Responsive Design
Building the Future: Northvale Construction's Digital Transformation with Custom ERP
Northvale Construction is a privately owned construction company founded in Northwest London in 2008. It is an established developer of high-quality projects for residential, commercial, educational and retail clients. Northvale specialises in new builds, refurbishments, structural alterations and interior remodelling.
Northvale is the main contractor for projects worth between £500,000 and £15,000,000. It has a sub-contracting division for work of £50,000 to £5,000,000. The company focuses on work in the 2,600 square miles within London’s M25 orbital ring road.
"Partnering with MSBC streamlined our construction business operations."
Challenge
As the company expanded, its spreadsheet workflows became more complicated and time consuming to manage. Errors increased due to the volume of work. Duplicate data risked overstocking and a strain on cash resources and misleading management information undermined decision-making. Specific challenges included:
- Complex Process & Duplication: Linked sheets and shared drives led to duplication of data. Without a master copy, there was no record of truth to support accounting, reporting or cash flow management.
- Scalability: The system could not scale with the demand for the company’s services and opportunities for growth were missed.
- Manual Management: Manual edits, duplicate entries and overrides kept the system afloat but were error prone. Management lacked accurate and consistent data from which to make strategic decisions.
The company required a solution that scaled with its business. The most important use of cash was to fund growth and the build out of internal systems must be staged to match cash flows.
Options
Northvale analysed off-the-shelf Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages designed for the construction sector. There was a clear market leader but it lacked flexibility and customisation. The provider ignored Northvale’s requests for support. The only choice appeared to be to change the company’s workflows to fit the software. This would mean expensive staff training and more time away from opportunities for growth.
At this point Northvale partnered with MSBC to develop a custom ERP on a schedule that matched its unique needs. The project involved:
"MSBC dived deeper into our unique challenges and its ability to tailor modules and features to our specifications set it apart."
Outcome
The custom ERP transformed Northvale Construction at a pace determined by the company management:
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Phased Implementation: New systems ran alongside existing practices before seamless integration into day-to-day operations.
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Cost-Effective: Modular development allowed an initial roll out to minimise risk and match budget requirements.
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Adaptability: The ERP system is designed to grow with the business, adapting to larger projects, new data and regulations, and improved working practices.
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Error Reduction: The system resulted in a significant reduction in errors resulting in improved visibility into the status of projects and the company’s finances.
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Time Savings: There was a 20% reduction in the time spent on administration that allowed management to focus on strategic expansion.
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Agility: The system remains agile, capable of regular updates and the addition of new features as required.
Northvale Construction has been growing steadily over 7 years and now runs with efficient, scalable systems, placing themselves at the forefront of the construction industry in the UK.
"The understanding and innovative approach resolved our problems and streamlined our internal processes. Consequently, we have collaborated with MSBC on multiple projects over the last 7 years."