Industry overview
What is shaping construction
Construction materials are chosen by a chain of people: engineers, contractors, masons and individual homebuilders. Site conditions, credit and word-of-mouth all matter.
- Masons and contractors strongly influence material brands
- Individual homebuilders rely on trusted advice
- Site safety and quality standards are rising
Client background
A construction company, working in Telangana. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A construction company
- Sector
- Construction
- Team engaged
- IT & Development
- Services
- ERP development, Mobile app development, API development & integration
Client challenge
Materials were ordered by phone and tracked in registers at sites, leading to shortages, excess stock and pilferage.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: an ERP for purchasing and site inventory.
- Define requirements and success criteria the solution would be tested against.
- Deliver a reliable, secure solution the team can run and extend.
Target audience
Scope: 15 sites, central purchasing.
Audiences we typically reach in construction
Contractors and masonsCivil engineers and architectsIndividual homebuildersMaterial dealersSite workers
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Telangana. Market: India. 15 sites covered.
- India
Research methodology
An iterative delivery approach: discovery, design, build and test in short cycles, with the client reviewing each step.
- 1Brief
- 2Process mapping
- 3Site stores app
- 4Insight
We implemented purchasing and inventory modules with a mobile app for site storekeepers to record receipts and issues, linked to central purchasing and accounts.
ERP developmentMobile app developmentAPI development & integration
Sampling strategy
- Users and stakeholders from every affected team took part in discovery workshops and acceptance testing.
Data collection
- Requirements were gathered through workshops, process walk-throughs and a review of existing systems and data.
Data quality & validation
- Peer code review on every change
- Automated and manual testing
- User-acceptance testing with the client
- Release checklist and rollback plan
Data analysis
- Usage and performance monitoring after launch
- Defect and support-ticket trends
- Process time before and after
Key findings
- A simple mobile tool for storekeepers made the system work on site.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: a simple mobile tool for storekeepers made the system work on site.
- Track adoption and support tickets, and plan the next release from real usage.
Business impact
- Material visibility across sites improved, transfers between sites reduced purchases, and stock discrepancies fell.
Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Deployed solution with documentation and handover
- Support and maintenance plan
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: what do homebuilders worry about most?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.