ERP systems will make housing cheaper?

The forum what its participants agreed with, became confirmation of the imminent need of increase in efficiency of construction business, streamlining of activity of the companies for this sector of economy and increase in their financial transparency.

As speakers noted, today one and all projects of construction of housing (and not only) require attraction of borrowed funds. By the existing estimates today about 70% of funds for construction are provided with the credits. Thus, within almost each project there is a problem of involvement of the investor. And its successful solution requires financial transparency of the company and the corresponding reputation. Not the last role in it is played also by presence at construction company of the implemented ERP system.

According to materials of the research of level of automation of domestic construction companies conducted by Association of Builders of Russia (data of 34 companies are processed) in all polled companies accounting automation systems are used, budgeting and planning is automated at 92.3% of the companies, 84% of the companies use the automation equipment of estimate calculations, 61.5% are the automation equipment of project management and control of financial flows, the logistics and supply are automated only at 30.8% of the companies. As for use of complex automation based on ERP systems, it is implemented only at 2.5% of the organizations.

Perspectives of automation of this rather conservative industry were also investigated. On survey results now 31.4% of the companies are engaged in the choice of the ERP system for implementation, 22.7% of the companies are going to implement the system of this class in the next 2-3 years, 20.4% of the companies are going to develop such system by own efforts, and 23.1% are not going to implement the ERP system at all.

Actions of construction companies concerning ERP

Source: data of ASR

From representatives of developer companies of ERP systems Boris Wolpe, the chief executive of SAP in the CIS countries made a speech at a plenary session of a forum. He shared vision of SAP company of issues of automation of construction business and also the existing international experience of solutions of the company for this sector.

Also the performance of Sergei Polonsky, the president of MIRAX GROUP corporation sounded, by one of divisions of which (MiraxSoft) it was developed and ERP system X-Business Control continues to develop. According to Mr. Polonsky, automation and business process optimization provided corporations of 15-20% of its today's achievements.

Discussion of a problem of decrease in cost value of ready housing continued at a round table.

Irina Mustafina, the project manager, analytical center, Galaktika Corporation, Konstantin Nevyadomsky, the vice president Robertson&Blums, the head of practice of JD Edwards Enterprise One and Cognos, Sergey Bashmakov, the CEO of Mirax Soft, Alexander Gorsky, department of managerial consultation, Deloitte spoke on behalf of representatives of the IT industry. Consulting, Natalya Debalchuk, area manager of company Epicor Scala, Sergey Pilyavsky, director of corporate projects of NPO Mekomp.

Mostly, performances were devoted to the overview of offers of the IT companies to construction business, features of project implementation of implementation in construction companies, to questions of effective management of projects and business in general.

At the same time, nothing was told that ERP, how many the PLM solution which can provide transition from the project documentation on construction objects to calculation of their cost, budgeting and management of the corresponding construction projects are more relevant for construction not so much.

Unfortunately, there was no comments a question of TAdviser of whether it will be more effective to implement in parallel information technologies and in the relevant state departments which are engaged in approval of documents, issue of permissions, etc. to provide an adequate response time from their party.

Participants of a forum and an assessment of that reduction in cost of square meter of housing which can provide implementation of ERP systems in construction companies did not give.

Nevertheless, last forum, undoubtedly, should have a positive impact as on growth of interest in ERP systems from the construction organizations, and on the offer of industry solutions from developer companies and their bigger attention to automation in this sector of economy.