Resilience through data – real estate companies can defy multi-crises
2023 will be the year of digitalisation in the real estate industry. But really now? - some will ask resignedly. At least as far as the topic of data, files and document management is concerned, because these form the basis for every digital, agile company. "The need to digitise has arrived in the real estate world much later than in many other sectors. Only the current situation of multi-crises is literally forcing asset managers, developers and property managers to rethink their strategies," says Patrick Penn, founder and CEO of docunite GmbH. He is convinced that a solid, digital data and document base is an absolute foundation and the most important building material for long-term success and growth.
Act instead of react – always one step ahead of the next crisis
The world is changing differently and faster than expected. Various crises are developing in parallel and at different speeds: For example, the shortage of skilled workers is accompanied by higher raw material and energy costs, inflation and rising interest rates. The JLL Victor value development index for top office buildings, for example, has fallen more sharply than ever before in the major German cities. Values have fallen by 11.2 per cent over the course of 2022. Real estate companies have been permanently in crisis mode since Corona. “Whether it’s rising prices or a shortage of materials, as a company I have to be able to react to this quickly and flexibly. What does that mean for internal structures? Only if I have my documents and data at hand in high quality at all times without major searches can I flexibly buy or sell assets, design projects transparently, streamline processes. And so I am always one step ahead of the next crisis. A digital data strategy and a document management system based on it are exactly what we need. They form the basis for every decision,” says digitalisation expert Penn.
Enforcing warranty claims
In challenging times, real estate companies look for ways to protect their margins. A perennial issue in asset and property management is the warranty. Warranty claims are often not asserted in time or not asserted at all, resulting in additional renovation costs for individual trades. This means that commercial property owners lose a lot of money. Often the knowledge about this lies with individual employees or even external property management partners. If they leave a company or the external property manager is changed, no one knows who is now obliged to do what. Or, if files and documents cannot be found at all or are not available quickly enough, sometimes deadlines simply expire. Then the portfolio owner or property manager is left with nothing and is stuck with the costs, and the portfolio performance drops. Here, too, a systematic DMS can bring transparency and remedy the situation.
Talk more honestly about digitalisation
The real estate industry needs digital solutions that are tailored to its specific needs and at the same time establish standards. This is especially true for large companies that have to manage real estate in all lifecycle phases. “Software providers have made many promises in the past that have led to inflated expectations that have not been met and have left scorched earth,” says Penn and demands: “We need to be more honest about digitalisation. More honest in our expectations of a solution. More honest in what a solution can achieve. And more honest about what the path to a digital real estate economy looks like. Because successful digital projects always have one thing in common: an honest collaboration between provider and customer with a common goal and the users in focus.”