SGM Case Study
"Bid reviews in minutes - not days."
As a 125-person civil engineering firm with offices across Western Colorado, SGM needed a contract and bidding software solution that was powerful enough to handle the largest bidding jobs but easy enough to integrate efficiently. Prior to ContractComplete, SGM’s bidding and tendering process was manual and time-consuming, relying on plan rooms which were difficult to manage. SGM immediately saw a huge difference in efficiency and ease of use with ContractComplete.
The following is a Case Study as to how ContractComplete is well on its way to becoming the key tool in SGM’s contract and bidding administration process.
- ContractComplete provides contract and bidding automation software for the Architect-Engineer-Construction (AEC) industry with a distinct focus on unit price contracts.
- ContractComplete is used by companies across Canada, United States and Australia.
- ContractComplete users have stated they save roughly 3-4 full business days or $4,000 per month.
- ContractComplete works with both the public and private sector and has the highest available security platforms.
Table of Contents
About SGM
SGM is a full-service engineering, consulting and surveying firm who has served public and private sector clients across of Western Colorado for 35 years. SGM is a successful company of experienced engineers and surveyors who believe in integrity and professionalism. Their employees bring diversity and fresh ideas to their fast-paced environment, and are dedicated to providing the best engineering and surveying services to municipalities, the public sector, residential and commercial developments throughout Western and Southwestern Colorado.
SGM engineers specialize in drinking water and wastewater, structural, and municipal services, in addition to construction and land development services for both public and private sectors. SGM prides itself on being a top tier civil engineering company in terms of quality, client commitment and pride of workman-ship.
They have over 100 team members and growing!
The Challenge
Jason Reimer, a Professional Engineer with SGM, was on the hunt to find a system to complement SGM’s current tech stack. SGM has streamlined design and document management; with systems in place, but their bidding processes were manual and time consuming.
SGM needed a contract and bidding management software solution that could automate their manual processes. As is common in the AEC industry, bidding phase budgets are stretched too thin and often exceeded due to contractor coordination and clarifications resulting in addenda. All these items provide value to the development of a project, but take time. Time is money.
Jason was looking for software that was packed with features and automations, but ease of use was also critically important. He had looked at many other systems, but they just didn’t do what he was looking for.
Challenge 1: Getting Enough Bidders
It’s always difficult to know who will actually submit a bid making it difficult to ensure clients receive enough bids.
Challenge 2: Going Over Budgeted Time
The bidding process always seems to take longer than expected with all the bidder questions and addenda involved.
Challenge 3: Time Consuming Paperwork
The bid review process, change orders and payment applications are time consuming, manual and tedious.
Challenge 1:
Getting Enough Bidders
It’s always difficult to know who will actually submit a bid making it difficult to ensure clients receive enough bids.
Challenge 2:
Going Over Budgeted Time
The bidding process always seems to take longer than expected with all the bidder questions and addenda involved.
Challenge 3:
Time Consuming Paperwork
The bid review process, change orders and payment applications are time consuming, manual and tedious.
Overall, SGM wanted to implement a software solution that could save them time, money, and resources. ContractComplete was able to meet their needs and is providing excellent results month after month.
SGM looks forward to continuing to use ContractComplete and using more and more features in the near future.
" When you do the math, this is a no-brainer. There is no other lower hanging fruit in the design-bid-build process to save money and time. "
The First Project
“The first project with ContractComplete was a complete success. I was able to rebid a project with over 90 line items, and after the deadline easily review and compare multiple contractor’s prices in less than 15 minutes, including final highs, lows, averages with a click of a button. In this industry, we are constantly looking for cost-effective and time saving tools to do more with less time and energy. It typically takes us a day or two to turn around bid results, but with ContractComplete, you can do it all in less than 15 minutes.”
The Bidding Process
Jason was able to see which bidders were engaged, easily handle questions and issue addenda to answer questions almost instantaneously.
The Bidding Process
Jason was able to see which bidders were engaged, easily handle questions and issue addenda to answer questions almost instantaneously.
Bid Review
A process that usually takes 8-12 hours took Jason 15 minutes, including highs, lows and average prices.
Bid Review
A process that usually takes 8-12 hours took Jason 15 minutes, including highs, lows and average prices.
Contract Admin
Jason’s first contract was easily awarded to the low bidder. Even the most “old school” contractors were able to submit bids online. The flexibility of the tools allows you to still manage the process offline, import documents later, and provide contract document tracking from start to finish.
Contract Admin
Jason’s first contract was easily awarded to the low bidder. Even the most “old school” contractors were able to submit bids online. The flexibility of the tools allows you to still manage the process offline, import documents later, and provide contract document tracking from start to finish.
With over $5000 saved in just the bidding phase, there is value that can be added back into the design phase or moved into the construction administration phase to provide clients more bang for their buck.
Future Plans
Jason’s experience using ContractComplete was so positive, he plans to incorporate the contract bidding and automation software into the workflow of the firm’s branches across Colorado as soon as possible. With the ability to set multiple company divisions within one account, SGM principals can have full transparency across all of their projects. They can easily see how projects are progressing, from bidding stage all the way through to the final payment app.
- Setup Company Divisions for all 7 offices, allowing Principals to oversee bidding and contract activities.
- Invite SGM Project Managers, Clients and Bidders to collaborate. Increasing company wide transparency.
- Use historical contract prices to facilitate construction budgets in the future.