Reflections from AggNexus 2025

Last week I had the opportunity to attend AggNexus in Austin, Texas, where companies from around the world came together to showcase their most innovative solutions for heavy construction. The event was a whirlwind of ideas from IoT, robotics, automation, AI, and logistics platforms, all pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in our industry.

But as I sat through presentations and spoke with fellow attendees, a theme emerged that was far more universal than any single technology: change management.

The Real Barrier Isn’t Technology—it’s Change

We’ve all seen the “whack-a-mole” pattern of adoption: a contractor or supplier invests in a cutting-edge solution, but it never scales because teams resist change, data isn’t shared across systems, or leadership doesn’t make adoption mandatory. One great tool is added, but it functions in a silo, or is only used by a minority, making it a “nice-to-have” rather than a core part of the workflow.

This pattern doesn’t just slow down progress; it creates a bottleneck that holds back measurable outcomes like efficiency, safety, and profitability. Technology isn’t the barrier… our collective hesitation to change is.

At Bulk Exchange, I often remind customers: it’s not about “trying” technology, it’s about making the cultural shift where change is mandatory, not optional.

Why Solutions Must Work Together

One of the most powerful realizations from AggNexus is that individual solutions can be good, but integrated solutions are transformative.

• A single data tool might improve accuracy.
  
• A standalone logistics app might reduce idle truck time.
• An AI tool might streamline takeoffs.
  

But when you connect them together, when data flows seamlessly from takeoff to supply sourcing to trucking to payments, the benefits compound. Margins improve, jobs finish faster, crews are safer, and owners see higher ROI.

We’ve seen the same thing outside construction. In manufacturing, McKinsey found that integrated digital solutions improve productivity by up to 20–30%, compared to just 5–10% when adopted individually. Construction is no different.

Benefits for Both Contractors and Suppliers

Often, the conversation around innovation centers on contractors, but suppliers stand to gain just as much from embracing connected solutions and change management.

For Contractors

• Reduced delays through streamlined sourcing and logistics.
  
• More accurate bids with real-time pricing and quantities.
  
• Improved safety from automation and monitoring tools.
• Higher margins by cutting waste and improving efficiency.

For Suppliers

• Smoother demand forecasting- Integrated data lets suppliers anticipate needs, reducing costly idle inventory or overproduction.
  
• Faster payments - Digital workflows accelerate invoicing and collections, thereby shortening cash cycles.
  
• Higher customer loyalty- When suppliers plug into modern platforms, contractors stick with them for reliability and ease of doing business.
  
• Reduced friction in sales- Less time chasing quotes, more time fulfilling profitable orders.
• Competitive differentiation - Tech-enabled suppliers stand out in a crowded market and often become the “default” choice for younger, digitally native buyers, helping to promote important differentiators like EPD and minority designations.

When both sides of the marketplace embrace integrated solutions, the flywheel spins faster, suppliers gain predictability, contractors gain efficiency, and the whole ecosystem benefits.

Best Practices for Making the Case to Hesitant Customers

We all share the same challenge: introducing innovation to customers who are skeptical or stretched thin. Here are a few best practices I’ve found effective:

1. Lead with measurable value- Don’t talk about features; show how a solution cuts cost, reduces risk, or accelerates schedules.
   
2. Start small, scale fast- Pilots should be structured with a clear success metric and a reasonable timeline to prove value as change takes time to show up on bottom lines.
   
3. Focus on the compounding effect- Show how layering multiple solutions multiplies outcomes rather than just adding incremental gains.
4. Highlight competitive risk- Hesitation doesn’t just slow progress, it allows competitors to pull ahead.

How to Start in Your Own Organization

Change starts internally. If you’re looking to modernize, here’s where to begin:

• Audit your workflows- Where are the biggest delays, bottlenecks, or points of risk?
  
• Choose one core problem- Don’t try to “boil the ocean.” Solve one problem with tech and expand.
  
• Create accountability- Assign champions, set adoption KPIs, and tie them to performance.
• Integrate, don’t isolate- Always ask: how does this tool connect to the next step in the chain?

The Workforce Factor: Generational Change Is Here

Another undeniable reality: in the next 7+ years, 70% of the construction workforce will be Millennials or Gen Z/Y. These aren’t workers who simply prefer technology, they demand it.

They are digital natives, raised on apps, automation, and instant data. When they encounter outdated, manual, or siloed processes, it doesn’t just frustrate them, it makes them less likely to stay. Lack of technological alignment is already one of the biggest drags on our ability to attract and retain top talent.

For suppliers, this is equally critical. The next generation of procurement leaders, pit and project managers will expect digital-first supplier relationships like pricing portals, live availability, automated invoicing, not just phone calls, fax machines and spreadsheets. Suppliers that fail to modernize risk being left behind and eroding historical advantages. 

The industry has long relied on deep relationships and institutional knowledge. But as generational change accelerates, those handshakes and decades-long supplier ties will no longer be the only glue holding your business together. The workforce of the future will evaluate us on the strength of the solutions we deploy and the ability to make important contributions earlier through their technological fluency. 

A Call to Action

What I took away from AggNexus is clear: our industry doesn’t have a technology problem, it has a change problem. The future belongs to companies that don’t treat innovation as optional or piecemeal, but as mandatory and connected.

If we embrace this mindset, we’ll not only unlock higher margins and safer projects, we’ll also build stronger supplier-buyer relationships, improve predictability across the supply chain, and create an industry that attracts the next generation of talent.

At Bulk Exchange, that’s our mission: making it easier for you to embrace change, not as a burden, but as an important tool in your toolbox.