Subcontractor bid invitations and tracking for a commercial contractor

Situation

Inviting subcontractors to bid and tracking their answers ran through a construction management platform and a spreadsheet of subcontractors. Following up with each company before a due date was done by hand.

Solution

A web system supports the contractor's bid team. It holds a directory of subcontractors by trade, with minority- and women-owned business status and the estimators at each company. For each project, staff choose the trades and companies to invite, and the system emails every estimator at those companies.

Subcontractors answer with "Will Bid" or "Will Not Bid" links in the email, and the system records each answer. Addenda go to every company that has not declined, and reminders go out on set days before the due date. Each project links to the bid documents folder the team already uses, so drawings and specifications stay where they are.

Design decisions

Before development began, Jeff Hunt wrote a specification of the core functions, covering their data, screens and deliverables. The client rated each function as essential or optional and raised questions, which Jeff answered in a third round of review. That process settled details such as several bid contacts per company, several addenda per project and a win/loss field so the company can track its win rate.

Staff decide who goes on each bid list. A company that declines receives no further email about that project, and no one receives the same invitation twice.

Outcome

The contractor can invite subcontractors to bid from one system that holds its projects and subcontractor contacts. Each answer is recorded as soon as it arrives, and reminders go out without anyone tracking due dates by hand.