Bid Management Features in Dynamics 365

Introduction  

In the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), winning projects through bids and proposals is a fiercely competitive commitment. The traditional method of bidding presents several difficulties, including managing enormous volumes of documentation, dealing with version control problems, and conquering barriers to collaboration. In the construction industry, a bid-hit ratio of about 5:1 is deemed successful, indicating that you should land one of every five bids you submit. Fortunately, in an era driven by technology breakthroughs, AEC business can now change their approach to bids and proposals using automated cloud-based software and their capabilities like the customized bid management features in Dynamics 365.  

As someone in the construction business, you may be caught up in one of the following situations if you’re seeing a decline in the efficiency of your construction company’s bidding process and feel that you’re never able to take advantage of possibilities or avoid pitfalls: 

• Your bid estimation process is error-prone.  
• Comprehending a project’s complexities for bidding purposes is cumbersome.  
• It’s difficult to keep up with the fluctuations of the market. 
• Reliability on your suppliers and subcontractors feels risky. 
  The different routes taken by design, engineering, and financing make bid coordination extremely difficult. 
• Although there is room for improvement and streamlining of the bidding process, progress is sometimes hampered by initial expenses, training requirements, and transitional obstacles. 
• It’s practically impossible to match client expectations.  

If these issues feel like something you go through from day to day, this blog will help you realize the difference effective bid management can make. We’ll also introduce you to BUILDFitters, a construction management solution built on the Dynamics 365 ecosystem that introduces bid management features in Dynamics 365. Let’s start! 

Why Is Bid Management Important? 

As an evolving construction firm, you should be able to reply to RFPs (Request for Proposals), RFIs (Request for Information), and RFQs (Request for Quotations) with speed and accuracy. Having centralized data gives you a competitive edge by improving and streamlining estimates and business operations. You can focus on initiatives that bring in money and ensure knowledgeable professionals participate even when they are out in the field by building on knowledge from previous projects. Moreover, you can equip your team with a uniform management solution to fortify the construction bid procedures.  

The bidding procedure is crucial to compete with other construction businesses and safeguard profit margins effectively. Still, due to fragmented, specialized software, leaders find it challenging to collaborate effectively with different experts when creating and evaluating estimates or to get trustworthy data for developing estimates.  

A cloud-based management solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be effectively customized to speed up the bidding process by initially centralizing data from around your company. While Dynamics 365 does not have a dedicated bid management module or feature, its highly customizable capabilities make it an ideal fit for bidding. Its robust capabilities allow it to track project opportunities, create, store, and manage bid documents, and collaborate on bids in real time via document sharing and co-editing features.  

Business leaders can swiftly obtain and use the information required to generate RFPs, RFIs, and RFQs if critical data is easily accessible. When developing a scope of work and cost estimates for a proposal, it’s simpler to collaborate with busy contractors or your field coworkers due to Microsoft Dynamics 365’s enhanced mobility. Project managers may create competitive estimates that satisfy customers’ deadlines and financial constraints while turning a profit if they have access to trustworthy information. 

The Challenges of Bids and Proposals in the AEC Industry:

The AEC sector has its own set of unique challenges and nuances regarding bids and proposals. To effectively obtain projects, AEC professionals need to overcome several obstacles. One of the main challenges is managing massive documentation since bids need thorough and specific project information, such as: 

• Designs 
• Budget projections 
• Schedules  

Moreover, when several team members contribute to the proposal, version control problems frequently occur; thus, keeping the document updated and synchronized is essential. Obstacles to collaboration also exist since AEC businesses need to juggle the work of several disciplines, including engineers, contractors, and architects, to provide a coherent and persuasive offer.  

Read more: Construction Management Issues And Challenges – The General Contractor’s Perspective.  

Optimize your Construction Projects with BUILDFitters! 

Discover how our Microsoft Dynamics 365-based software transforms your bid management and project oversight. Achieve operational excellence and strategic advantages in your construction business. 

How Customized Bid Management Features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Strengthen Bid Process?  

Since Dynamics 365 is a highly customizable platform with vast integration capabilities, it can meet the bidding requirements of the AEC industry. As a result, Dynamics 365’s bid management capabilities provide employees with the information they need to enhance and expedite the construction bid process. Here are five ways how this powerful solution accelerates the bid process: 

1. Boost cooperation by expediting the creation, examination, and approval of RFP and RFQ answers through automated workflows and templates. 
2. When key employees or specialists are working on construction sites, use mobile choices to prevent traffic jams and delays. 
3. Use recent and past project data to produce precise profit-earning forecasts. 
4. Continue to concentrate on initiatives that yield the most return and on high-value clients. 
5. Monitor open bids, including win/loss data, to improve estimates and bids over time. 

When preparing bids for building projects, timing is crucial, and accurate information is essential. When creating RFPs, RFIs, or RFQs, separate, specialized tools cannot provide the required timeliness or accuracy. 

Bid Management Features in Dynamics 365:

Dynamics 365 can be customized to meet the certain requirements of construction bid management in the following ways:  

1. Data Management in One Place: Data centralization is a crucial component that accelerates the preparation, assessment, and approval of RFPs, RFIs, and RFQs (Requests for Quotations). Construction businesses can quickly get the information they need to reply to bids by having all pertinent data in one location.  
2. Automated Processes and Models: Dynamics 365 uses automated workflows and templates to make bid preparation more efficient. By expediting the review and approval process, this automation helps firms react to possibilities more quickly.  
3. Mobility in Field Cooperation: Dynamics 365’s mobile features guarantee that important staff and experts can engage in the bid process even while they are on construction sites. By using the experience of on-site staff members, this mobility helps prevent delays and guarantees that bids are developed and submitted on time.  
4. Reliable and Lucrative Approximations: The technology uses project data from the past and present to provide precise profit-earning forecasts. Construction companies can generate competitive bids that satisfy clients and guarantee revenue by studying previous project results. 
5. Concentrate on High-Value Prospects: Businesses can emphasize high-value clients and initiatives with the biggest profit potential with the aid of Dynamics 365. Moreover, they can improve their bidding tactics by monitoring open bids and their results to concentrate on more likely possibilities. 
6. Merging Project Management with Integration: Keeping track of the countless pieces of information and documentation for every bid may be daunting for construction companies. Integrating Dynamics 365 with project management features allows a more systematic approach to managing bids, encompassing paperwork, revisions, and follow-ups, guaranteeing that nothing is overlooked. 

Effective Bid Management with Dynamics 365 and BUILDFitters 

Earlier in our blog, we discussed how Dynamics 365 can be customized to achieve most things that a project manager or a bid manager would want. However, it is true that Dynamics 365 does not have built-in bidding management features. This is where BUILDFitters takes the stage. It utilizes all the robust capabilities of the Dynamics 365 ecosystem to provide AEC professionals with an end-to-end construction management solution that aligns bidding management and connects it with every phase of the construction project lifecycle. Since BUILDFitters is a pre-built solution, it requires no extra customization for bidding management. It has everything you need. Let’s explore it in detail: 

With BUILDFitters project management, you can enjoy a seamless, trouble-free bidding procedure and obtain prompt, accurate estimates that facilitate timely decision-making and increased productivity.  

• Save time by finding all of the information you need to bid on and on your active contracts in one dashboard.  
• Boost overall productivity and shorten the time it takes to link bids to contracts using automated features.  
• With BUILD Fitters’ powerful estimating features, you can estimate in the cloud and manage your estimates on any device from any location.  
• With automated bid creation, you can eliminate the possibility of double entry, reduce rework, and eliminate redundant data entry.  
• Bids that are digitally generated and awarded can be moved from the sales funnel, saving time and effort compared to the conventional process. 

Let’s see an example of how BUILD Fitters, with customized bid management features in Dynamics 365, streamlines the bidding process:  

A 360-degree view dashboard provided by BUILDFitters provides insights throughout the whole proposal and bidding process. A general contractor can locate more suitable opportunities to bid on and ultimately close the best one with the assistance of an opportunity manager. A screen grab of the dashboard can be seen in the following figure:   

The details page of the dashboard provides users with easy access to information about the site, service type, scope of work, etc. This will enable you to decide on the bid with knowledge. It also outlines the issues that customers are having and how to assist them properly.  

Conclusion 

Finding an effective and advanced construction management software that helps you improve the bidding process can be tough but not impossible. If you’ve read our blog, you understand the modern-day challenges of bidding and how they can be resolved by investing in a software that provides you a bird eye view of estimations, proposals, and bidding processes. Go, successfully land or even exceed that “one out of five bids” of yours with BUILDFitters! 

Discover the Unmatched Benefits of Choosing our Microsoft Dynamics 365 Construction Management Software- BUILDFitters! 

Experience advanced features of our bid management software, built on the market-leading Microsoft Dynamics 365. Maximize efficiency and effectiveness of integrated Project management features for business benefits.