Material and supplier management: the bottleneck nobody sees

Problem: orders with missing data, warehouses where nobody can find anything, suppliers selling directly to your client.

Solution: material management by job, a complete order checklist, and clear criteria for evaluating suppliers.

Result: fewer order errors, fewer delays, less money wasted on wrong or unusable material.

The problem everyone has but nobody measures

Ask anyone in construction what their biggest problem is and they will say: finding clients, managing crews, making the numbers work. Nobody says "material management". Yet that is where costs hide that you never see.

One client described her warehouse like this: "It is such a mess you want to tear your hair out." Another admitted: "We have 150,000 files, I think we are a bit all over the place." Files scattered, materials scattered. The result is the same: time wasted looking for things that should be right at hand.

Most of the companies we work with have no system for ordering materials. They go by memory, use a half-updated Excel sheet, or order everything by phone hoping not to forget anything.

The order mistakes that cost the most

Getting a measurement wrong on a window order can lead to the production of unusable material. You cannot return it. You cannot adapt it. You pay for it, full stop. Then you reorder the right one, wait more weeks, and the site stands still.

But the most common problem is not the wrong measurement. It is the incomplete order. The order goes out without full specifications. Glazing unit type not stated, accessories not confirmed, installation details missing. The supplier produces what they understand, not what was needed.

And when the wrong material arrives, the problem does not end there. You have to reorder, wait, keep the crew idle or move them to another job. One order mistake generates three or four problems in a chain.

The per-job logic

One client hit the nail on the head: "I want it by job. I order five handles, five sets of hardware, five of everything to do the job."

This is the right logic. Every job has its own material list. Every list is complete before ordering. Every order is linked to a specific site with a precise start date.

When you order "by feel" or stockpile generic material in the warehouse, you lose control. You do not know what you have, you do not know which job it is for, you do not know if it has already been used for another job.

The per-job system works like this:

• From the signed contract you extract the complete material list with all specifications
• You verify that no data is missing (colour, measurement, model, accessories, opening direction)
• You order everything together, with a delivery date aligned to the job start
• When the material arrives, you link it to the job and verify it matches
• If something is missing, you know immediately and have time to fix it

The supplier problem: it is not just about price

Four out of ten clients report dishonest suppliers. The worst case was told by an entrepreneur from Veneto: "I caught them red-handed selling directly." The supplier who was supposed to serve you sold to your end client. They took the job and the margin from you.

This is not an isolated case. It happens when the supplier knows your client, has the project data, and decides to keep the margin for themselves. The risk increases when you work with a single supplier per category and give them direct access to the site.

How to evaluate a supplier:

• Delivery punctuality over the last 6 months (below 90%: serious problem)
• Have they ever contacted your client directly? If yes, drop them
• Do they impose product exclusivity? Always keep an alternative ready
• Do they handle returns quickly or make you wait for weeks?

When it makes sense to eliminate the warehouse

One entrepreneur told us something interesting: "I was thinking of dropping the warehouse rent, dropping the truck, outsourcing installations entirely to the joinery." Total outsourcing.

It is not a choice for everyone, but the numbers need to be done. If warehouse rent costs 1500 € per month, the truck another 500 €, and inside you have material sitting for months, you may be paying to keep a problem alive.

A company working in irrigation did not have an organised warehouse for that type of material and had to subcontract work it could have done in-house. A direct extra cost. But on the other hand, a warehouse that works gives you speed: you have the part, you go, you do not wait for anyone.

The right question is not "warehouse yes or no". It is: how much does the warehouse cost me compared to how much it earns me in speed of execution?

BAU Gest

Gestisci materiali per commessa con BAU Gest

BAU Gest collega ogni ordine alla commessa, verifica che i dati siano completi prima di ordinare, e ti avvisa se il materiale non è arrivato in tempo. Basta ordini incompleti e sorprese in cantiere.

See how it works

Swiss
Made

BAU Gest

Net margin24,2%

Active jobs8

Hours deviation+12%

The order checklist that eliminates errors

Before sending any order to a supplier, verify:

• Client contract signed with all specifications
• Measurements verified (double check, never rely on a single measurement)
• Colours, models and accessories confirmed in writing by the client
• Opening direction specified for every window and door
• Delivery date requested with at least 5 days of margin before the job starts
• Backup supplier identified for every critical material
• Order confirmation received from the supplier with delivery date

It sounds bureaucratic. But one wrong order costs far more than five minutes of verification.

What to do this week

First step: take the last three orders that had problems (delay, error, missing data). Write down the cause. You will see a pattern.

Second step: create an order checklist with the points above. Print it and stick it where orders are placed. No order goes out without a complete checklist.

Third step: if you want to understand how much material management is costing you and whether your current system makes sense, book 30 minutes with us. We look at the warehouse numbers, procurement times and hidden costs together. Often a few changes are enough to recover thousands of euros per year.