How Sale Group increased efficiency and reduced risk in pre-construction
23 April 2024
About Sale Group
Formed in 2000, Sale Group has grown into one of the largest family-owned businesses in the UK, specialising in building services that can carry out multiple mechanical and maintenance services to a multitude of high-profile and lucrative buildings and clients.
Their project values range up to over £6 million across a wide range of sectors, including fast-track CAT A&B fit-outs, new and refurbishment offices, health and welfare, leisure, retail, historic, and sound studios.
As their projects get larger, they continue to ensure that clients at every level are serviced while maintaining their client focus with a user-friendly approach and attitude.
The Challenge
Before transitioning to E1, Sale Group faced challenges in managing enquiries efficiently. Spending too much time on manual processes often caused stress and frustration. Sending documents via email, and platforms like Dropbox and WeTransfer, was time-consuming and prone to risk, and there were difficulties tracking and organising project documentation.
With packages and projects getting bigger and bigger, using email and file sharing was becoming labour-intensive, with up to three-quarters of a day being spent on sending out enquiries for a single project.
The Solution
E1 helps contractors derisk and speed up tender send-outs. The platform provides traceability and control over document distribution. By tracking supply chain responses, document status and quotes, E1 ensures maximum coverage and less risk for every project.
“We used to be able to send out 1 tender per day. Now, we can send out 3-4 by using E1. It’s so streamlined.”
– Veronika Green, Head of Pre-Construction, Sale Group
Managing Risk
Before implementing E1, Sale Group faced risks in controlling and distributing documentation to their supply chain. There was no oversight into what had been downloaded, by whom, or when.
Managing documentation through emails made it challenging to keep track of everything the supply chain had received. A lot of manual work was required to keep continuous records on servers, with the risk of human error at play.
WeTransfer and Dropbox links often expired, making it hard to review what was previously sent and required setting up new folders for additional documents, leading to manual organisation efforts and increased time consumption.
“We used to spend so long double checking all the documents; now it’s on E1, it’s easy to see the documents, revisions and what has happened, in the one place. Our team and our supply chain can easily see which documents have been issued and when. It’s very clear.”
– Cameron Hardstone, Sale Group
Improving communication and collaboration
By centralising project information, enquiries and documents on E1, team members can easily collaborate, access necessary files, and ensure that everyone is on the same page, fostering better communication and teamwork within the organisation.
E1 has made administrative tasks more manageable, even when team members are on holiday. This has reduced panic and stress levels within the department and ensured smoother operations.
Collaborating with the supply chain has changed. Follow-up calls and spreadsheets used to be fundamental to managing supply chain responses. Cameron Hardstone from the Pre-Construction team explains, “With E1, I really like that we can automatically see when they’ve downloaded it. So now we know when they’ve got it, and it gives us the peace of mind that they have received it. When there’s been no movement, and no one’s clicked on it, we can give them a call.”
“Normally, I’d panic when people would go on holiday or be off sick, as this could take a massive toll on the rest of the people in the department. Enquiries would be hard to prioritise. With E1, it’s so much more manageable.”
Excellence in Efficiency
The transition to E1 has made the workload more manageable, reducing the massive toll of administrative work and enhancing overall operational efficiency.
The document matrix, E1’s feature for breaking up trade-specific packages, is making life easier for the team at Sale Group. “It’s very intuitive, so that helps. It’s just obvious,” says Veronika Green, explaining that the package break-up alone could take over half of a day. “Everything gets processed much quicker now, so instead of four hours, we spend 30 minutes on it.”
“When people start using it for the first time, they say, wow…this is so intuitive- it’s magic”
Sale Group have also used E1 to manage delays in projects progressing to award. E1 allows them to leverage the work they have done months or years before, without starting the process again. “Having E1, it’s now so easy to go back to a project from a year ago and get information out to the same supply chain, rather than having to start it all over again.” By leveraging historical tender information that’s centralised in one place, contractors can easily re-open a closed or on-hold project in E1 and access the information again, reducing re-work and human error in tendering.
Delivering a great service
Transitioning to a new software can always present challenges in change management and learning new processes. For Sale Group, adopting E1 couldn’t have been easier. ”It was hardly noticeable. We took to it straight away and I’m also finding all of our new trainees and subcontractors take to it so easily.”
For Sale Group, customer service is key, and E1 is delivering great service to their team. “We haven’t really had to reach out to them much, but when we have, the response is pretty much instant…they always want to listen and want to hear feedback. It always seems that there is a way either to make it different or better. It all gets taken into consideration for future development”
“I love how friendly everyone is; the product is constantly being developed and made better to suit the customers.”
– Veronika Green, Head of Pre-Construction, Sale Group
