How a Chennai builder cut procurement spend by 18%
The Background
The client is a mid-sized structural construction firm based in Chennai, managing 8 concurrent building sites across Tamil Nadu. They handle everything from foundation work to finishing — employing over 300 workers and procuring materials worth crores monthly.
The Challenge
Site-level purchase orders were raised on paper by engineers, sent to the head office for approval via WhatsApp photos, and manually entered into Excel. There was no real-time budget tracking, leading to procurement overspends of 15-20% per project.
The Solution
C36Space's Purchase and Project modules were configured with budget-linked procurement rules. Each project has a defined material budget. Site engineers raise digital POs on mobile, which are auto-checked against remaining budget before approval routing.
The Results
Within two project cycles, procurement spend reduced by 18%. Budget overruns were eliminated on new projects. Material reconciliation, which took the accounts team 3 days per project, now happens in real-time through live dashboards.
"Our site engineers used to order materials without knowing the budget status. Now, the system tells them before they even submit the PO."
Site engineers raised purchase orders on paper slips with no cross-check against project budgets, causing frequent overruns.
Automated procurement threshold rules now block POs exceeding allocated site budgets, enforcing financial discipline.