Concrete and masonry products form the literal foundation of most construction projects. While they may seem like straightforward materials—bricks, blocks, cement, mortar—their selection, storage, and use are anything but simple.
Whether you’re buying for a large commercial job or managing stock across multiple yards, having a clear checklist helps your procurement team avoid costly mistakes, ensures compliance, and keeps warehouse inventory clean and organized. More importantly, when paired with a capable ERP system, this checklist becomes a powerful tool for smarter, safer operations.
🧱 Why Procurement for Concrete & Masonry Is Complex
Unlike other building materials, concrete and masonry products come with a unique set of challenges:
They’re heavy and awkward to move.
They have specific shelf lives and storage conditions.
They often require compliance with local or national standards.
On top of that, miscalculating quantities can result in expensive excess or serious delays on the jobsite. That’s why making informed, data-backed purchasing decisions—and managing them through your ERP—is essential.
✅ 1. Start with Product Specifications
Before you place an order, confirm exactly what the project requires. Concrete and masonry are not one-size-fits-all materials.
Key Details to Verify:
Strength and Grade: Concrete mixes like M20 or M25 are designed for different load capacities. Choose based on structural needs.
Block Type and Density: CMUs may be standard, lightweight, load-bearing, or decorative. Each has different applications.
Size and Dimensions: Ensure you’re matching project specs—mistakes here can affect wall layout and structural integrity.
Finish Requirements: Are you ordering split-face blocks for aesthetics? Smooth blocks for tiling? These details matter.
💡 Upload datasheets, safety documents, and product certifications into your ERP system and link them to each SKU. This helps your team access critical details during audits, deliveries, or jobsite inspections.
✅ 2. Vet the Supplier Thoroughly
The reliability of your supplier can make or break a job—especially when timelines are tight or specifications are non-negotiable.
Evaluate Vendors On:
Delivery Accuracy: How often do they deliver the correct quantities on time?
Material Consistency: Have you had quality complaints from the field?
Service and Support: Can they help with technical questions or send replacements quickly?
Past Project Performance: Check vendor scorecards in your ERP or ask your purchasing team for insights.
📊 If your ERP tracks vendor performance metrics, generate monthly or quarterly reports to identify top suppliers—and weed out underperformers.
✅ 3. Consider Environmental and Storage Requirements
These products may look tough, but they’re sensitive to how they’re stored. Poor storage leads to product degradation, material waste, and safety hazards.
Examples of Storage Needs:
Cement & Mortar Bags: Store off the ground, in a dry, covered environment. Exposure to humidity causes clumping.
Concrete Blocks: Should be kept on level ground, stacked properly, and covered to prevent water absorption and cracking.
Liquid Admixtures: Can freeze or separate—temperature control is essential.
📦 Set up storage instructions within your ERP per product type. Add automatic reminders for shelf-life-sensitive items to ensure first-expiring-first-out (FEFO) inventory rotation.
✅ 4. Order the Right Quantities—Not Just “Enough”
Guesswork in procurement often leads to overstocking or mid-project shortages. Your ERP system can help take the guesswork out of the equation.
Use Data to Guide You:
Review historical usage per project type and size.
Factor in breakage or overage buffers (typically 3–7% for CMUs).
Account for seasonality—some materials move faster in summer vs. winter.
Sync orders with job timelines to avoid on-site stockpiling.
📈 Use your ERP’s job-costing module to forecast quantities based on active projects. Add alerts for minimum and maximum stock levels so you never over- or under-order.
✅ 5. Make Delivery and Handling Instructions Clear
Once the materials are purchased, the next point of failure is often during delivery or initial handling. Blocks break, bags rip, and pallets collapse—all avoidable with proper preparation.
Best Practices to Include on Purchase Orders:
“Do not stack more than 2 pallets high.”
“Store on pallets, indoors only.”
“Unload with block forks only—no chains.”
These instructions should be consistent across your ERP-generated:
Purchase Orders
Pick Lists
Delivery Slips
Receiving Reports
📋 Create templates in your ERP with pre-set instructions based on product type so they’re never missed.
✅ 6. Connect Procurement to the Warehouse
The handoff from purchasing to warehousing is critical. Miscommunications can lead to storage errors, misplaced items, or missed inspections.
Improve the Handoff By:
Automatically tagging incoming material in your ERP with PO numbers, batch info, and shelf-life details.
Scheduling quality checks at receiving.
Assigning materials to the correct storage zones via digital put-away lists.
🧠 Use real-time inventory updates to keep procurement, warehouse, and site teams on the same page.
✅ 7. Track Usage and Returns
After the material is delivered and stored, your ERP should help you track what’s actually used—and what isn’t.
If you’re consistently returning excess concrete bags, your quantity forecasts may be too high.
If certain block types are always damaged on arrival, it may be a handling or supplier issue.
Over time, your ERP can surface these trends so you can optimize purchasing, train your team, or revisit vendor relationships.
🛠️ Wrapping It All Up
Concrete and masonry materials may be simple in theory—but poor planning, inconsistent storage, or weak supplier relationships can lead to major headaches in the field. By following a structured checklist and leveraging the right ERP workflows, you can bring clarity and control to a process that’s often chaotic.
You’ll not only avoid costly mistakes—you’ll set your team up for smarter planning, cleaner inventory, and smoother project execution.
💬 Want help setting up a concrete and masonry procurement process inside your ERP? Get in touch with our experts here—we’ll show you how to align your purchasing and warehouse workflows from day one.
