Why Outdated Processes Are Costing Builders Money – and What You Can Do About It
In today’s competitive residential construction industry, builders are under more pressure than ever. Margins are tight, timelines are tighter, and customer expectations have never been higher. Yet, many small to medium-sized builders in Australia are still using outdated, manual procurement processes that are silently draining their profits.
What’s worse—many don’t even realise it’s happening.
If you’ve started thinking more about how to work on your business rather than just in it, understanding the hidden costs of poor procurement is essential. In this post, we’ll unpack the real financial impact of inefficient procurement processes, and how switching to a connected procurement model can unlock profit, improve efficiency, and set your business up for scalable growth.
What Is Connected Procurement?
Before we dive into the costs, let’s quickly define what we mean by “connected procurement.”
Connected procurement is a modern, end-to-end approach that links scopes of work, quoting, ordering, scheduling, and communication with trades and suppliers—all in one place. It uses digital tools (like BuiltGrid) to streamline and automate the full procurement cycle, helping builders:
Save time
Reduce errors
Get better market pricing
Access a broader network of trades and suppliers
Keep everything in sync, from estimation through to delivery
It replaces spreadsheets, endless email threads, late-night phone calls, and guesswork with a single, fit-for-purpose platform.
Now, let’s explore how failing to adopt this approach is costing builders—like you—money.
1. Wasted Time on Manual Processes = Lost Profits
According to McKinsey, the construction sector is one of the least digitised industries in the world, and that lack of digital adoption contributes directly to lost productivity—up to 30% of a project’s cost can be traced to inefficiencies, rework, and coordination issues.
Every hour your estimator spends chasing quotes or retyping scope details is an hour that could’ve been used to win the next job or reduce project blowouts. Every delay in ordering materials risks holding up the entire build.
Multiply that across 10, 20, or 50 projects a year—and the lost time (and money) becomes enormous.
Connected procurement automates the flow of information between scopes, quotes, orders, and schedules, giving your team back valuable hours every week.
Real-World Example: Builders using BuiltGrid report saving over 10 hours per project by eliminating double-handling and admin duplication.
2. Limited Trade and Supplier Networks = Higher Costs
Relying on a small group of familiar trades or preferred suppliers may feel comfortable, but it comes at a cost—literally.
When you limit your market exposure, you’re also limiting your ability to get competitive pricing, secure availability, and find better-fit partners for each job.
Connected procurement platforms like BuiltGrid open up access to a nationwide network of vetted trades and suppliers. That doesn’t just mean better prices—it also means more reliability, flexibility, and choice.
A wider supplier network leads to an average of 15% savings on project procurement costs, simply by creating more competitive quoting environments.
3. Poor Procurement = More Rework, Delays, and Defects
Inconsistent scopes. Miscommunications. Orders placed off the wrong version of a quote.
These are common symptoms of disconnected procurement. And every one of them leads to costly rework, project delays, or even disputes.
When information isn’t centralised and synchronised, it becomes dangerously easy for things to fall through the cracks. That might be a missed delivery, a trade showing up unprepared, or materials arriving late or incorrect—all of which delay your build and frustrate your clients.
Connected procurement ensures that everyone is working from the same, up-to-date source of truth. No more crossed wires.
Research from KPMG shows that poor communication and project misalignment are responsible for over 50% of construction project delays.
4. Marketing and Sales Spend Gets Wasted Without Operational Efficiency
It’s great to invest in growing your brand, winning more jobs, or expanding into new areas. But what’s the point of winning work if your backend can’t keep up?
Builders who invest in growth but neglect their operational foundations—like procurement—often end up facing:
Profit erosion
Client dissatisfaction
Team burnout
Scaling issues
You can’t grow a business on a broken system. Modern builders understand that growth starts with operational excellence, and procurement is one of the biggest levers you can pull.
5. Admin Overload Drains Staff and Stalls Business Growth
The average residential builder spends 10 to 20 hours a week just managing procurement-related admin. That includes requesting and comparing quotes, updating spreadsheets, following up on orders, and coordinating delivery schedules.
This manual workload either eats into your evenings—or worse, pulls your skilled staff away from higher-value tasks.
Connected procurement tools reduce this admin burden dramatically by automating communication flows, centralising data, and standardising your processes.
One BuiltGrid builder saved over $78,000 per unit by streamlining procurement—without compromising on build quality.
6. Unfit Processes Are Holding Back Your Profit Margins
If you’re still operating off spreadsheets or stitching together emails, texts, and phone calls—you’re leaking margin from every direction.
Disconnected processes result in:
Scope misalignment
Missed supplier opportunities
Delayed schedules
Untracked variations
Duplicate data entry
Payment disputes
Fixing these with manual oversight just isn’t scalable. It’s like trying to run a business off sticky notes—fine when you’re small, but unsustainable when you grow.
Connected procurement future-proofs your business by giving you control, visibility, and agility across every project.
7. You Can’t Build a Scalable Business Without Scalable Systems
Builders who want to grow know they need to shift from “doing it all” to building a business that runs itself. That means investing in systems and processes that scale with you.
Connected procurement is one of the most impactful system upgrades you can make.
It allows you to:
Delegate confidently
Standardise your processes
Reduce reliance on key individuals
Deliver consistently, regardless of project size
Whether you’re running five projects a year or fifty, a connected procurement system sets the foundation for sustainable growth—not just survival.
The Case for BuiltGrid
If you’re ready to stop leaving money on the table, BuiltGrid is the industry leader in connected procurement for Australia’s residential construction sector.
We’ve helped hundreds of builders automate procurement, grow their trade networks, and boost project profits by up to 15%—without increasing their headcount or workload.
BuiltGrid connects your scopes, quotes, suppliers, trades, and schedules into one seamless platform, built specifically for residential builders. No generic systems. No clunky workarounds. Just a fit-for-purpose solution that helps your business work smarter.
Final Thought: Fit-for-Purpose Beats “Just Getting By”
At the end of the day, every builder has to choose:
Do you keep relying on duct-taped systems that “just get by”?
Or do you invest in best-in-class processes that actually drive growth?
Connected procurement isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the new baseline for modern builders. Those who embrace it will outcompete, outdeliver, and outperform those who don’t.
Call to Action: Ready to Take Control?
If you’re curious about how connected procurement could work in your business, now’s the time to explore it.
Speak to the team at BuiltGrid today and see how your business could unlock hidden profits, reduce admin, and scale with confidence.
Sources:
McKinsey & Company, “Reinventing Construction: A Route to Higher Productivity”
KPMG, “Global Construction Survey: Make It or Break It”
BuiltGrid internal data & builder case studies
