Cutting 35% Operational Bottlenecks in Industrial Construction with Odoo
So, today we will check how the industrial construction Odoo ERP software which was customized helped one of our clients with cutting their day to day pain points in operations up to 35%.
Well, whenever you get an EPC project you will have to work on multiple sites where construction operations are going on and for sure a difficult situation will arise. What I have seen from my on ground experience is that the these situations bring in complexity for your industrial projects when you are solely relying on your local system spreadsheets, emails, WhatsApp, and paper sheet based workflows. So, this is directly leading to multiple issues like – on site delays, cash flow problems in operations, and frustrated end sub-contractors.
We have the client located in the Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi NCR and they were facing the above mentioned situation while managing their operations. The are basically working for the infrastructure setup for construction developments like – heavy industrial units, factory setups as well as for the large-scale infrastructures.
The client has a man power strength of 500+ employees and over 12+ active industrial construction sites on ground. But there was something that was not working as expected in their operations and the results were not that good despite them being leaders in the construction industry and this what we realized, was holding them aback.
Construction was at Scale But with Operational Issues
You know what i learned from this client operations is that manual process will always tend to slow you down and will for sure cost you loads of money when you are working at multiple site construction projects.
Let me now run you down with what were the exact situation of problems faced on a day to day basis by the client –
- They were having no system in place that could provide a unified dashboard for viewing all the operations for their project management as they were still relying on local system spreadsheets, emails, WhatsApp and what not.
- There were delays in procuring materials from vendors as the managers at site had to wait for long approval cycles. Apart from that, the stock inventory levels in real time were not available to the end users which was creating havoc leading to overstocking and understocking at the construction sites.
- Most of the time as they mentioned the operational costs were being reported not in real time but at the end of the month and due to the lack of a unified system there was no helicopter view for the higher authorities on the burn rates or project overruns so that they could make any adjustments or suggestions.
- A their timesheets were being recorded by pen and paper this was leading to subcontractors running around and chasing for their payments while the construction site managers were chasing for their approvals (procuring materials).
- Their drawings, RFQs, and contracts were spread across desktops, inboxes, and file cabinets and this was leading to a weekly version mismatch.
We Proposed Odoo ERP Solution for Industrial Construction
So, we went to their site office to check how they were actually handling their daily operations. At the site we checked all of their operational workflows. After that we had to make sure that the respective workflows were to be aligned with Odoo ERP. But as we had already created a custom industrial construction system based on the Odoo platform it was matching most of their workflow requirements. So, there were just few workflows that need to be aligned to match with their current additional ones.
Lets, check what we delivered to them. We provided them the solutions based on Odoo ERP which included:-
Construction project management:
Provided Gantt charts, task dependencies, and subcontractor tracking options
Automation of procurement and site level stock:
Achieve automated RFQs, site level stock control and helped them to to bring in digital approval chains for procurement
Accounting management:
Provided WIP tracking, introduced mile stone based billing, and automated 3 way match for purchase orders, receipts, and invoices.
Mobile labor tracking with Time sheet and HR:
Mobile labor tracking was introduced that could be linked to project cost centers.
Document management system:
Using the document management system we helped them centralize all of their RFQs, contracts, and drawings with version controlling.
Let’s give you the technical details:
We ensured:
- That each and every site/field engineer could update their data using their mobile devices which will help the mobile to head quarter data synchronization. Eventually this helps the headquarters to see all of the data in real time without any gaps.
- We also made sure that when ever the system requests or raises RFQs on the check of minimum stock levels that have been set so that there is no need for manpower involvement.
- That the invoices of the subcontractors are attached to the actual progress milestones of the project and whenever the milestone is reached and completed the payment to the subcontractors are automatically pushed in.
- We also took cognizance of API ready structure that would help the client’s system to be ready for integrations with other systems like AutoCad, BIM system or any third part contractor portals.
- Now as per the requested configurations we have made role based access for each person as per their involvement on their construction operations, so site engineers can see only what is required for them, finance can see their respective data and directors can see a complete picture.
Client achieves 35% bottleneck reduction & measurable ROI
| Metric | Before Odoo | After Odoo |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement Cycle Time | 21 Days | 8 Days |
| Site-to-HQ Approvals | 5–7 Days | Same Day |
| Subcontractor Payment Processing | 15 Days | 5 Days |
| Inventory Variance | 18% | <5% |
| Project Cost Tracking | Fragmented | Real-Time |
| Bottleneck Reduction | – | 35% |
How did the construction operations change?
For sure after the implementation of Odoo ERP now every one is on the same page be it project managers, procurement, finance, and HR. So basically every one is able to work in sync and with updated real-time data.
- There is no more waiting for real time data with the inclusion of live dashboards that helps the stake holders to take appropriate actions based on the dashboard data.
- There has been a significant improvement in the cash flow control after we incorporated the mile stone feature for billing and payments so end of the month issues have been resolved completely.
- We have simplified the labor and subcontractor management using the mobile based timesheets and including automated payments that has resulted in less involvement of the admin and inturn has increased the trust factor.
- Document control provided with automatic version has allowed the client to loose no more contracts or have outdated RFQs.
Words from Our Client
“Managing multi-site projects felt like flying blind before this. Now, with Odoo, it’s like we’ve switched from paper maps to live GPS. We have cut almost 35% of our bottlenecks and finally have control over the entire operation, from the field to the finance desk.”
— Project Director, Industrial Construction Client, Delhi NCR
Lastly, if you growing and are still running multi-site operations manually then it’s time to upgrade to achieve operational efficiency as our client has achieved by incorporating our industrial construction solution.
Let’s join hand and streamline your industrial construction operations using Odoo ERP roadmap, just drop us a line at sales@apagen.com or call us on +91 9971800665.
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