What are the Features of Excellent Construction Inventory System?

An inventory system is very important for many businesses. Think of it this way, when groceries are out of stock, it directly affects the bottom line. However, grocery stores usually have a wide product mix, so customers have options for alternatives if an item is not available. But this isn’t the case when it comes to managing a construction project.

In the construction industry, you’ll feel it when you run out of stock. After all, 50% to 60% of all construction costs all come from the materials. This means that if you successfully manage the materials on a project, you can make a difference between out-of-control costs and big profits. Construction managers will have to juggle a lot of moving parts with all the job sites and a variety of types of equipment and materials.

This is why you’ll need an excellent construction inventory system to ensure the success of your construction project. Remember, any mistakes in inventory management can directly impact your finances.

Currently, as new construction sites continue to rise, more construction managers depend on cloud based construction management systems for effective inventory management. If you shop for a construction management system platform that lets you manage your materials and inventory more effectively, you need to know what the features are.

Let’s say you’ve already chosen a construction inventory system. The only way to know if it’s the best for your company is to check what it’s capable of. Does it have the features you need to manage your inventory?

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What is a Construction Inventory System?

Before we go over the features, you need to know what a construction inventory system is. This will help you understand why the features are relevant when it comes to inventory management.

A construction inventory management system is a means by which construction suppliers and companies keep track of the materials, equipment, workforce, and plant. This is very important when a construction company runs multiple projects to manage because efficient scheduling isn’t as simple as it seems.

A well-managed inventory is important for your construction project because if any of the items are lost or misplaced, you’ll incur unnecessary costs and avoidable delays. You’ll need a project timeline planned in advance, with a full inventory of equipment, materials, workforce needed during the project planning process.

What are the features of an excellent construction inventory system?

To help you manage your construction project, you’ll your construction inventory system to have the following features:

1. Resource tracking and allocation –

Data is important to any business today, and the rise of information technologies in the last ten years has created new sets of tools project managers can use to make more efficient decisions.

For instance, new construction management systems are capable of allowing precise tracking and allocation of the materials, inventory, and assets. All of these can be associated with a particular phase within a project’s timeline.

Systems with this feature can give project managers a bird’s eye view of the entire construction project, while also giving the sort of real-time data, which is necessary to make better decisions.

2. Simple document management –

As a project manager, you need to access, upload, and manage documents at any time. If you’re shopping for an inventory system, make sure you don’t overlook this feature. You’ll need a fully-integrated document managing system to make documents and images associated with particular aspects of the project accessible wherever and whenever they are needed.

Documents such as purchase orders, submittals, contracts, RFIs, work orders, and job site photos are important documents that big decisions will depend on. If your projects need you to make real-time decisions, make sure your inventory software can upload documents of all types. This will help you achieve smarter construction inventory management.

3. Purchase order solutions –

When you need more equipment, materials, or additional supplies, it consumes so much time to send each request through the home office, and then check how it fits with all the other aspects of your project. To save you from this dilemma, you’ll need a system that uses a purchase order solution that is interconnected with all aspects of your inventory software. This includes work orders, accounts payable, maintenance, equipment, time, labor, documents, and materials.

 If you’re shopping for a construction inventory system, make sure to choose a platform that uses cloud technology. This will allow you to effectively manage all your inventory and purchasing needs from anywhere.

4. Overall workflow management –

There will always be risks in every construction project, and these are:

• • Unexpected increases in material costs
  • Delays or fluctuating deadlines
  • Unreliable or faulty materials
  • Labor and talent shortages

Because of these risks, you need to manage inventory well, without compromising the time it takes to manage it.

This is what makes cloud based construction management systems better. With it, not only can you manage inventory and materials. You can also manage the aspects of your project’s workflow, which may include budget, job costs, completion time, progress, project logs, change orders, and more. This is the most effective step you can take to ensure your project is on time and budget.

Conclusion –

With all these features, you can never go wrong. If you’re looking for the best construction inventory system, make sure to run through this quick checklist before you choosing a solution. The system should allow you to:

1. Manage and access accounts payable, equipment, maintenance, work orders, labor, time, materials, and documents.
2. Make real-time data-driven management decisions
3. Track and account for the inventory, regardless of their locations
4. Associate each piece of inventory with a project phase
5. Manage workflow, including budgets, job costs, progress, completion time, project logs, and change orders.
6. Generate purchase orders from anywhere
7. Access and upload all sorts of documents from anywhere, at any time, including contracts, purchase orders, work orders, job site photos, and RFIs.

Construction inventory management should be easy. You shouldn’t need lengthy sales visits, or a 100-page guide to figure out your inventory management system.

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