Increasing internationalisation, fluctuations in construction activity, aggravated competition and complex decision structures at construction sites are some of the topics which construction subcontractors deal with.

CRM is part of everyday life
The complexity of the common three level distribution channels has contributed to the fact that the construction subcontracting industry no longer relies on manual structures, but instead on software for the support of their processes. Single areas such as contact management or sales controlling in most companies are controlled by IT. Nevertheless there is a growing need for comprehensive solutions which provide a collaborative approach to the concentrated procedures of all internationally involved co-workers and partners. Generally neither time nor personal resources allow one to struggle with complex IT schemes. Therefore it is even more essential that branch specific demands be contained in the standard.

Display complex structures

• Walking the tightrope through the demands of property developers, opinion leaders, fabricators and specialised trade, the interests and agreements in the communication of all co-workers must be kept track of. In addition, access to the real decision makers in this network of relationships is often difficult.

• The branch lives from communication, from push-pull strategies, from early processing of information which reaches planners and architects through world-wide contacts. In an international context, far from clear regional distribution channels, the effort to establish a concerted exchange of information demands however, in addition to special communication discipline, a CRM system which supports the co-operation between all participants.

• In current systems users are limited because communication is often entwined about a property site to which no customer is associated—a constellation which in conventional B2B-CRM systems is, for the most part, not represented. It is crucial however that information analogue to the contracting business can be distributed and documented. If the building shell is standing, depending on the product spectrum, it is often too late. The good relationship and support of the opinion leaders (architects and planners) is generally the key to a later successful sale in the tendering process.
• If the contract specifications lie with the wholesaler that deals with the tendering, the construction subcontractor learns whether his efforts have yielded fruit. Since several wholesalers often offer the same product for the property item, the next challenge for the construction subcontractor arises. The nation-wide co-ordination of the bids for the same property site often requires an internationally co-ordinated organisation to acquire the bid for the order.