The construction sector in Australia is increasingly under pressure to do even more with less. Organisations in the sector face challenges ranging from complex operations and supply chains, to resourcing the right people, or becoming more customer centric. They are expected to have highly integrated operations supported by end-to-end digital platforms. In addition, there is a growing expectation for the sector to embed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations into business decisions.
Every organisation that we speak to is looking to overcome some or all of these challenges via transformation, so that they can realise their growth ambition. For many, this ambition is to become a market leader.
Construction companies that are successful in delivering real business outcomes from their transformation take the time to ‘measure twice and cut once’. They make sure they are enabled by the right technology and people to sustain this long-term journey.
KPMG has sector specific and capability-backed experience in driving successful transformations across mid-tier construction firms. We know firms that achieve long lasting transformation success focus on three key steps: a clear path to growth, identifying and measuring critical success factors, and driving key business and operating model enablers.
Step 1: Understand where you are and your path to growth
Successful organisations leverage their unique competitive position and align it with their aspirations for growth. To this end, the first step is to understand your profile in the market and trajectory in relation to your ambitions. Then, you can define and navigate your path to market leader. Leveraging KPMG's Market Participant Profile Framework, approaches that we commonly see include:
The high road: Being a high-value small player and leveraging your niche market insights to develop scalable offerings and market share growth strategies
Focused pivot: Starting from a basic offering and leveraging strong relationships and core processes to support a pivot towards high value niche segments
Push and elevate: Pushing for market share through organic and inorganic growth initiatives; leveraging a broad market footprint and operating capacity to penetrate new high-value segments.
Step 2: Identify and measure your critical success factors
The second step is to drive business outcomes across the front, middle and back offices, and to measure progress. At this stage, key things to ask include:
- How can we better personalise the customer and stakeholder experience?
- How do we improve accuracy and speed of tendering and estimation?
- How can we increase profitability of our construction projects to agreed quality?
- How can we maximise asset utilisation throughout the lifecycle of our assets?
- How do we integrate our operations with that of our partners and suppliers?
- How do we improve the capability, capacity, and experience of our workforce?
- How do we improve our sustainability?
- How do we protect and improve the reputation of our organisation?
Step 3: Focus on key business and operating model enablers
The third step is to establish the key business and operating model enablers to drive success. These enablers will form the basis of your transformation efforts, and they include:
- Growth strategy: Align strategy with ambition, realised through a measurable implementation plan
- Customer centricity: Gain clarity in the customers you target and their needs, and consistently deliver on the moments that matter
- Project management capability: Establish leading practice project management, tools, and knowledge, to deliver on-time, and to the agreed quality
- Digital and data capability: 'Leverage technology and data to connect your operations and make informed decisions'
- People and assets: Utilise a scalable, agile, and fit for purpose workforce and asset base
- Continuous improvement: Proactively incorporate customer and employee feedback, and business performance outcomes to optimise operations and improve margins.
Realising quick wins and sustaining long-term benefits
This approach to market leadership enables a clear path to growth, with a clear line-of-sight on the critical success factors and leveraging leading practice for success. We see organisations that follow these steps succeed in their transformation efforts and deliver on their promise to improve customer experience and profitability. They generate as much value as they can from their workforce, assets, partners, and suppliers. They also leverage technology and data to monitor and manage their operations, embed sustainability into their growth, and maintain a positive reputation across the market.
How KPMG can help
Our dedicated construction advisory team work closely with you throughout your journey to market leader – including defining your current market position, your path to change, and your success measures. With our sector-specific industry knowledge and experience, we help you to drive and sustain this change as you bring your market-leader ambitions to life.
