Digitise the warehouse of your SME in the construction sector

The warehouse in the construction sector: a space to be developed

Having a correctly managed warehouse with well-optimised processes can mean an increase in a company's final results. For example, knowing the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for keeping a product, calculating the optimum stock to be able to make a good purchasing forecast, organising the shelves in the most strategic way possible and detecting the productivity of your workers are some of the practices that help you to offer better quality products and provide a good shopping experience for your customers.

In the world of construction, which according to a study by the National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI) is one of the least digitised sectors, organisation is fundamental. First, to keep products in perfect conditions and ready to offer their best version to customers. Then, to make the most of resources, such as time or manpower, to obtain higher profits.

Here, digitisation plays a key role in optimising the whole process and providing the necessary tools to manage warehouses more efficiently. How? We show you below.

The advantages of having a digitised warehouse

According to the study "Digitalisation of the construction and real estate sector" carried out by the PlanRadar platform, 41% of companies in the construction sector in Spain plan to increase investment in digitalisation by up to 10% over the next few years.

There is still a long way to go, as, according to the same study, 77% of respondents consider that it is difficult to incorporate these digital technologies in their companies. Facing this resistance to change and daring to take a step forward can be a competitive advantage for SMEs thanks to the incorporation of new tools. For example, according to the survey respondents, inventory management software has been able to reduce costs by up to 30% on projects in the construction sector.

41% of companies in the construction sector in Spain plan to increase investment in digitalisation by up to 10% over the next few years.

If you want to know the benefits of building your own digital transformation, here are some of them:

1. Facilitates to locate your inventory, reducing the possibility of material loss and human error.
2. Allows you to monitor the tracking of a product during a shipment, something that you, your suppliers and your customers can all benefit from.
3. Improves work planning by easily controlling the available stock of a product, thus avoiding supply shortages.
4. Increases security, both at an IT and physical level, handling the warehouse as little as possible and reducing the risk of accidents.
5. Creates a digital network that allows linking different devices and programmes, and accessing information from anywhere.
6. Reduces environmental impact by offering the possibility of better waste management and treatment.

Devices you need to digitise your warehouse

Now that you know the importance of having a digitised warehouse if you have an SME in the construction industry, it's time for you to learn about some of the devices you can use:

1. Barcode scanner: this allows you to identify both a category of products and their units quickly and easily. To do this, you need to assign a barcode, QR code or SKU code to your products.
2. Security cameras: they record images of everything that happens inside a warehouse as long as it is within their view in order to protect its contents. It is important to place them in strategic locations from where the entire space can be monitored.
3. GPS devices: provide an efficient way to track and trace the location of a product once it is outside the warehouse.
4. Point of Sale Terminals (P.O.S.): these are portable devices that allow economic transactions to be carried out anywhere with internet access. In addition, they are connected to a payment gateway and inventory management software.
5. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality devices: they facilitate the preview of a space under construction thanks to the fictitious representation in a digital place.
6. Basic devices: with a computer and a mobile phone, which are two of the most used elements in any sector, you will be able to manage inventory management programmes and applications to tackle the digital transformation of your warehouse.

But it is not necessary to have all these devices to get the most out of the digitisation of your warehouse. That's why it's important to first analyse what your needs are, and then which tools can best help you achieve the results you want.

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