How Universal Constructions won a tender on a Connected commercial workflow
A subcontract-driven civil and building contractor tested Methvin directly against its established Excel process on a live tender, then used the platform to win the project and shape Methvin’s product roadmap.
A live tender, tested against Excel
Universal Constructions ran a high-volume tender operation on multiple concurrent bids. A typical bid required building a detailed BoQ, pricing internal resources, adjudicating subcontractors, and producing rated and client-ready versions of the same commercial data.
Historically that workflow produced multiple copies of the same information, maintained separately across every stage of adjudication and negotiation.
UC tested Methvin directly against its established Excel process on a live tender. Methvin’s version was awarded the project, and the estimating team’s workflow-level feedback went straight into the product roadmap.
Company Profile · Universal Constructions
Moving beyond disconnected spreadsheets
UC's tendering process runs on more than producing a single price. A typical bid requires building a detailed BoQ, pricing internal resources, adjudicating subcontractors, and producing rated and client-ready versions of the same commercial data.
Version control at the heart of the commercial process
Historically, this workflow produced multiple copies of the same information, maintained separately across every stage of adjudication and negotiation.
Three BoQs, maintained by hand
Risk a subcontract-driven business can’t afford
Modules deployed across the commercial workflow
UC's engagement centres on the parts of Methvin that carry a tender from first price to client handover.
Estimating
- Tender BoQ import and management
- Internal resources and rate libraries
- Trade and package breakdown
- Rated and client-ready BoQ output
Adjudication
- Subcontractor package creation
- Internal baseline pricing
- Quote comparison and negotiation
- Commercial trail through to final rate
Settings & Configuration
- Custom trade structures
- Dissection code alignment
- Administrator-managed setup
- Configured to UC's own methodology
Before Methvin vs After Methvin
| Area | Before Methvin | After Methvin |
|---|---|---|
| BoQ Versions | Separate Tender, rated and client BoQs maintained by hand across spreadsheets | Connected One dataset carried through tender, rated and client views |
| Adjudication | Manual Subcontractor pricing compared by hand against internal expectations | Structured Packages, baseline pricing and comparison managed in one workspace |
| Trade Structure | Reconciled UC's dissection codes matched manually against a generic structure | Configurable Trades managed directly through Settings to match UC's own codes |
| Performance | 120s Full recalculation on a large dataset took up to 120 seconds | 15x faster Same-scale recalculation completed in 8 seconds |
What a connected commercial workflow delivered
What working directly with Methvin's product and engineering teams delivered on a live, subcontract-driven tender operation.
- ✓Live tender priced in both Excel and Methvin, with Methvin's version awarded the project
- ✓Full recalculation cut from 120 seconds to 8 seconds on a 35,000 bill item / 60,000 worksheet item dataset
- ✓Server infrastructure upgraded ahead of a four-tender month, including a migration to Redis caching
- ✓Adjudication workflow enhancement scoped directly with UC via a live walkthrough
- ✓Internal baseline pricing paths mapped ahead of subcontractor quotes arriving
- ✓Trade structures configurable to UC's own dissection codes
- ✓Same-evening support response securing UC's BoQ structure on a live award
Where the value shows up
Version control risk and recalculation speed sit directly on the critical path of a subcontract-driven tender operation.
| Value Driver | Basis | Estimated Annual Value |
|---|---|---|
| Recalculation performance | Full recalculation on a 35,000 bill item / 60,000 worksheet item dataset | 120s → 8s (15x faster) |
| Infrastructure scaling | Redis caching migration and capacity increase ahead of a four-tender month | Sustained performance through peak load |
| Version control | Tender, rated and client BoQs carried from one dataset instead of maintained separately | Reduced duplicate entry and version risk |
| Support responsiveness | Same-evening guidance on structuring a BoQ following a live award | 5-minute response, immediate live call |
| Overall | Faster, lower-risk commercial turnaround |
In their own words
We see Methvin not as an off-the-shelf tool, but as a platform we help shape.
What made the evaluation work
- Testing Methvin directly against a live, Excel-run tender gave UC a genuine before/after comparison rather than a demo-based evaluation.
- Feeding workflow-level feedback, not just bug reports, to the product team shaped real roadmap decisions within the same cycle.
- Establishing an internal pricing baseline before subcontractor quotes arrive keeps adjudication commercially grounded from the outset.
- Configuring trade structures to match existing dissection codes reduces friction rather than forcing a new coding system onto the business.
- Performance headroom matters most heading into concentrated tender periods, not only in steady-state use.
What UC is taking forward
- Develop the awarded, dual-tendered project into a full UC/client-ready BoQ within Methvin.
- Adopt the dedicated adjudication tab once released, keeping packages open alongside resources.
- Apply the internal baseline pricing workflow on upcoming adjudications ahead of subcontractor quotes.
- Configure trade structures against UC's dissection codes as further tenders move onto the platform.
Key Takeaways
Bring your tender workflow onto one connected platform
Whether you are pricing a subcontract package or running a high-volume tender desk, Methvin connects estimating, adjudication and BoQ output from first price through to client handover.