Within a radius of 25 to 30 kilometers around Mechelen, there are many projects completed by Van Poppel Construction: ranging from new and renovated homes to non-residential projects. These projects typically range from 300,000 to 2 million euros, collectively accounting for an annual revenue of 12 million euros.
Bob Van Poppel, managing director: “Our primary focus is on quality. We complete about 15 projects a year and take pride in the fact that most of this work is done by our own employees.”
Alistar understands how a construction company really works. With Gbuild, they have succeeded in translating their expertise into a comprehensive solution within the Microsoft environment.
Bob Van Poppel, Managing Director
Looking for a future-oriented business platform
In the past, Van Poppel Construction used another well-known construction solution. In 2007, the search for a new software system began. “Our top priority was a future-oriented software system that could grow with the company in a modular way. With the Microsoft platform, we knew we were on the right track,” explains Bob Van Poppel.
After a thorough review of various Microsoft Dynamics partners, it became clear that the standard solution proposed by Alistar (then known as the GMI Group) was a good fit for the construction company’s day-to-day operations.
Take Control of Your Own Cost Estimates
According to Bob Van Poppel, the integrated costing module is one of Gbuild’s key strengths: “You can fully customize the costing process to suit your needs. Copying to and from Excel is also a matter of just a few mouse clicks, whereas in our previous software package this required a lot of cutting and pasting.”
Doing Away with Gut Feelings
According to Bob Van Poppel, it goes without saying that overseeing a construction project is no easy task. He points out, however, that anyone who wants to work professionally cannot simply rely on gut feelings…
The added value of Gbuild is that it requires you to let the hard numbers speak for themselves when tracking projects. From preparing a progress report for the client to the final cost analysis after completion: the software system is your single source of truth!
Equipment management is also handled entirely through Gbuild. Work is currently in full swing on implementing purchase orders through the software system. This will save a significant amount of time in the future, from ordering to invoicing. The implementation of budget management is also on the wish list.
A Future Without Paper Invoices?
Alistar recently completed the migration to the latest version of Gbuild on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central at Van Poppel. The extensive integration with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, in particular, inspires confidence in the future.
According to Bob Van Poppel, the integrated digital document management functionality could well spell the end of paper invoices within the company in the future: “Scanning a document, automatically recognizing it within Business Central, and archiving it digitally—it can make administrative work a lot easier.”
Alistar's Role
“Our top priority was a future-oriented software system that could scale modularly alongside the company. With the Microsoft platform and Alistar, we knew we were on the right track,” concludes Bob Van Poppel. After all these years, he is more convinced than ever that he made the right choice.
We may be a smaller client of Alistar, but we’ve never felt that way. Alistar is just as committed to every client, big or small.
