Custom ERP System Development for a Construction Service Company

• Project: The development of a custom ERP system designed to help the Client meet operational challenges
• Service: Full-service development team
• Duration: 5 years / ongoing
• Technologies: .NET 7/ASP.NET Core, .NET Framework 4.8/ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework Core/Entity Framework, React, JS, jQuery, Bootstrap 3
• Target Audience: Company’s employees and management

Our Client provides a range of construction services in the United States. They offer various architectural products for businesses across a variety of industries.

The Client’s Request

The original request was to upgrade the ERP system which had been outdated by that time and comprised legacy components and technologies. The project collaboration started in November 2018 with the software overhaul and implementation of a time-tracking feature. Afterward, it turned out to be a long-lasting partnership that delivered a range of new capabilities and improvements for the platform.

Challenge

The company used custom enterprise software to deliver services and manage daily workflows. With that being said, employees still had to use pen and paper in many cases and manually enter the key data. As digital transformation marches the planet, it was just a matter of time before the company decided to accelerate the automation of its core operations and enhance its custom ERP solution.

The software had to be flexible enough and adapt to the occasionally changing business processes. Ultimately, it had to streamline the workflows for employees both at the office and in fields, like technicians, and help the company’s management get insights and make more informed decisions. Finally, it was important to consider the platform’s scalability for other branches to use it.

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Process

According to the Client’s request and the value that the system had to provide, the project started with the overhaul of components and technologies to boost the platform’s efficiency and prepare it for further improvements. At the same time, we also undertook the development of a time-tracking feature. Yet, as our team tackled this part, the Client came up with other ideas to implement, and the scope of work expanded.

Building Core Capabilities of Customized ERP Software

Since the platform was initially developed by a third party, it already had some functionality that our team had to upgrade. For example, the company’s custom ERP solution could track the time that each employee worked daily with a task breakdown.

However, the Client wanted the system to take into account breaks and vacation time as well. The revamped ERP can do it all and more, providing report generation to drive operational decisions. On top of that, our team helped the company implement payment-related tools to streamline calculations.

The next task was to facilitate the work of technicians who operate in fields. By developing another new feature, we helped them get away from the manual approach and automate the way they handle documents. The work is still in progress, but once it’s done, employees will be able to use the company’s ERP platform right on the spot to do everything electronically.

As the company has a big park of vehicles involved in product transportation, its management takes up a decent chunk of resources. To help with that, it was decided to add a touch of technology to modernize the processes. Integrated right into the ERP tool, this fresh feature eliminates paperwork and reduces time spent on fleet management and maintenance.

Finally, the Client was looking to visualize products and service delivery right in their ERP. The company deals with a lot of orders placed in scattered locations, and thus an advanced map tool would come in handy. After our team delivered it, the company’s management was empowered to analyze business processes, handle resource allocation better, and check time and budget spending. As a result, it also helped optimize profits.

Scaling Up for Other Branches

Another important part we’d like to mention is that the company has several branches that rely on this platform. As we successfully coped with ERP implementation and its core features for one of the branches and the company harnessed the benefits, it was also decided to implement changes for the rest of them.

It required deploying a stand-alone server and changing the platform’s architecture logic. In addition, the company trusted us with moving their on-prem application to the Azure cloud platform. This cloud migration allows for more scalability, enhanced data access, and better performance.

Overhauling the Customized ERP Solution

Finally, we are refactoring the app and moving away from the legacy code. For that, our team of engineers has built a new architecture and is now transferring the system bit by bit. While doing this, we also redesign some of the app’s pages, breaking the information up into more logical sections and improving the UI/UX.

Outcome

With this custom ERP system, it’s easy to manage working time and build reports, which drives data analytics and decision-making on operational resources. It also provides effective automation tools for task management and vehicle maintenance.

On top of that, all the company’s branches can now rely on the improved platform and feel the difference in handling their routine tasks. In the end, Velvetech has become a trusted tech partner for the Client, the one they can always turn to for help with any IT resources.

What’s Next

As Velvetech’s team completes custom ERP software development and delivers the last of the project scope features, our collaboration with the company doesn’t end. We keep helping the Client further extend its ERP platform with new functionalities and make it seamless to use. This also includes ongoing system overhaul.