In today’s fast-paced digital world, you need to keep evolving. As a construction business, you can stay ahead of the game by adopting digital strategies that streamline your supply chain processes. Those strategies can also generate insights to achieve a more agile business by knowing where to look for the gold – hidden in the data – and knowing how to mine it.
One of the best ways to do this is by creating digital relations with stakeholders in your supply chain. By using AI as a lever, you can gather insights that will help you make informed decisions about your business and products. Continue reading and you will discover several digital innovation tips you can apply to your own business to achieve just that.
Curious? Great, let’s discover them!
Create a digital relationship with stakeholders in the supply chain
Shedding light on the supply chain
One of the main challenges facing the construction industry is the complexity of the supply chain. Manufacturers of building materials and equipment typically sell through wholesalers. They therefore have no idea who buys their products and why (or why not), which of their products are most popular and how (or in what areas) they could sell more of them. They also have no idea whether the intended use coincides with the customer’s actual use or how often they are used. In short, they lack overall user insight.
Creating a digital relationship with stakeholders can simplify and optimize the overall process, reduce human error, and improve brand loyalty through installers and builders. This brings me to my next point: one of the most important stakeholders are installers because they are closest to the end user. They select which materials will be used and can easily get feedback from consumers.
Fostering brand loyalty
Brand loyalty is essential in a highly competitive industry and cannot be taken for granted. The best way to foster it is by creating an added value for stakeholders. The biggest added value you can offer them is solving their major problems and saving them time in their processes. This can be achieved with digital solutions using a cloud-based platform that facilitate the flow of information.
An example could be a mobile application that allows construction managers, installers or do-it-yourselfers to calculate in real time how much material they need for a particular project. This could be done by simply taking a picture of the construction site and adding some measurements or even integrating satellite imagery. The application can then provide them with real-time inventory options, offer pickup or delivery services and keep them updated on new materials and product releases used for their typical projects.
Creating overview and accountability
The key value for the manufacturer here is that these digital relations allow real-time tracking of materials from the production site to the construction site. These platforms can be used to communicate with suppliers and track orders, creating greater transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain. This not only helps ensure materials arrive on time, but also helps avoid delays and cost overruns. And those aren’t the only insights you can get from your data.
Gain insights to become more agile
Data is gold and those who know how to mine it will become the new royals in the construction industry. By leveraging the power of AI you can improve safety, efficiency, cost savings, and project management. It can also help speed up your decision-making by analyzing your data, providing real-time and even predictive analyses to gain insights into the performance of your company, products and services.
Faster and more accurate
AI can analyze data from various sources, such as project timelines, material usage and worker productivity. As such, it provides real-time insights that help construction companies make faster and more accurate decisions making them more agile.
Proactive action
For example, AI can be used to predict material shortages or identify parts of the project that are in danger of falling behind. This allows companies to take corrective action before problems arise, minimizing delays, cost overruns and inventory depletion.
Optimizing workforce
In addition, AI can help construction companies optimize their workforce by identifying areas where workers could be more productive, which can lead to greater efficiency and lower costs.
Smart equipment for a smart business
Typical project delays
Another problem that delays construction projects is faulty equipment. Sometimes machines break down, and with no spare parts in sight, work sometimes needs to be delayed for days, even weeks. This slows down projects and can also lead to extremely dangerous situations for the workers operating the equipment.
Predictive maintenance to the rescue
One solution to prevent these dangerous situations is using predictive maintenance. By monitoring your equipment with sensors and connecting it to a platform, you can analyze the data. AI can predict when maintenance is needed or when something is out of order (anomaly detection). It can remind you when it’s time to stock up on spare parts, reducing downtime and minimizing the risk of equipment failure.
Equipment tracking on site
Another major problem that connected devices solve is equipment tracking. Finding and forgetting equipment can cause significant delays and affect productivity on a construction site. This is especially true on larger construction sites where there is an even bigger need for coordination and organization of equipment. I often wonder how many hours are lost searching for equipment or having to drive back to the office because someone forgot to pack equipment.
Optimizing products and service
The big advantage for equipment manufacturers is that they too have access to this data, can analyze it and take action accordingly. Perhaps a particular product always breaks down the same way, an overpriced feature is never used or not as user-friendly as initially thought, making people reluctant to remain loyal to the brand. By optimizing these products based on facts and data, customers will remain loyal because of the excellent additional services you provide in addition to your already excellent product.
The benefits in a nutshell
There are three essential digital strategies that help construction companies stay competitive in today’s fast-paced environment. First, building digital relations with stakeholders in your supply chain. Second, using AI to generate insights to be a more agile business. Third, using the collected data to take your equipment to the next level. By embracing these technologies, construction companies improve customer loyalty & transparency, reduce delays and cost overruns, and make more informed decisions faster.
