Streamline Apartment Management With Software

4 MIN. READ

If one thing can be said with certainty, it's that apartment management is never dull. Indeed, it includes keeping track of a lot of moving parts – balancing day-to-day operations, making supplier decisions, planning 

improvements and more. With the help of software, you can make the process seamless, efficient and centralized in one area of your business.

Centralize your procurement team

Instead of having several individuals across different departments scramble to stay on top of requests, orders and priorities, you can centralize procurement with one person or one team handling the purchasing. This allows for greater visibility and control of the buying process from cradle to grave. The purchasers will be responsible for identifying vendors and suppliers, vetting them, and onboarding them into your internal system.

It is important for the maintenance tech to be in sync with the purchaser. The lead maintenance manager will know the specifics of what supplies and equipment are needed, and they can relay this information to the purchaser, who can then place the order. This ensures that the correct items are getting ordered in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

Here are a few pros of centralizing your procurement team:

• Greater transparency throughout the entire supply chain.
• The ability to manage multiple vendors on a single platform.
• Better efficiency and pricing.
• Centralized records stored for easy access.

Another key benefit of centralized procurement is that it can limit rogue spending.

Stop rogue spending

When employees purchase items from unapproved suppliers and outside the normal purchasing protocols, it can hurt your NOI and put your business at risk. Fortunately, you can get control over rogue spending by implementing software that can eliminate it.

Raiven has a browser extension that works in the background when your team is purchasing online. If they go to an unapproved site and try to purchase an item, a pop-up will appear and show the price of the exact same item from your approved suppliers. Raiven then allows your buyer to select the lower priced item and order it instantaneously.

This will eliminate rogue spending, which will save you money and keep your company in compliance.

Establish procurement compliance in the current economy

Compliance is an essential aspect of apartment management. You cannot afford to look over compliance issues, or they will bite you in the back. Take a proactive approach with compliance and look to these best practices:

Perform regular audits - Routine audits will help ensure compliance. Audit the procurement team to deter fraud and bad habits from emerging. Make sure the terms of contracts are being adhered to.

Review partnerships with suppliers - Do not get complacent with your supplier relationships. Keep them honest by performing RFPs on a regular schedule. This practice will save you money, and with the help of Raiven’s software, it will save you time and headaches too. The platform allows you to gather all essential data in the RFP process and relays information in an efficient manner.

Data and analytics - Data makes the difference. Crunching numbers and looking to procurement metrics will give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Know exactly how much money you spend and what you spend it on. This will help you identify areas of optimization.

Vet and approve all contractors and suppliers within your network with software

Large apartment management companies utilize various contractors and suppliers. When dealing with other entities, it is important to manage risk. Raiven’s software allows you to vet vendors to ensure that you have the most qualified partners for your business.

Additionally, the software platform allows you to organize all of a contractor's required documents, such as insurance, licenses and W9s, in one central place. It gives alerts when a contractor’s information is out of compliance as well, protecting your company from legal harm.

Streamline and optimize large apartment management with Raiven

Use technology to your advantage. With the aid of Raiven’s complete digital platform, you can optimize your business on many levels.

Starting with a more robust and centralized purchasing team, benefits will trickle down in the form of saved money on supplies, better supplier and contractor onboarding and management, easier compliance, and no rogue spend. Ultimately, you will enjoy better bottom line results and a streamlined process.

To find out more information on how Raiven can help your company, reach out today.