In the construction industry, communication between vendors, partners, and internal teams is usually slow and most companies still use certified mail to exchange documents. That might be about to change. Aproplan, a Brussels-based construction team-app raised €5 million in Series A funding. Fortino Capital led the latest round of investment. Other investors include Matexi, Inventures, and the Showpad co-founders Pieterjan Bouten, Louis Jonckheere, and Peter Minne. The startup plans to use the proceeds for sales, marketing, and developing new features of the app.
Digitizing construction industry
Launched in 2012, Aproplan promises to solve two of the pressing problems in the construction industry i.e. time and cost overruns. The industry statistics shared by the startup’s CEO, Thomas Goubau, reveal an abysmal situation of the industry and one that is ripe for disruption. The percentage of construction projects ending up in court is 30%, followed by 80% that exceed the budget and 20% take longer than planned.
To solve the acute problems associated with construction project management, Goubau and his team are digitizing the building project management process. The app, accessible through web browsers, App Store and Google Play can be used by construction managers, architects, contractors, subcontractors, engineers, and clients for real-time information and document exchange. It supports desktop, smartphone, and tablets to ensure workforce mobility.
Industry use cases
Aproplan’s main use cases are document synchronization, workforce mobility, document and project management, business reporting, and offline task management. The app works by developing a central repository of all project documents and communication. Its app interface lets stakeholders upload documents and share them across the internal and external teams of users. The startup boasts 50000+ users and 4000+ customers which include large-scale construction companies BAM, Besix, and CFE that use Aproplan for project management.