Close to 3 years ago, VRM set out to build a next generation cloud based construction management and collaboration platform for the domestic refurbishment and retrofit market. The product was initially called the Virtual Retrofit Manager and was later to be renamed Refurbify.
The technology’s core focus was to reduce costs and thereby increase profits for construction companies of all sizes. Through understanding the everyday challenges in the complex refurbishment supply chain, VRM quickly realised that to achieve the intended goal, the product had to focus on the areas that caused most concern and issues. The interaction between main contractors and their sub-contractors became the primary route to market for Refurbify. By building a system that allowed the smallest player in the build process to easily interact with all the other players, meant that all construction activities could be correctly relayed and captured virtually onsite, then fed back into the grander construction plans.
Today Refurbify provides transparency and benefits throughout the construction lifecycle. A smart property survey app linked to the Refurbify cloud enables customers to capture property details, which are automatically divided into IFC models and items of construction work.
Checklists are generated of the tasks to be completed by workers onsite using a mobile “Evidence of Use” app thus ensuring that all tasks are satisfactorily completed. Sub-contractors are prompted to take barcode scans of the products being used and photos of milestone or flagged activities as they happen. Every photo is geo and time stamped and inserted against the corresponding work task. Every task has an expected time duration so that actual v planned progress may be accurately and consistently monitored.
Whats next? The move to Fintech
By producing invoices whose line items can also be verified on the same system, VRM sought to take the invoicing aspect of Refurbify to the next stage. By collaborating with one of the UK’s leading financial companies, VRM was able to develop a new to market fintech offering that will provide a secure early payments solution for the construction sector. This sector has been constrained by a lack of transparency and considered high risk by traditional financiers with the result that affordable working capital is often unavailable to small contractors. By combining the cutting edge technology of VRM with the financial strength and expertise of its financial partner, a unique supply chain finance solution was created that enables main construction companies to utilise their own balance sheet strength to provide immediate cash settlement for their selected sub-contractors, whilst continuing to benefit from extended settlement credit terms.
Click on the link below and watch our latest demonstration video:
http://refurbify.vrmtechnology.co.uk/demo.php
Neill Ryan
CEO
VRM Technology Limited
Tel: 0203 468 7560
info@vrmtechnology.co.uk
