Procurement delays regularly push construction projects off schedule, hitting subcontractors on time and margin.
The Build Chain, the UK’s first procurement platform designed specifically for subcontractors, reduces these delays by giving buyers faster access to suppliers, clearer visibility, and less admin.
Discover how The Build Chain helps subcontractors take back control of procurement:
Traditional procurement methods leave subcontractors waiting — waiting for quotes, chasing suppliers, and reacting to problems far too late. When procurement lives across emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls, delays become almost inevitable.
The Build Chain replaces this uncertainty with a single digital platform where procurement moves at the pace of your project, not the slowest supplier response — giving subcontractors confidence in every buying decision.
How Procurement Delays Build Up Across Projects
Procurement delays rarely come from one major failure. More often, they build up quietly through fragmented systems, manual workflows, and a lack of visibility across enquiries and suppliers.
Subcontractors are frequently managing procurement through disconnected tools — emails for enquiries, spreadsheets for tracking, phone calls for chasing prices, and separate systems for reporting. Every enquiry takes time. Every follow-up adds admin. Every delayed response introduces risk. Across multiple live projects, these small inefficiencies quickly snowball into programme delays.
This is where The Build Chain fundamentally changes how procurement works.
As the UK’s first procurement platform built specifically for subcontractors, The Build Chain centralises the entire buying process into one connected environment. Instead of issuing one enquiry at a time and hoping for timely replies, subcontractors gain access to a digital marketplace designed to improve speed, clarity, and decision-making.
By bringing enquiries, pricing, supplier responses, and reporting into one place, The Build Chain removes the blind spots that cause delays. Buyers can see what’s happening in real time, identify bottlenecks early, and make informed decisions before problems impact site schedules.
Just as importantly, The Build Chain helps strengthen supplier relationships. Structured enquiries, clearer communication, and consistent workflows enable suppliers to respond faster and more accurately — reducing misunderstandings that often lead to late deliveries.
The result is less admin, fewer surprises, and procurement that supports project timelines rather than putting them at risk.
When procurement is slow, everything else slows down — labour, sequencing, and overall site productivity. Subcontractors are then forced into reactive decision-making, often at higher cost and with fewer options.
The Build Chain helps keep projects moving by removing friction from procurement and giving buyers the visibility they need to stay ahead of delays, rather than constantly firefighting them.
Subcontractors need better procurement tools — not more admin.
The Build Chain, the UK’s first procurement platform designed specifically for subcontractors, helps reduce delays by improving speed, visibility, and decision-making.
✅ Reduce procurement-related delays
✅ Save time through centralised buying
✅ Gain real-time visibility
✅ Build stronger supplier relationships
