By Mark Pettit, COO at VJ Technology Group
Facilities management (FM) companies in the UK are navigating a complex landscape, shaped by economic pressures, regulatory demands, technological advancements, environmental targets and workforce challenges.
In my view it is one of the most challenging industries which is why it was front of mind when it came to expanding the sectors we are targeting for our new software solution, Opus.
Originally designed for the construction industry
The Opus software, designed by the Group’s software arm Sellfware, was originally created to support our award winning iStore product, a unique, onsite procurement solution designed to reduce costs, improve cashflow and productivity, whilst limiting the impact of deliveries on the environment. It brings a warehouse to any site (literally) in bespoke modular shipping containers to act as vending machines, so fast-paced infrastructure projects can be fed a constant supply of their most used products that can be clicked and collected in a matter of minutes directly on-site at the point of need.
Developed for the FM sector
Following significant Group investment, Opus has now been further developed as an autonomous product management platform including secure access with complete control and security of inventory remotely with robust security measures. It gives FM organisations the ability to provide onsite, 24/7 access to essential items. It can be used to transform existing on-site stores, or power stand-alone, staff less mini warehouses with intelligent stock control, multi-point security and a click-and-collect web ordering system to ensure staff and contractors have the supplies they need to provide the right service at the right time.
It can be used to support large operations or mobile teams covering multiple sites that require a high volume of supplies but have little or no secure space available to store essential items, which can lead to a drop in service quality or mean additional costs for re-supply as well as the risk of duplicated costs, increased travel time, or inefficient supply-chains.
Helping to mitigate key challenges
By giving teams immediate access to critical items as and when they need them from access-controlled rooms or stand-alone stores, with automated trigger levels for reordering, it improves availability and reduces unwanted stockouts or unplanned delays waiting for deliveries to local teams. Real-time stock levels are viewable in a dashboard to positively impact cash, negating the need to pre-order stock in advance and removing unnecessary delivery costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Conclusion
These are challenging times for the FM sector, and we are on a mission to de-risk the supply chain. Everything we do revolves around how we can make things easier and better for the customer and Opus is just another step in this journey and is absolutely a part of our long-term growth strategy. At VJT we are committed to using innovation and technology to bring supply chain value to customers and Opus is the latest initiative to support this. We have worked hard to foster a culture that nurtures this and sits alongside the customer focus which been at the heart of the development of our business in recent years.
