Boshard Construction Gained Complete Commercial Control with an RIB Candy-BuildSmart Integration 

Company Name: Boshard Construction 

Location: South Africa 

Industry sector/s: Construction 

Products used: RIB Candy & BuildSmart 

The immediate improvement was getting quick reports – the accurate real-time information that we received and that we could act on to reduce losses, improving the bottom line, that’s important to us in the business. 

Gavin Hunter, Joint Managing Director, Boshard Construction 

The Customer 

Boshard Construction is a long-established full-service South African contractor with a strong reputation for civil and building delivery. The firm’s reputation is built on a core philosophy of family, quality, and continuous development, delivering high-quality projects on time and on budget. Their extensive experience spans a range of market segments, including healthcare, education, commercial, transport and aviation, retail, hospitality and leisure, sports and recreation, mass distribution, processing plants, fuel stations, media production, and luxury accommodation.  

The Mission 

Boshard Construction was looking for a way to produce accurate, unified cost and project data but instead they were faced with fragmented workflows and siloed data, working between Sage accounting software and RIB Candy. They were doing manual cost reconciliations, which slowed down their month-end processes. There was limited visibility available into the real status of the project. It raised the requirement for a construction-specific ERP system that would help them eliminate workflow silos and manual reconciliations, while strengthening governance across the business. 

The Solution 

Boshard Construction made the shift from using disconnected, separate systems (Candy and Sage) to a fully integrated RIB Candy and Build Smart workflow. The transition helped them achieve real-time cost control and accurate reporting that support complete commercial control. The firm benefited from the implementation of BuildSmart as their ERP of record and the full integration with Candy for seamless cost versus allowable. Their cumbersome and inefficient spreadsheet-based tracking was replaced by real-time dashboards, while dedicated training and structured change management helped their teams overcome barriers to adoption. 

The Result 

In a relatively short space of time, the firm achieved unified, real-time cost control and reporting. They implemented RIB BuildSmart as their ERP, integrated with RIB Candy for the rest, creating a single source of truth for all project costs with improved governance and transparency. The implementation dramatically reduced manual effort and enabled predictable, accurate month-end close. The cherry on top was the ability, finally, to manage their projects proactively rather than reactively. 

Achieving Greater Visibility and Accuracy for a Better Bottom Line  

It wasn’t that long ago that Gavin Hunter would have described Boshard Construction as one of those unfortunate companies with fragmented workflows – jumping between their accounting package, Sage, and RIB Candy for estimating, meant that cost reconciliations were done manually, slowing down their month-end processes. With payroll separated from accounting, thirty-day delays were normal. It meant normalizing the losses previously incurred due to delayed accounting, in effect reacting almost a month after the fact, mostly to recover from those losses.  

Time and accuracy, our management of labor cost – that’s our big, biggest risk in the construction industry… it became much more efficient. 

Gavin Hunter, Joint Managing Director 

Gaining Control via Seamless Integration 

Running Candy alongside Sage created challenges for them – as it was, they had limited visibility into live projects and poor governance across the business. Their siloed systems had created disconnect, which undermined commercial control. 

Like many contractors, the Boshard Construction team was initially wary of switching systems. However, the need to eliminate workflow silos and manual reconciliation necessitated a transformative intervention – they realized that what was segregated must be integrated and streamlined. It was their best chance to gain faster access to data, ideally in real time, so that they could make proactive, mitigating decisions. More specifically, they needed an ERP system built for construction. 

So, they implemented RIB BuildSmart as their ERP system of record – fully and seamlessly integrated with RIB Candy. It allowed their team to track costs against allowables on real-time dashboards. This replaced old-school spreadsheet-based tracking. The integration bore visible fruits: 

• Significant improvement in commercial control, visibility, and governance 

• Unified cost and project data as an accurate and real-time, single source of truth for all project costs 

• Enhanced predictability and accurate month-end closes 

• Remote access to the platform, hugely advantageous to dispersed teams working in remote areas 

• Dramatically reduced manual effort, notably for reconciliations, improving efficiency 

Once that hurdle was overcome and everybody saw that it actually brings ease to their own working station, it went easier, and we all bore the fruits. 

Gavin Hunter 

Building Efficiency and Managing Risk Across Teams 

Hunter notes that contractors inhabit a world that rewards predictability over disruption, which is often why they think twice before adopting new systems. Contractors driven to improve efficiency and their bottom line should take note of these improvements Boshard Construction noticed following the shift to BuildSmart.  

• It helped them improve time management and accuracy, especially in managing labor costs, which was a major risk area for them. 

• Real-time data enabled them to manage risks related to cash flow and profitability more effectively as they could identify and address issues earlier and promptly. 

The training they received alongside implementation was key in ensuring that relevant teams used the system effectively. It helped them to overcome resistance, with management driving adoption and ensuring that staff understood the benefits and the system’s ease of use. 

They came to accept the change, recognizing that the new system made their work easier. And they were able to realize the full benefits of the new integrated ERP-estimating system. 

The rewards of adoption outweigh the challenges of change 

As for contractors still juggling multiple disconnected systems? Hunter advises courage. He acknowledges that the construction industry tends to be change averse – habits are established and there’s apprehension about new technology. But he encourages contractors to overcome that resistance and embrace digital transformation – to take the leap for the substantial benefits that an effective systems integration can offer. 

A lot of the resistance comes from the time it takes to switch to a new ERP solution – teams fear how long it might take to develop the solution and add real value. In this instance, BuildSmart excels as an off-the-shelf construction-specific solution, made for contractors. It can be tweaked to fit your business and be ready to rock in a much shorter period of time. 

The team now has a system in place that speaks to contractors. And they are effectively managing data on a real-time basis. Not only did they manage to eliminate those silos, but with everyone involved working from the same, instantly available, and up-to-date information, transparency improved to the extent that it allowed them to manage projects proactively rather than reactively. Staff could then focus on higher-value activities rather than time-consuming reconciliations.  

Prior reluctance to adopt a new system aside, the team realized in hindsight that the integration was the right solution for them. BuildSmart is designed for construction and offers a full integration with Candy to provide seamless cost tracking and real-time dashboards – precisely what they needed to work on their bottom line. The unified system provided them with better oversight and control over financial and operational data. 

Build up the courage, take the leap, and the rewards will far exceed your expectations. 

Gavin Hunter, Joint Managing Director, Boshard Construction