Likelihood to Recommend I think the complexity and cost of the program make it particularly useful, in situations where: the project is relatively large, with a wide variety of specialties that interact and depend on one another, and with specialists who are not physically together and whose communication and understanding is vital for the proper development of the project. If the project does not meet these characteristics, it is preferable to use less complex tools, cheaper, and that require less effort training the staff to use the software in question.
Read full review SmartBid is also very useful for conducting sub-contracting analysis and management simulations in the didactic field. The procedures for sharing documents are helpful, but the graphic can be improved. Many forms can be pre-filled. This helps a lot in saving time and money! SmartBid is great for exporting and/or sending single or mass emails. However, as mentioned, it would be useful to simplify some pre-construction processes and improve the overall communication
Read full review Pros It allows the different specialists or users, to make virtual and quick analyzes that have been translated into the rapid resolution of problems. Bentley Navigator allowed me to incorporate and manage important amounts of information that were key in the design phase, and that being inputs for different areas could be a source of conflict. The conflicts that have been generated are much smaller than those seen in similar projects previously carried out without the help of this tool. Allowing the visualization of the information in 3D models, added to its capacity to export 3D models as PD files, has allowed to increase the fluidity and communication of information with the client, which has translated into a reduction of the hours invested by the technical manager in that activity. Read full review It's very easy to set up a job and manage who receives solicitations. You can also keep detailed notes on who've you contacted and see if they're actually downloading and reviewing the documents. You can add a confidentiality agreement clause which they must accept before accessing the documents. It then stores this information if it ever needs to be accessed. This is much cleaner and easier then sending out a NDA form and having the subcontractor return it before actually sending drawings/docs. You can send Invitations to Bid and set it up to continue sending these ITB's until the subcontractor responds. However, this can also be a negative point because once you set up a delayed ITB, it doesn't update as the subcontractors view and respond to the ITB's. So if a sub is "Not Responded" and you set up a delayed ITB to fire off every day for 5 days, and the sub responds after day 2, that sub will continue to receive ITB's for all 5 days. Uploading drawings is quick and easy. It's especially convenient if you link to one of your cloud services such as Egnyte, Google Drive, etc. The search tools are quick and easy and often very accessible from any page. Read full review Cons It could give alert messages warning that the information that is of shared use, has the latest version, with all the updated modifications. The information contained in the visual reports currently generated by the software could be expanded. Read full review We have seen intermittent problems with notes disappearing. Ability to have more than one project bidding open at the same time/on multiple windows. Mobile apps. Read full review Support Rating SmartBid has an excellent support team that is always at your service. Any problem I've had (when I've even had them) has been resolved almost immediately, along with tips on how to avoid them in the future. If you're looking for a program with excellent customer service, look no further than SmartBid.
Read full review Alternatives Considered The tools and functionalities that have been used previously, are not commercial software, they have been software developed internally, of course much simpler and less functional than commercial software such as Bentley and its competition. This fact clearly obeyed a guideline of the organization that aimed to minimize the costs associated with the acquisition of software such as the Bentley.
As you learn from the experience and mistakes, once you lost a lot of time and money because you did not have the necessary tools to guarantee the timely flow of information, between personnel who were physically distant from each other but who needed of a very high technical interaction. As a result of this fact, the use of tools such as this was proposed as a test, in order to evaluate its real usefulness over time.
Read full review SmartBid is used by more of the contractors that we happen to do lots of work with. It has basically the same features. However, SmartBid will let subcontractors view all the jobs a general contractor is bidding, even ones we were never invited to. So it has the potential to bring more opportunities.
Read full review Return on Investment The frequency and quality of information flow between field and office staff has improved. The costs for cellular use concepts associated with the sharing of information associated with the projects where the software has been used have been reduced compared to projects where more traditional control tools have been used. Read full review It is a big time saver compared to sending out individual emails. It saves time in having multiple individual databases for company contact info. It ensures that everyone is getting the same information. Read full review ScreenShots