Greg Gill
The Australian timber industry continues to face challenges, with supply chain issues, skill shortages and increases in material costs all impacting growth.
Now, many are realising that to stay ahead of the curve and ensure profitability, an innovative solution must be deployed to help with the daily running of businesses and bring in new opportunities.
Despite the many challenges, the construction industry is experiencing a post-pandemic boom as home and building renovations continue alongside major infrastructure projects fuelled by government investment.
However, for many merchant businesses, keeping pace with increased order volume is made difficult by a lack of skilled workers. According to Arcadis’ 2022 International Construction Costs Index report, there has been an 80 per cent increase in unfilled roles within construction since 2019 and have predicted by 2023 there will be over 100,000 vacancies.
It further stated that this is the ‘challenge of the decade’ due to skill shortages and now many businesses are focusing on ways to invest in reliable digital methods to help mitigate these issues and improve outcomes.
For merchant businesses considering new technology, deploying integrated business management software can streamline processes and improve operational efficiency.
Interestingly, Architecture and Design reported that the industry was named the least digitised sector in 2016, with under 40 per cent of companies looking to adopt a digital transformation roadmap.
Faced with labour shortages, we expect to see businesses of all sizes reconsidering this decision, owing to the significant efficiency savings.
For example, using an ERP system that integrates document management reduces the administrative burden associated with running a busy merchant business. Not only does this free up your team’s time to focus on more value-add activities, it can also allow you to easily scale or open a new branch. With all key documents stored on the cloud, including handwritten and faxed documents, all employees can gain instant access to customer order history, inventory and invoices – removing the need for long telephone conversations or email chains.
Similarly, cloud-based solutions remove the need for employees to spend hours filing or documenting paperwork. Not only does this save time, it also prevents the chance of customer data being lost or misplaced – something that could potentially result in a poor customer experience.
With the supply chain and labour shortages crisis ongoing, making good business decisions is essential.
With all key information stored on a central system, each department can view the necessary data, metrics and order status’ quickly and easily.
Should last minute situations arise, such as an unforeseen order delay or a customer placing a large order, having these comprehensive reports to hand and real-time data available will facilitate smarter decision making.
Similarly, with full visibility of metrics, it’s easier to analyse sales and measure profitability, without teams having to lose time sifting through multiple spreadsheets and paper trails.
Meeting customer demand can put a lot of pressure on employees, especially given the high number of vacancies many businesses are currently facing. With a fully integrated business management solution, staff can easily manage different options for ordering and delivery – not only saving them time but also ensuring a positive customer experience. Similarly, the system can remember customers’ previous purchases, making order planning far easier from an operational point of view.
Sometimes delayed delivery can happen but ensuring there is no miscommunication between the customer and the business improves customer satisfaction. Quickly answering customer queries and using the dashboard to provide updates on the latest changes to their order status will help to resolve any potential issues faster.
With the increased vacancies continuing to rise, building an efficient team that can meet those tight deadlines can be tricky. Taking the time to incorporate a digital solution will support the business to manage high workloads whilst boosting productivity and future sales.
To find out more about how ECI can help your business please visit https://www.ecisolutions.com/en-au/products/spruce/
Greg Gill is the regional director of sales across APAC at ECI Software Solutions
