Two months with Cobrief have changed how Skaaret Landskap and SL Stenlegging work with tenders. – It takes us less time to see what the job is about and what qualification requirements are imposed, says Vaar Havnelid, administrative manager at Skaaret Landskap.
Before, Skaaret Landskap worked on public tenders by using large spreadsheets in Excel. Now they get tender alerts based on geography, type of job and subject area. They pick out current competitions, distribute responsibilities and upload requests that come directly from contractors.
– We do most things in Cobrief now. Several people have access, and different people are in charge of different tenders. It provides a completely different workflow and structure than before.
- The biggest time saving is in the selection itself. We get a quick overview of what is to be delivered when, if we have the capacity and whether we meet qualification requirements.
Instead of having to plow through all of the procurement documents, they quickly get a picture of the its content, the requirements and the scope.
– It's much easier to get an overview. We get to the core faster, and can "weed out" what is not applicable.
Smaller businesses may find public tenders to be overwhelming. Vaar believes it is primarily about structure.
– It's not scary, but it does require you to have everything in order. You must have good routines.
She would like to see more smaller businesses sign up, but sees that the eligibility requirements are tough.
– For smaller companies, it can be difficult to reach, given the demands placed on turnover, resources and reference projects. The Oslo model also demands its own, she says.
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– The Oslo model is about ensuring good working conditions, the use of apprentices and skilled workers, and preventing social dumping. We see that as positive thing.
On the environmental side, Vaar believes that it will be easier when everything is set as eligibility requirements.
– It is much more orderly when environment is a qualification requirement. Then everyone knows the rules of the game. That leaves similarity and less room for speculation.
If there's one thing she would urge those creating the tenders to do, it's this:
– Create a competitive basis that leaves no room for interpretation. It makes it easier to ensure both predictability and equal treatment.
For businesses that want to save time creating new revenue.
Jonas Klafstad
– Vaar Havnelid hits the nail on the head here. Public tenders are not scary, but they do require you to have everything in order.
This comes from co-founder and CEO of Cobrief, Jonas Klafstad.
– There should be no need to spend hours in large Excel-documents just to find out if you meet the qualification requirements or not. Good routines are often the difference between drowning in administration and actually creating a winning bid. When Skaaret Landskap now spend a fraction of their time “weeding away” irrelevant tenders, they save both time and resources. That gives them more time for what actually matters: to find interesting tenders, and to create great bids that win the tender.
He finds it very motivating to see that Cobrief creates better workflow among users.
– We are looking forward to contributing further with Skaaret Landskap and with their work on public tenders.