New Commercial Lead Charles Hicks discusses positivity moving into the second half of 2023, excitement at his move to The Wigley Group, and how innovative datasets and new ways of working is helping the company to meet client needs.
If there is one thing that Covid-19 has taught us, it is the importance of adaptability and agility to change and modernise the ways in which we operate.
The Covid years fashioned a difficult market to predict as we saw everything from the demand for traditional office space reining in, take-up of industrial space hitting record highs, to a significant supply-demand imbalance in the latter stages of 2022 continuing into 2023.
As we move into quarter three of 2023, the construction supply chain appears to be steadying as the market adjusts to the current economic slowdown, rising interest rates and high inflation, with the sector probably now more where it was at in pre-pandemic levels – however, The Wigley Group is not sitting still.
The economy within the construction industry has taken more of an optimistic view in 2023 than previously anticipated and that will bring confidence back into funders and investors alike. And, as lead times for the supply chain is more controlled as a result, there is reason to be positive as we move into the second half of the year.
With this in mind, The Wigley Group is setting its teams up to prepare for delivering some really fantastic opportunities both internally and externally, and already in the first few months from joining the company in May, it is clear to see it is an incredibly exciting time to be here.
There has been tremendous energy and vigour displayed throughout the team and I am looking forward to building further synergy across all facets of the business to deliver for our clients’ needs.
We have a fantastic construction team within The Wigley Group with a breadth of experience in multiple sectors and disciplines, and we have further strengthened our numbers and skillsets to bring best value to the overall success of projects, whether that be in pre-construction or post-contract delivery.
We are looking well-placed to move into the second half of 2023 to develop strategies and unlock sites to get the best value out of all our projects.
One of the key things we are looking at to achieve that is the development of our own in-house data, which will bring about huge benefits not only in the way that we work, but also how we work smarter for our clients particularly in the early stages of development.
The challenge of any project is being able to identify how we can reduce cost and maximise value. By looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes and using real-time benchmark data, we can help clients take forward steps to identify what the key costs drivers are associated to a project, where value can be added, and improve efficiency. We are excited to share further news on this with our clients when it launches in the autumn.
We are also looking at how to improve waste efficiency on projects, not just in broken bricks and materials, but in things such as time and design costs through early project engagement with our supply chain and promoting collaboration and integration to develop long term relationships.
We also believe that by engaging with the client early, we can remove process and operational inefficiency to cut costs without reducing quality, from inception and the design stage, right through to handing the keys over. This ensures solutions are identified and are achievable and affordability is managed.
By fully understanding evolving needs, whilst building on the foundations which have placed The Wigley Group in a strong position in the market, the coming months look incredibly exciting not just for our team at Stockton House, but also our clients.