Builder sees better use of technology

Filomena Selma Cañedo, Cañedo Equity Ventures Inc. chairperson, (4th from left) together with two other firm executives seal the firm’s partnership with Infosoft during the contract signing ceremony for the Acumatica Private Cloud ERP at the Golden Prince Hotel. The Infosoft officials were led by Rodney Yap, the firm’s VisMin director (3rd from left).
CDN Photo / Junjie Mendoza

CEVI ties up with Infosoft to help in streamlining processes in firm’s operations

Property developers are also seeing the need to integrate technology into its operations.

One of these developers is Cebu-based real estate developer Cañedo Equity Ventures Inc. (CEVI).

In order to streamline their processes and to get data analytics on their operations, CEVI has signed a contract with Infosoft for the implementation of an Acumatica Private Cloud ERP or enterprise resource
planning software.

According to CEVI Chief Operating Officer (COO) Arturo Zamora, using the software for their operations will make them become not too dependent on manual work.

Financial transactions are also expected to be done faster and more accurately.

“We are also banking on the advantages that data analytics and business intelligence (from the software) will give us. That will allow us to decide faster, react faster, and make better decisions based on whatever info we have in the system,” he said in a press conference yesterday.

Zamora added that these data they can get from the software can also help them grow their business and even expand in other businesses aside from the ones they currently have.

Officials from CEVI and Infosoft signed a contract for the implementation of the Cloud ERP yesterday afternoon at the Golden Prince Hotel.

CEVI is known for its lifestyle-designed projects through its real estate arm Philippine Paramount Property Ventures Inc. (PPPVI).

Their projects included the Arellano Square in Cebu City; The Links at Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City; The Wellington Greens in Compostela; La Cresta Hills, La Cresta Homes, and Segovia South Villas in Carcar City; The Mazari Cove and The Enclave in Naga City; and Vizkaya Zen Residences, Residences of Coral Bay, Francesca Highlands, and Fonte di Versailles in Minglanilla.

With its growing residential and mixed-use developments, CEVI said they found it appropriate to move the business to the cloud system which could operate and be accessible 24/7.

“We are hoping this will help us make our processes more efficient and to make the company a lot more productive,” Zamora said.

Infosoft Director for Visayas and Mindanao Operations Rodney Yap explained that their other clients have all wanted to streamline operations that’s why they resorted to using the Cloud ERP.

“For every business owner, you come to a point where you know you are successful because your bank account is growing. Unfortunately, you don’t know where it’s coming from, from what part of your operations,” he said.

“Acumatica gives you that insight and information on your operations. It also enables (you to have) the ability to optimize processes so you know which usually translates to lower cost and better utilization of capital, resources, people, and equipment,” he added.

Industry concerns

The CEVI is a conglomerate based in Cebu that oversees the operation of business units involved in real estate, mining, quarrying and equipment rental, and construction, memorial garden development, food, and technical- vocational education.

According to Zamora, employing new measures like modern technology is also a way for them to cope with concerns plaguing the industry.

These include the continuing rise in inflation in the country which reached a nine-year high of 6.4 percent last August.

At the same time, the developer is also expecting a blow from the continued depreciation of the peso versus the dollar which reached P53.80 as of September 6.

Zamora said this had been a major concern for them considering that a significant chunk of the buyers for their subdivisions and residential units had been overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“When you talk about exchange rate, the first ones that are normally hit would be the OFWs. We’re trying to really think of how to address that in terms of catering to the OFWs considering the foreign exchange,” he said.

Out of all their buyers for their subdivisions in Cebu, 85 percent are OFWs.

As for the concern on inflation, he said this had been affecting not just their buyers but also them as developers.

Zamora pointed out that they also had to contend with rising buying cost for the materials and services they use for their projects, and for the buyers, this would mean less disposable income for them.

“So we really have to strike a balance between increasing cost and making our prices still competitive. That’s really a challenge. But we’re hoping that solutions like this (using Cloud ERP), plus very strategic supply chain management, we can meet the requirements of our buyers despite the inflation and foreign exchange increases,” he said.

Despite the increasing costs of materials, players in the real estate industry find it hard to abruptly adjust their prices, considering the strong competition in the industry.

This is why for most developers like CEVI, they will have to absorb the additional costs brought by higher inflation in the country.

Zamora said though that if nothing is done to arrest the increasing inflation and it continues, the whole real estate industry may already feel its effects and they will have no choice but to all adjust their prices.