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Digital platform for built environment industry
Workflow solution to be piloted in GuocoLand luxury condominium project
The Asset   3 Aug 2021

GuocoLand, OCBC Bank, and Singaporean fintech firm Doxa have signed a memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) for a strategic partnership to develop and pilot the built environment industry’s first end-to-end digital workflow solution to streamline the procurement and payments workflow processes for development projects. 

The Doxa Connex for Developers platform connects property developers and other parties – banks, contractors, suppliers and consultants – in the built environment value chain. The solution is expected to be ready this October and will be used first to support Meyer Mansion, GuocoLand’s luxury freehold condominium project, by year-end. OCBC Bank is the sole lender for the project and one of GuocoLand’s principal banks.

Procurement and payments workflow processes for development projects are still paper-based and thus labour-intensive. The processes commonly involve hard-copy invoices that are issued by contractors. Developers pay on these invoices either by drawing down on an existing loan or from sales proceeds maintained in the development project account. To do so, developers are often required to send the hard-copy invoices to their banks, together with an architect’s or external consultant’s hard-copy certification of these invoices based on the value of work done.

For all parties, a significant amount of time is therefore spent on data entry and manual processing. This is compounded by the sheer volume of invoices. A single development project could involve more than a thousand invoices, from the main construction contractor’s invoices to invoices for the development’s consultants, marketing costs, show flat expenses or legal fees.

Doxa Connex aims to resolve this pain point by digitalizing the entire process end-to-end. Using the platform, contractors can create and send e-invoices to developers; architects and external consultants can carry out the required certification via an e-certification process; and developers can send both the e-invoices and e-certifications to their banks to trigger payment.

A further benefit to developers is the platform’s ability to convert quotations into purchase orders, and generate cost analysis reports, thus allowing developers a more timely overview of their cash flow. With workflow automation, Doxa Connex keeps track of large amounts of data to provide clearer project visibility, as well as full transparency in the procurement and payments workflow processes. 

Contractors can expect easier and faster submission of claims for payment with the implementation of Doxa Connex. Time is saved as there is no need to courier hard-copy documents, and the chances of documents getting lost are eliminated. 

Andrew Chew, chief financial officer of GuocoLand Singapore, says: “Digitalizing the procurement and payments workflow processes in the built environment value chain is a needed step in the right direction to transform the industry. Piloting Doxa Connex for Developers for Meyer Mansion will automate workflow processes and pave the way for a more efficient, transparent platform for future developments. This digital innovation, developed in collaboration with OCBC and Doxa, will prove to be a game-changer and also future-proof the parties in the value chain from disruptive events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.”