Get instant access to a simple and intuitive system that allows contractors to save valuable time writing proposals, receive more bids, and efficiently manage sales pipeline
This story is familiar to any contractor who submits proposals to construction companies. You receive an invitation to bid in a tender, and you need to respond quickly. The bid needs to be both attractive and profitable, and you need to respond to a bill of quantities that includes dozens and sometimes even hundreds of items.
In many cases, you receive dozens of proposals every month, and tight deadlines you do not want to miss. You find yourself in a race against the clock. All this happens in parallel with your ongoing work and managing existing projects. The result is a ton of pressure, and a lot of room for mistakes and missed deadlines.
Dima Haikin, founder and CEO of ConWize, is all too familiar with this reality. After working with several large construction companies, Dima decided it was time to make the bidding and estimating process easier for contractors and suppliers in the construction industry.
Why do you need a bid management system?
Many in the industry ask why they need a bidding system and what is wrong with using good old Excel sheets. The answer to this is that a bid management system not only saves users the hassle of repeatingly responding to each bid separately, but it also helps companies manage a sales pipeline, and know, at any given moment, which tenders are coming up. With the large number of tenders a contractor responds to in a month, the process can become an extremely complex task because each tender has a deadline that cannot be missed, and multiple deadlines can be very difficult to manage. Meeting each and every deadline is crucial. Missing one deadline, means you’ve lost the job.
Simple and easy to use even if you’re not a computer savvy
Human beings hate change. Especially when it comes to integrating new systems. C-level executives tend to think technological systems will be expensive, and that the implementation process will require a long learning and implementation process.
But today there are many systems designed to be simple and intuitive. Systems that do not require a large financial investment or complex implementation process. Many of these, are software as a service (Saas) systems, that sit in the cloud, and can be accessed from any computer that has Internet access. No need to purchase servers, special hardware or complicated installations, you can just log in, set up a profile and start working.
ConWize construction pricing software is about making life simpler for contractors and their teams. That’s why our system has a minimum of fields to fill – only the ones that are really necessary. The system has automatic alerts for deadline submissions, and is flexible to let you define the alert schedule that works for you and your team, so that you never miss a single submission.
The platform also conveniently displays all active bid deadlines and construction site tours in a visual calendar. This allows you to see if there are several bid submissionsin one day, week, or month. Each bid can be opened and its status updated from the calendar. With ConWize, everything is documented and organized in one place in a way that is simple even for those who do not consider themselves tech savvy.
Choose the projects with the highest chances of winning
Companies that participate in many tenders often need to prioritize and decide which tenders to approach and which they should not. ConWize helps teams evaluate their decisions by gathering all the information they need, to help them make the best choice. ConWize tracks: number of tenders submitted (per month, per quarter or per year), types of tenders submitted, types of tenders won and lost, prices at which you bid, and discounts you gave.
Tracking all these metrics helps you measure your bidding performance, analyze data and produce valuable information that allows you to increase the number of tenders you win, in addition to helping you work more efficiently. Performance and winning percentages can be analyzed by customers, types of works, bid managers and more. From now on, all your decision making can be backed up by hard data.
Whenever a new tender needs to be submitted, you will now be able to check if you have previously carried out similar estimates for past bids instead of calculating from scratch. It is even possible to build pricing sets that can be used for future bids, thus greatly simplifying the work required to respond to a tender. Subcontractors can also manage all documents in the system that relate to a particular project, including managing versions of the same document. And because it is a cloud platform, you can access your information anytime, anywhere.
A system that serves as a marketing channel for contractors
If you are a contractor, and you do not yet have a website, ConWize enables you to build a free profile page that can serve you instead of a website. You can add your company’s logo, specify the types of work you do, and add photos and descriptions of sample projects. You can even make your page public and send a link to your potential customers. This advantage alone, is why you should sign up today.
And yet, ConWize’s most significant advantage is that it serves as a business network to contractors and suppliers. This means that both contractors and supplies use ConWize to gain exposure and find new projects. Within a year, more than 1,500 contractors and suppliers have signed up to use ConWize, this includes general contractors and large public companies. Contractors who are not using ConWize are missing opportunities. Today, ConWize works with some of the largest construction companies. These companies consider ConWize a key tool for cost estimating and managing online bidding with contractors and suppliers.
How It Works?
For general contractors who are looking for a subcontractors for the tender, there is a pop-up message that asks contractors if they would like to see other relevant subcontractors who specialize in the type of work requested and work in the area where the project is located. ConWize actively recommends relevant subcontractors subscribed to the Premium plan. In this way, ConWize provides subcontractors with more exposure to companies and projects, that they would have otherwise not known about.
Contractors and suppliers who are not using ConWize yet
are missing opportunities.
Different cost estimating methods – one system
Different contractors perform cost estimating differently. Estimating methods vary according to the size and type of contractor. Some contractors recieve the bill of quantities of the tender and simply fill in the prices. Others conduct a more in-depth costs estimate and build a proposal by estimating items like materials and work hours. Larger contractors estimate each item and add indirect costs to the direct costs (such as site staff salaries), unforeseen expenses and profits. There are also large contractors who issue tenders for smaller contractors and suppliers, and their cost estimates are based on bids they have received plus the profit for them.
At ConWize, we understand the varying cost estimating needs of contractors. That’s why ConWize offers contractors various cost estimating methods from which they can choose.
What types of contractors and companies should use ConWize?
ConWize is designed to help all types of contractors, suppliers and consultants in the construction industry. On the one hand, contractors that do civil works, foundations, sealing, concrete testing, retrofit work, flooring, carpentry, frames, landscaping, and more, will be able to use the cost estimating process that suits them. On the other hand, companies that provide advanced systems such as elevators, air conditioning, plumbing and electricity, and need a deeper cost estimating solution, will also find ConWize useful.
There is no reason why contractors should not enjoy the efficiency and convenience that technology allows today in all other areas of life.
Technology integration is no longer just for the big players
To date, technological systems have been reserved only for large and powerful companies that can invest a great deal of money. This is because many of the technologies that serve large construction companies require long implementation, countless hours of training, and hiring a costly implementation company. Most small and medium-sized contractors do not have the time and resources to implement such complicated systems.
ConWize brings something different to the construction industry – an easy and quick solution that serves contractors of all sizes. To this end, ConWize has developed an easy-to-operate and implement system that can be quickly integrated into any construction business. ConWize does not require an initial financial investment, and allows contractors to sign up and start working immediately.
Contractors can start with the free plan, and experiment with the system at no cost. When they’re ready, they can upgrade to a paid plan that will provide them with more advanced capabilities, such as managing and planning pre-contractual engagements, analyzing and comparing bids, visual schedule management, advanced estimating tools and more.
As people who understand the challenges in the world of construction, it’s important for us to improve work processes in the industry. There is no reason why contractors should not enjoy the efficiency and convenience that technology allows today in all other areas.
Want to start using ConWize? Follow the link now and sign up for the free plan.
For more details contact
Ran Levi Sody, CRO & Co-Founder
+44 (0)20 8068 4606 | ran@conwize.io
