Costin Șerban, a Romanian entrepreneur, is digitalizing the construction sector in the United Kingdom with an ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution developed over 12 years and an investment of GBP 1.6 million (EUR 1.86 million).
Șerban’s cloud-based ERP platform is called Abilo, was developed by the Romanian IT company Obi Systems, and is dedicated to companies in construction and related industries. It allows companies to operate efficiently with only 2-3 people in the office, compensating for a shortage of specialized labor.
The application is already used by over 2,000 users. In the near future, the entrepreneur plans to adapt the ERP solution also for the Romanian market.
“Working in construction means hard work. What is not seen from outside the site, however, is the daily struggle with administrative chaos, bureaucracy, communication errors, incorrect cost calculations, or lack of real profit forecasts,” Costin Șerban, owner & CEO of Abilo.
“That’s how Abilo appeared, an ERP platform thought from the ground up, exactly for the needs of construction companies. It is not a generic software but a complete solution, specially created for teams who want to work efficiently and profitably, without having to worry about hundreds of spreadsheets or lost phone calls,” he added.
The project started in 2012 as internal software, developed alongside the founder’s construction activity together with Obi Systems, a Romanian IT company. In 2022, noticing collaborators’ interest in the platform, the team began rebuilding it into a modern SaaS model, adapted for scaling and commercial sale, and the official launch took place in 2023.
Currently, Abilo is a modular ERP application, available throughout the United Kingdom, offering construction companies an integrated system capable of managing all essential business processes. The platform covers the entire operational chain: from project management, accounting, and payroll specially adapted for the construction sector, to inspections, equipment management, organizing documents and contracts. Additionally, it allows real-time cost tracking, business intelligence analysis, and precise estimation of each project’s profitability.
The benefits include a decrease in operational costs, efficient coordination of field teams, a reduction of time lost on repetitive tasks, and others, the company said.
Abilo.com has already caught the attention of industry specialists. It was voted People’s Choice at the SECBE Awards 2023, London, and was a finalist at TechFest and the Digital Construction Awards 2024, two of the most relevant events dedicated to digitizing the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) sector. Currently, Abilo is available exclusively in the United Kingdom.
(Photo source: press release)
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