising their operations as soon as possible.
Appello will help your business execute on your digital marketplace and offer quality tailored construction software solutions. Contact us today.
View our infographic about the growth forecast for Real Estate, PropTech & Construction in 2021.
Read our article about Mobile Apps for Real Estate, Construction and PropTech Companies.
