Case study:
Barratt achieve commercial process excellence with Access COINS
Access COINS ERP helps increase efficiencies for Barratt’s buyers and quantity surveyors to save the business time as well as improving control and accuracy
Business size
Large
Industry
Construction & Home building
Product
Access COINS ERP
Challenge
- Increase efficiencies for Barratt’s buyers and quantity surveyors to save the business time as well as improving control and accuracy.
Approach
- Implement Access COINS to streamline commercial processes to achieve process and management excellence.
Results
- Increased control for the commercial team
- Improved accuracy of information across the company
- Unlocked efficiencies and reduced number of paper-based processes
- Freed up time for teams to focus on value-added activities, such as challenging costs and tracking progress
Barratt Developments PLC is the UK’s leading housebuilder known for its industry leading quality and customer service. As a five-star home builder for 11 years running, Barratt puts customers at the heart of everything it does.
To facilitate growth and identify areas for improvement, The Group Commercial BPR (Business Process Reengineering) project was founded. This project, developed over a number of years, was created to conduct an extensive review of current processes within Barratt Developments.
They focused on the identification of hidden opportunities in which they could achieve significant efficiency gains. As part of this process, Barratt undertook a comprehensive partner selection exercise that resulted in COINS being appointed as their solution partner.
We take a partnership approach with our customers and worked closely with the Barratt team to help them get the benefits of COINS
Chris Westbury, Strategic Operations Director, Access COINS
Identifying Areas For Improvement Within Barratt Developments
With over 60 years’ experience, Barratt leads the way for investing in new construction technologies that are not only critical for their business but which also benefit the wider construction industry.
Barratt Developments has been a COINS customer since 2004. In that time, this leading construction business has grown and changed immensely, with more than a thousand Barratt employees now having access to the Access COINS ERP platform.
Barratt’s ‘Commercial Business Process Reengineering’ (BPR) project aimed to leverage the benefits of the Access COINS Construction solution and mobile technology. Specifically, they sought to transform and streamline the way that quantity surveyors create valuations, make payments, and produce development Cost Value Reconciliations (CVRs).
The BPR goal was to deliver significant efficiency gains, freeing time for buyers and surveyors to focus on more value-added activities.
We’ve tried to work with COINS to develop a solution that is fit for the industry, not just for Barratt. COINS are very receptive to working in this way which has helped us develop something that will be fit for purpose for a very long period of time.
Dan Smith, Group Commercial Director, Barratt Developments PLC
Achieving Process Excellence With Access COINS
To meet the objectives of the BPR project, Barratt Developments worked with COINS to oversee the implementation of COINS Bill of Quantities and CVR modules as well as the reimplementation of VAP and Procurement.
Alongside this, Barratt also implemented the Access COINS Mobile Valuations App (mTick), enabling quantity surveyors to input valuation and progress information into the system directly from the construction site – improving remote working efficiencies and reducing paper-based processes.
By freeing up the time spent on administration quantity surveyors now have time to look more closely at the detail, which is where savings can be made and margins improved.
The Collaborative Approach Of Access COINS
Throughout the project, COINS worked closely with the Barratt Developments team to develop new functionality that was construction-specific. Key objectives were aimed at improving the user experience and ensuring that the major UK housebuilder could maximise the benefits of COINS solutions.
By working in collaboration with the team at COINS, Barratt Developments helped the team in adding a number of important software enhancements to the standard product, tailoring the platform to their needs. Some examples of these bespoke customisations included the improved management of overhead budgets and variation orders.
The collaborative approach that sits at the heart of Access COINS allows the teams to develop innovative construction-specific solutions which help to increase efficiencies across the wider construction industry, targeting bespoke industry challenges.
We’ve worked with COINS to develop construction solutions that we see not only as a fit for Barratt but also as a fit for, and across the industry as a whole. Through this investment, we’ll have our surveyors and buyers able to spend more of their valuable time concentrating on driving value in all areas of our business supporting our Building Excellence philosophy to ultimately improve our margins.
Jon Watkin, Group Commercial Director, Barratt Developments
The Results & Looking To The Future
Since implementation of the additional modules including the Bill of Quantities, CVR, VAP and Procurement modules, as well as the COINS Mobile Valuations App, Barratt have seen huge benefits.
The fit for purpose software has ultimately led to Barratt seeing improved margins as well as improved control for the wider commercial team.
Through the fully integrated ERP platform the teams now have access to accurate up-to-date information accessible from anywhere at any time. The time which has been freed up for Barratt’s quantity surveyors and material buyers can now be spent on value-added and business-critical activities, such as challenging costs and tracking progress.
