Analyst Insight: The construction industry is one of the least-digitized industries in the world, but times are changing. Leading firms are adding cloud-based technologies to improve collaboration between suppliers, haulers, and contractors, and to increase visibility within supply-chain processes, gaining greater efficiencies and productivity.

Cloud-based collaboration solutions allow all stakeholders in a construction project to easily exchange information and conduct business with each other. One of the most critical key success factors within a construction project is cost and time management. Cloud-based tools are designed to increase productivity levels and create unprecedented results across project performance, schedule, workforce management, and safety.

By connecting to a cloud-based network, stakeholders across a construction project are all on the same page with one single version of the truth. No longer do individuals keep their own project data on office computers, where the information can be compromised or lost. With a collaborative network, all project stakeholders have access to the data, and can leverage network-based intelligence and analytics to optimize processes and gain efficiencies.

Removing paper forms and tickets, phone calls and faxes from business processes enables digital transparency. A cloud-based network delivers powerful analytics from production to fulfillment, logistics and the jobsite, revealing new possibilities and unlocking additional dimensions of value. Trading partners can connect and exchange information across a cloud-based network with one single source of data, providing a deeper understanding of what’s happening within the supply chain. When more members are added to the network, the value of the network increases.

Sharing data with stakeholders through e-mails and paper can delay projects and waste time. When no longer reliant on manual or paper-based workflows, cloud-enabled companies gain many more automated processes, capture clear visibility into inter-company operations, and experience real-time collaboration and business intelligence tools tailored to their role in the heavy-work supply chain.

The construction supply chain can derive analytics from multiple sources, such as internet of things [IoT] devices, telematics, track and trace and jobsite software, mobile devices, order capture and fulfillment technology, production automation, and more. Many-to-many collaboration is possible using a common data model in the cloud, enabling data to be converted into actionable information and applied in or presented in other solutions.

Cloud-based technologies can help construction firms save money because they don’t need to invest in a large IT infrastructure. Cloud-based systems are typically hosted and maintained by vendors, eliminating the need to have a large technology staff to keep systems up to date and working at optimal performance. Cloud service providers will keep servers running so the system is always available, and little loss of work productivity will occur.

The benefits of cloud-based technologies for the construction industry are many, and will bring the construction industry into the 21^st Century.

Outlook:

More companies within the heavy building materials industry will move to cloud technologies in an effort to drive inefficiencies out of the supply chain and add value to the bottom line. Over-engineering projects will be a thing of the past. Cloud-based systems will bring visibility into what’s going on within the supply chain, helping construction firms to not miss deadlines, lose inventory, and fail to meet time and budget goals.

Doug Moore is Vice President, Cloud Platform with Command Alkon.