As the world continues to open back up, we’re starting to see more signs of recovery in the construction industry. Research from Dodge Data & Analytics and Autodesk shows that bidding activity has been increasing since the start of the year. In fact, bidding activity in BuildingConnected was up 36% in January 2021, compared to a three-month pre-pandemic average.
This is great news overall, and as a contractor, you can capitalize on these opportunities by optimizing your systems to keep up with the increasing number of bids coming your way.
The best way to do that is to eliminate cumbersome tools like spreadsheets.
Spreadsheets are useful for tracking basic information but they’re not ideal for higher level processes and tasks such as bid management.
Since the bidding process requires you to manually enter and track numerous bits of info, putting everything in a spreadsheet can get messy and confusing. This could lead to missed bids and loss of potential work.
What’s more, collaboration can be a pain with spreadsheets. You can’t share or manage construction files in a centralized manner, so people typically end up emailing each other different versions of the file, resulting in issues with version history and conflict between updates.
Another problem with using spreadsheets? It’s much more difficult to analyze data. While they can display raw information in neat rows and columns, extracting useful insights from spreadsheets is largely a manual process.
All this to say that spreadsheets aren’t great for managing bids and they’re certainly not going to help you win more work.
If you’re still using spreadsheets, it’s high time to replace them with a centralized bidding management system. The right solution can streamline the bidding process and make collaboration easier, ultimately helping you win more bids.
Our recent guide discusses how a centralized bid management system can benefit subcontractors. Download it for free.
Read on to explore some of the key insights you’ll find in the guide.
A centralized bid management system refers to a single platform on which you can centrally manage the entire bidding process. It’s an excellent solution for contractors, because it enables you to track and handle all your bids from one place, which can help you increase your win rates and revenues.
Case in point: Bowman Flooring Contractor, a Georgia-based specialty contractor increased its win rate by 25% and revenue by $9 million when the company adopted a new bid management system.
The team at Bowman used to rely on Excel and emails to manage bids, and they decided to implement bid management technology to improve their processes.
In doing so, Bowman was able to be more organized and keep all the necessary bidding information in one place. The new software made it easy for teams to track and assign bids and they were able to prioritize jobs that were more likely to win. What’s more, they could pull up past project estimates, which led to better estimates on current projects.
“Our new software totally changed the way we do business,” said Mike Adams, Senior Project Manager at Bowman Flooring Contractor.
We’ve discussed the general benefits of a centralized bid management system, now let’s take a look at the specific advantages of having one.
Having a centralized system that's accessible to multiple team members reduces the need for double entry and other manual tasks. Unlike using spreadsheets, which involves manually entering data, a centralized system for bid management lets everyone work on the same information at any given time.
As a result, subcontractors can minimize errors, confusion, and tedious work like reviewing and re-entering data.
Juggling multiple bids can be a nightmare when you’re using spreadsheets and other manual methods. These cumbersome tools can’t centrally store data, so it’s easy for information to slip through the cracks.
When you have a centralized bid management system, you can easily get a bird's eye view of the entire bid process. You’ll also have a single source of truth when it comes to the status of all your bids and invites, so you’ll never miss an opportunity again.
A centralized bid management system allows teams to work together without a hitch. Since information is stored and accessed in the cloud, team members can collaborate in real-time and everyone can always get their hands on the most updated information. This eliminates confusion and miscommunication, which leads to a smoother bid management process.
A centralized bid management system also improves the process of bidding on and bidding out. When soliciting bids from other subcontractors, the information they submit feeds directly into the bid, so there's no need to re-enter the same info.
Having the ability to manage both bids in and bids out from a centralized platform paves the way for more competitive final bids. You can track proposals in one place and make data-driven decisions before submitting your bid.
To win more bids in today’s increasingly competitive market, you need all the help you can get. A centralized bid management system enables you to stay organized, save time, and understand your bids better, so you can win more projects and continue to grow.
Download our free ebook to learn how a centralized bid management system can help you improve your business.
