Get Kurt's Million Dollar Builder book
If you have a building business and planning to grow, you should consider reading/listening to Million Dollar Builder. It is free and available as a physical book, ebook and audio.
Video Summary
Kurt: I thought we’d take the opportunity today to give you a high-level view of BuiltGrid and how connecting your project to your trade supplies and services can improve your efficiency and, more importantly, add profit to every project.
The conversation centered around the challenges faced by builders in the construction industry, including siloed systems, inconsistent pricing, and limited visibility into project margins. Toby & John emphasized the benefits of connecting suppliers and services through a single platform, streamlining communication, automating data exchange, and enabling real-time updates.
They also discussed the importance of involving builders earlier in the design process to align cost expectations with reality, reduce redesign costs, and provide a more accurate estimate. Additionally, Toby & John highlighted the potential of digital platforms to streamline construction processes and improve industry performance, emphasizing data security and access control. Overall, the conversation focused on the need for a systematic approach to supplier selection, project management, and cost estimation to improve efficiency and profitability in the construction industry.
Understanding the Industry
BuiltGrid: So, I guess we’d start today with our understanding of the industry and what it looks like today. If you think about the industry and how builders operate today, they operate in their own systems. Now, those systems are generally estimating programs or construction management apps, etc. And in a lot of cases, they aim to be end-to-end solutions. But my experience from my days at M10 Australia is that these systems are very siloed. When I say siloed, I mean they are for the builder. To get information and data to the supplier, it’s all via email. So there’s no real system in place for suppliers to manage their business processes or information.
Challenges in the Industry
BuiltGrid: As an example with volume builders like Click Home, etc., we had to access the back end of multiple systems and log in separately. It’s a similar scenario for other builder apps today that are looking to connect to their supplier. It’s a one-on-one relationship. The market’s continually changing, with constant cost changes from a pricing point of view. Whether builders are looking to get supply and install of things like plasterboard, concretors, or even materials, the costs are changing consistently, and a lot of those changes are very much linked to capacity. We still work in an industry today where builders or suppliers price for builders based on their capacity, whether they have the ability to do the work or not or whether they like that project.
The Role of Trades and Suppliers
BuiltGrid: The next area is around the trades and suppliers and services. Most builders have a network of trades and know a couple of plumbers, electricians, concretors, etc. But to go outside of that and find other trades that have aligned business processes or goals, it’s very difficult. It’s generally done through things like Instagram, where they’re looking at pictures and following people.
Impact on Builder Profitability
BuiltGrid: I guess the biggest concern for builders at the moment is those tight project margins. When they go through the process of estimating for a builder, once construction starts, it could be anywhere between six to twelve months after that initial estimate has been done. And those price changes or inconsistencies in history lead to less profit and tighter margins for the builder at the end of that project. A disconnected supply chain is really impacting the builder’s profitability.
Introducing BuiltGrid
BuiltGrid: BuiltGrid has been designed with the project at the heart of a build, from the estimation stage all the way through to procurement and handover. It’s all about creating a structure and a process that gives the builder the confidence to know that they’re going to build this project on time, on budget, by connecting your supplies, materials, trades, and services to the project. They have all the visibility they need to be ready for when the builder wants to complete the work. And our experience to date is that it’s definitely working.
Addressing Builder Needs
BuiltGrid: If you think about what a builder needs to go through, they have to wear so many hats: sales and marketing, estimating, preconstruction documents, paperwork, etc. Then they get to the procurement component, scheduling, and profitability. Those hats that they need to wear are consistent, and there’s no one tool that does all of these. If you think about the big guys, they have people in each of these areas that actually do these specific jobs. BuiltGrid has been designed to provide the builder with a procurement tool that actually delivers the best result around a project for their business.
Key Features of BuiltGrid
BuiltGrid: We look at it from a point of view of procurement, scheduling, and ensuring profitability. Implementing the BuiltGrid process into a business will ensure that these can occur without having to put on ten people to manage it. Having the right tools for the right job is really important in this industry. So what we look at and ask is, “Why manage your project with BuiltGrid?” It’s around the profitability of a project and ensuring that what you actually start out to achieve is actually delivered. That’s all the way through, from the qualities and standards that you’re setting within your business all the way through to the profitability you’re looking to deliver for your business and your suppliers.
Benefits for Builders and Suppliers
BuiltGrid: It’s about an easy project listing process, connecting to your suppliers to give them as much information and visibility as possible, locking in price and supply early, and ultimately delivering on time and under budget. We’ve seen that using BuiltGrid can significantly improve efficiency and profitability for both builders and suppliers.
Additional Points
- Integration with other systems: BuiltGrid is designed to integrate with popular construction management and estimating apps.
- Ongoing support: The BuiltGrid team provides training and onboarding to help builders get started and use the system effectively.
- Continuous improvement: BuiltGrid is constantly evolving based on feedback from users and industry trends.
Conclusion
BuiltGrid offers a comprehensive solution for builders and suppliers, addressing the challenges of the modern construction industry. By streamlining procurement, improving communication, and enhancing project visibility, BuiltGrid can help businesses increase profitability and deliver projects more efficiently.
