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If you have ever tried to run a procurement schedule for a £40 million commercial build using a spreadsheet, you know how quickly things unravel. One misplaced line or overlooked subcontractor can cause chaos that lasts for weeks.
Even polished tools like 'SharePoint', 'Smartsheet', or a generic customer relationship management (CRM) system can start to strain when you have tight programmes, 30 trade packages, and three stakeholders who each want a different version of the truth.
In an attempt to manage things, many contractors turn to generic procurement software. These platforms were built for 'projects' or 'collaboration', not for the unique demands of construction — and certainly not for procurement.
First and foremost, construction procurement is a precision game. There is too much scope complexity, risk, and financial exposure to rely on generic software.
Read on to see why it matters and how to manage procurement without the madness.
Construction procurement is about buying under pressure. You face tight timelines, shifting scopes, and high-risk contracts that can unravel everything if not handled properly. You are not just sourcing materials. You are establishing chains of legally binding agreements with specific scopes, risks, and delivery expectations.
Unfortunately, most off-the-shelf platforms only tick a few boxes.
They treat procurement like a checklist, not a system that must coordinate estimators, commercial managers, contract administrators, and site teams. Let us look at the recurring stumbling blocks:
• Complex scopes.
• Subcontractor risk.
• Contractual alignment.
• Volume and velocity.
• Margin erosion.
These are only a few challenges. Read about the 12 Problems of Procurement for the full picture.
Among other things, tackling these issues demands laser-focused software. For insight into proven methods, see construction procurement best practices.
The Old Way — emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls — leaves too much margin on the table. The New Way merges all these moving parts so you can see the entire procurement picture at once.
Scope is the backbone of your subcontract. If you get it wrong, your budget suffers, your timeline slips, and your inbox explodes.
A copy-and-paste approach often kicks things off. A contract administrator reuses a scope from a previous job that looked similar on paper. Fire ratings change or finishes change, but these do not make it into the new scope. Quotes come back incomplete, and suddenly you have variations or disputes.
Ambiguity is another culprit. A scope mentions walls but not ceilings. One party assumes it is included, and the other says it is not. That only surfaces in the middle of construction.
Version control can also send you sideways. Scopes float around inboxes and shared folders. By the time you contract, you do not know which version is final or whether it aligns with the head contract.
The New Way uses structure, consistency, and control to prevent scope confusion.
• Scope libraries: Reusable templates tailored to each trade and your company standards
• Standard inclusions and exclusions: Clear lists that prevent assumptions or grey areas
• Version history: Real-time tracking of every edit and comment
• Linked reference documents: Attach specifications and diagrams directly to the scope
• Shared comment threads: Commercial leads, project managers, and estimators all collaborate in one place
This approach is not about churning out scopes faster. It is about getting them right the first time.
Issuing tenders is only one part of procurement. Knowing who can deliver on time, under what conditions, and at what risk is equally important. Without that visibility, you gamble on whether your subcontractors can actually perform.
In many companies, there is little cross-project communication. One team awards a package to a subcontractor who is already loaded with multiple projects. Another team might be inviting tenders in a region that lacks suppliers, causing delays and false starts.
Compliance issues often go unnoticed. Insurance certificates expire, or licences lapse. You only realise when they cannot start on site or, worse, must stop mid-project.
Data silos also hide vital details. If a subcontractor underperformed on three previous jobs but that record is buried in spreadsheets, you might keep awarding them risky packages.
The New Way intertwines your subcontractor data with live project insights.
• Performance ratings: Track quality, safety, and delivery history
• Workload awareness: See where each subcontractor is already committed
• Compliance tracking: Store and monitor licensing, insurance, and other documentation
• Trade coverage maps: Identify regional gaps before they slow you down
• Shared data across teams: Learn from past performance and mitigate repeated mistakes
You move fast when your supply chain is transparent. Without that visibility, you are guessing, and guesses cost money.
Generic project software was not designed to handle the nitty-gritty of procurement. Tenders, approvals, and contract drafting often end up in a scrambled mix of emails, Word documents, and spreadsheets.
Every stage of procurement becomes manual drudgery.
• Tender chaos: Contract administrators piece together PDFs, spreadsheets, and scope documents. Updates become a re-send nightmare, and subcontractors may quote from outdated versions.
• Inconsistent quotes: One subcontractor sends a PDF, another sends an Excel file. The contract administrator copies and pastes figures, hoping no errors slip in.
• Approvals stall: A commercial manager overlooks a recommendation email. There is no follow-up, so the entire programme slips.
• Contract drafting: Clauses and annexures get copied from old Word files, with no guarantee they line up with the head contract.
• Unnoticed errors: A single wrong date or missing clause smuggles in major risk.
Manual processes are not only slow — they are risk magnets.
The New Way replaces patchwork emails and folders with streamlined workflows in one system.
• Simplified tendering: Click to attach relevant documents, track responses, and log who has viewed them
• Addenda made easy: Update and share new information without starting over
• Structured quote submissions: No more guesswork or retyping
• Automated approvals: Everyone sees real-time notifications and to-do items
• Quick contract drafting: Approved scopes and terms auto-populate with no fumbling
• Built-in eSignatures: No separate software, no hunting for documents
You save time, but more importantly, everything is consistent and traceable.
Subcontractor relationships drive so much of your project's success. Yet, most generic software treats subcontractors like basic suppliers. Real construction partners need thorough documentation, compliance checks, timely updates, and mutual trust.
When subcontractor interactions sprawl across email threads and stale shared drives, you lose momentum and data.
A contract admin sends out a subcontract for signing. One week later, it is still unsigned because the subcontractor never received a follow-up or could not open a large attachment on site. Meanwhile, deadlines creep closer.
In another scenario, a crucial drawing update goes out via email with no subject line. One or two subcontractors miss it, and their quote is no longer valid when the contract is finalised.
The New Way manages every aspect of subcontractor engagement from a single platform.
• Tender access via secure links: No logins or lost attachments
• Live addendum logs: Automatic tracking of every update in one place
• Approval workflows: Contract administrators, commercial leads, and directors are kept in the loop
• Compliance alerts: No more mysteries about expiring insurance or licensing
• eSignatures from the same platform: No friction or confusion
• Conversation histories tied to each package: Everyone sees what was said and agreed
Subcontractors are not replaceable line items. They are your delivery partners. Treat them that way.
Most generic dashboards highlight overall budgets and production timelines. Procurement-specific metrics around scope changes, subcontractor performance, or quote inaccuracies are invisible. Issues simmer under the surface until they blow up the budget or schedule.
Without the right data, teams rely on memory or hearsay.
You have a cladding contractor who is late to site every time, but the metrics do not reflect it. They get invited to tender again. Cue the same drama, the same delays.
Scopes keep changing between drafts and final contract, but no one measures the reason or the impact. Those extra amounts and hours slip through unnoticed until they become an expensive variation.
A dedicated procurement lens tells you what matters. It tracks the real-life journey from tender to contract and beyond.
• Subcontractor performance: Rate them on quality, safety, and on-time delivery
• Scope change reporting: Compare your tender scope against your final contract
• Quote spread analysis: Spot major outliers and questionable numbers
• Timeline deviation: Identify the packages or trades that consistently slip behind
• Role-based dashboards: A contract administrator, commercial director, or site manager can each see what is relevant the moment they need it
Procurement is too critical to leave to guesswork. The right metrics enable faster, smarter decisions.
What is the main benefit of dedicated procurement software?
It reduces risk and saves time. You avoid scope gaps, contract omissions, and admin overload because everything is connected from tender to contract.
Does a specialised platform integrate with my existing systems?
Yes. Most purpose-built offerings link with tools like Procore, Aconex, DocuSign, Power BI, Microsoft 365, Jobpac, Cheops, and COINS. You sidestep double entry and data silos.
Is procurement software only for massive companies?
No. Mid-tier contractors also need a better way to handle multiple trades, complex scopes, and fast-moving programmes without drowning in spreadsheets.
If you are juggling Excel, Word, and endless inbox threads, you are embracing unnecessary risk. Each extra email, copied scope paragraph, or delayed approval erodes your margin and slows you down.
Software built for construction should reflect how construction truly works. That means understanding contract alignment, scope control, subcontractor performance, and the ripple effect of minor delays. Generic tools do not track that. Purpose-built procurement software does.
See how it works in action.
Speak to a procurement expert to find out how The New Way helps you move faster, eliminate errors, and reclaim hours every week.
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