Digitalisation is an essential part of the business development and growth strategy

Igor Lacalle, Organisational Development Director of ULMA, explains in more detail the relevance of digitalisation in our organisation.

What relevance does digitalisation have in our business activity?

The key management processes at ULMA are connected and interrelated with each other through the corporate implementation of a collaborative digital environment. Digitalisation is an essential part of the business development and growth strategy, as it inevitably translates into an increase in internal efficiency, an optimisation of resources and a generation of business value and knowledge that has a positive impact on an offer of innovative and quality solutions and services for our customers.

Our competitive value in the market fundamentally lies in the high level of qualification, involvement and commitment of the people who form ULMA when embarking with our customers on new construction challenges. We already have this highly valued asset that differentiates us and that is decisive when implementing new digital technologies which involve, at least initially, an additional effort and a change in organisational culture.

What are the keys to the success of a corporate digital implementation?

The implementation of new digital technologies is possible thanks to the way we understand the management of business projects. Harmonisation and standardisation are of vital importance in achieving a global scope, as it extends across the entire organisation composed of the parent company and the 21 subsidiaries with which we work daily in a coordinated and unified manner. The application of new software, microservices, platforms and new digital technologies has a transformative effect that generates more value and greater operational efficiency, for which the qualification and continuous training of all the people involved in each of the projects, is essential.

Innovation and competitiveness are the natural result of our predisposition to change, which also plays an essential role in the success of digital implementation in our organisation. Our capacity for foresight, adaptation and anticipation of new scenarios in an intelligent, flexible and efficient manner forms part of our values marked by a clear customer orientation, and our passion for improvement by approaching each project with enthusiasm and motivation inevitably generates relationships based on trust, which are so positively valued by our customers and collaborators. The success of this implementation also lies in having a unique and secure working environment that facilitates the protection of digital systems, networks, data and devices, allowing only authorised access.

What advantages do we obtain through our digital strategy? 

Digitalisation represents improvement at all levels, as it involves company innovation and continuous improvement in order to offer the customer the best solution while minimising “time to market”, or the time that elapses from when our products and services are planned, designed, materialised and manufactured until they are made available to them.

Digitalisation and the integration of management processes such as design, production, manufacturing, commercial offering, stock forecasting to satisfy demand for our products and logistics planning result in better service and competitive value, as from their conception they have a clear customer focus. The implementation of a collaborative digital environment promotes compliance with quality, cost and deadline requirements, and speeds up response times internally and externally.

How is digitalisation integrated into each business process?

Efficiency, traceability and data interoperability are key concepts in our digital strategy. The digitalisation of logistics processes, for example, helps us to have control over planning and demand forecasting, anticipating stock availability and optimising internal operations, offering a better response to the customer in both time and manner. This data governance allows us to adjust production, resources and inventory strategies to satisfy demand fluctuations efficiently. Furthermore, online traceability through the use of QR  codes has optimised the management of our warehouses thanks to the monitoring of the status or location in the warehouse, with the consequent increase in efficiency in the supply of materials. The IoT (Internet of Things) type solution through implementation in several manufacturing cells has been fundamental for the capture and real-time monitoring of production data.

With regard to the design and innovation of our products and services, from the organisation area we support the implementation of engineering projects in a BIM (Building Information Modelling) environment, incorporating our own configurators of formwork and scaffolding systems. Laser scanning is another tool that facilitates the study of scaffolding application, as we obtain great precision and reliability in the measurement of space, location, arrangement and calculation of the supply of materials required on site, and allows us to offer a better service through logistics optimisation and increased profitability and competitiveness.

Data capture also provides us with the measurement of the impact of renewable energy production in our facilities, which improve our energy efficiency and promote the reduction of the organisation’s carbon footprint. This monitoring also provides us with the necessary information to continue obtaining and renewing certificates related to sustainability such as, for example, the organisational carbon footprint certificate, zero waste, or the environmental management certificate granted by AENOR.

What is the impact of artificial intelligence on our digital strategy?

The adoption of advanced technologies, such as the application of predictive artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, facilitates efficient inventory management, supply chain coordination and project scheduling. Informed decision-making thanks to the analysis of information from our ERP facilitates the identification and interpretation of patterns in the data and possible trends, allowing us to carry out predictive estimation and analysis that places us in a privileged position to anticipate the needs and demand of our customers. In addition to predictive analysis, we are progressively including pre-trained generative models offered by AI for the creation, automation or simulation of production scenarios, industrial assistants or the creation of technical documentation.

What digital services have been developed to maintain closeness with our customers?

The Studio Suite digital environment is a clear example of our customer orientation, as we make digital tools used by ULMA’s technical department available to them, offering our knowledge so that they can carry out their own technical studies, autonomously and easily. 

These services are accessible through our website and through the myULMA customer portal, designed to transparently and continuously facilitate all information about the contracted project, as well as the related technical and administrative documentation, establishing lasting relationships of closeness and trust. It is also worth highlighting the recent publication of SHOP Online aimed at users in the United States and Canada with exclusive sales offers for each market, which includes fully updated information on stock, price or delivery date of each selected item in a simple and immediate manner.