SAUTER UK: Building Management for the Entire Lifecycle

As a rapidly growing business in the UK, SAUTER UK recognised the need for a standardised and straightforward process to manage the increasing number of subcontractor Applications for Payment they were receiving.

With technological innovation at its core, SAUTER UK was keen to adopt a digital approach to streamline the end-to-end Application for Payment process, with the aim of standardising the process, removing subcontractor’s reliance on email, spreadsheet and paper submissions, and increasing visibility across the full application lifecycle by using a single platform to processes, track and respond to applications.

Reducing the need for manual processes and the administrative time required to perform these tasks would help to drive efficiencies across the commercial and finance teams, freeing them to focus on more value-add projects for the business.

After experiencing the value of the WebContractor platform as a subcontractor via one of their subsidiary businesses, SAUTER UK understood the wider benefits a digital approach could introduce to their own Application for Payment processes and supply chain.

Already familiar with the look and feel of the WebContractor platform as an end user, and after reviewing the solution in more detail from a contractor’s perspective, the SAUTER UK team decided to implement the system across their UK business.

SAUTER UK subcontractors can now submit, track and review their own Applications for Payment via one central online platform, giving SAUTER UK the streamlined solution they require as their business and supply chain continues to grow.

WebContractor's standardised workflows have introduced an efficient and transparent subcontractor management process, helping to improve application processing time, reducing errors, and supporting a compliant way of working in line with industry best practice and UK construction legislation.

Having worked on many projects as subcontractors themselves, the SAUTER UK team understood the importance of supply chain acceptance and adoption for a new system to be successful.

With this experience in mind, the team were keen to implement a solution that came at no cost to their subcontractors and offered them time-saving and efficiency improvements. The WebContractor platform is free for subcontractors to use and gives them much greater control and visibility of their own applications, with the ability to track their status as they move from submission to payment.

This transparency helps to build stronger relationships and foster engagement between SAUTER UK and their supply chain community, and the comprehensive managed onboarding service and training that support a WebContractor rollout helps to boost the adoption and use of the platform.

Working with the SAUTER UK team to develop a detailed onboarding plan, WebContractor’s onboarding team supported their subcontractor community in getting up and running and familiar with the system so they could quickly maximise the commercial, compliance and efficiency benefits of the platform.

The WebContractor team provides subcontractors with expert guidance and support as they move to the system, with ongoing support to assist with any queries users have as they acclimatise to the new platform and process.

Through WebContractor’s platform, SAUTER UK can efficiently manage their growing number of Applications for Payment via a streamlined process that continues to evolve to support industry best practices and compliance.

Standardised processes and workflows underpin an efficient, straightforward way of dealing with Applications for Payment, and SAUTER UK’s internal finance and commercial teams have benefitted from improved, end-to-end visibility of application information to track the progress of applications and forecast their cashflow requirements with greater accuracy.

SAUTER UK’s subcontractor community benefits from improved application interactions with the business, with simple management and transparent monitoring of the progress of their submissions throughout the application lifecycle, with no need to chase their commercial or finance contacts for status updates.