Working with Trades & Coverage

Owned by Zach Johnson (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Oct 01, 2024 by Deirdre Pearson
12 min read

Within your Managed Projects, you will see a tab with more information about the Trades & Coverage for that project. This tab provides unmatched visibility into the health of your preconstruction project, including your invited and accepted bidders, the CSI codes for those bidders, and a ranking of every bidder, organized by trade and their firm's capabilities as it relates to the needs of your project. Together, this information ensures that you get the best coverage for your project. 

Understanding the Window

The window displays the CSI codes that are included in the project. Expanding the line for a code displays the invited and suggested bidders whose trades match the code.

The colored tab to the left of each code line indicates the level of bidder response for the code: 

 

 

  • Green - There are sufficient bidders to meet the target number.  

  • Yellow - There are bidders but not enough to meet the target number. 

  • Red - There are no bidders for the code.   

To expand the list and see the invited bidders for each code, click either:

  • The line for the code, or

  • Expand All at the top right of the section to expand the view to see all of the codes and the associated bidders.

 

Note

The suggested bidders for each code are displayed in a separate section below the invited bidders:

Viewing the Bid Intent Summary

At the top of the list is a tab that displays a color-coded bar summarizing the bid responses from invited bidders:

 

The color code for the responses are as follows:

  • Blue - The number of bidders that have submitted a bid.

  • Green - The number of bidders that have indicated an intent to bid.

  • White - The number of bidders that have not responded to the invitation.

Understanding Bidder Response Goals

The bid response goal indicates the number of bidders for the code needed to satisfy the project requirements:

 

To set a bidder goal, click the arrow on the box and select the number of bidders for the goal.  Your change is automatically saved.  

 

Using the Actions Menu

The trade Actions menu at the top left of the window lets you perform a variety of tasks with the trades in the list, as described in the following table.

 

Option

Description

Add Trade(s)

Use to add trades to the project:

 

Note

Trades already included in the project are marked blue. Expanding the trade displays the code included in the project:

  • Click Apply to add the selected trade to the project.

Remove  Trade(s)

Use to remove trades from the project. Note that bidders only assigned to removed trades are moved to Unassigned.

Apply Trade Template

Use to apply one of your saved trade templates to the project.

Save Trade Template

Use to save the trades assigned to the project as a template for future use.

Print All Bidders

Use to print a list of bidders name and their response.

Export All Bidders

Use to export the bidders list in a formatted Excel spreadsheet. Information includes company name and contact information, trade, date invited and bid response.

Understanding the Bidders List

Below the entry for each trade are the bidders for that trade. The following table describes the information included in the entry for each bidder.  

 

Field

Description

Company Name

The name of the company and contact for the bid.

Contact

Activity

The Bidder Activity menu displays the level of bidder activity on the project:

 

The three bars indicate the level of activity. On the line for each level is a description, count and date occurring for bidder for the corresponding level. 

Note

You can use the View drop-down menu to filter the list by specific actions.

Bid Intent

The bid intent for the company, which can be one of the following: 

  • Apply to All Invited Trades

  • No Response

  • Under Review

  • Bidding 

  • Not Bidding 

  • Bid Received

To change the bid intent, click the arrow and select from the following:

  • No Response

  • Under Review

  • Bidding

  • Not Bidding 

  • Bid Received

Note

You can apply the intent selection to all companies in the list by clicking Apply to All Invited Trades at the top of the selection list.

Phone

The phone and email address for the bidder. 

Note

Invalid email addresses are listed in red.

Email Address

Directory

The company is in your Directory listing.

History

Indicates the bid history for the company.

Call Note

Click to access the Call Notes for the bidder.

Note

A dark Call Note icon indicates the presence of an existing note:

See Setting up Call Notes for more information.

MBE

Indicates that the company is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). 

Minority group members are United States citizens who are Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American. Ownership by minority individuals means the business is at least 51% owned by such individuals or, in the case of a publicly-owned business, at least 51% of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals i.e. the management and daily operations are controlled by those minority group members. 

Filtering the Bidders List

To filter the list,

  • click Filters at the top of the page to display the Filters list.

  • Select the filtering options from the list. Note that the list updates dynamically with each applied filter.

  • Click the X at the top of the list to close the menu when you are done.

To reset the menu and clear all filters,

  • click Clear All from the top of the Filters menu.

Adding Bidders

You can add bidders to the list using a variety of options.

To add bidders,

  • from the top of the list, click + Add Bidders and select from the following.

The following table describes the options you have for adding bidders to the project.

 

Option

Description

By Search

Locates qualified bidders with trades matching the project requirements and physical location near your selected project. A new Add Bidders window will appear with the list of bidders that qualified for the project, based on your criteria.

Understanding Your List of Search Results

The bidders list includes the company name, contact person and contact information. Also included is the distance from the project and trades.

  • The ConstructConnect logo is displayed when the company is part of the ConstructConnect network of trade contractors.

  • The prior qualification icon is displayed when the company has submitted a prior qualification form.

  • The Engagement Score indicates the level of engagement for the project and is derived from multiple factors. The higher scores appear at the top of the list and indicate a better than average opportunity that this bidder will respond favorably to your invitation to bid.

  • Also included are entries for History, Directory and bid response.

You can sort the list by any of the fields in the list.

Applying Filters to Your Search List

The Filters menu lets you apply filters to refine the bidder candidates in your search list. Choose from Bidder Source, Contact Lists, Trades, Location, Labor Affiliation, and Certifications. If any existing filters related to the bidders are in place, they will be applied at this time.

Explanation of Filters

 

To filter the list, select any or all of the filters listed below to apply them to your list of managed projects. The list refreshes each time you apply a filter. You can always return the list to the original bidder set by clicking Reset at the top of the menu.

  • Bidder Source allows you to select subcontractors you and/or someone from your team has added to your Directory or from the ConstructConnect network of vetted trade contractors. You can select one or both options to filter your managed projects.

    Note

    If you do check either box (Directory or Network), then subcontractors from both your directory and the ConstructConnect network will be added to your displayed results.

 

  • Contact Lists are lists of contacts that you or someone in your company has created in your Directory. Apply this filter to only see projects associated with your contacts for a particular list or lists.

  • The Trades filter allows you to sort projects according to a particular trade or class of trades.

  • You can filter by Location one of two ways: by office location (within a 100 mile or less radius), or by expanding your search to include projects outside your search area (within a 100 mile radius).

  • Labor Affiliation lets you filter projects by Non-Union, Union, or Prevailing Wage. You can also choose to sort projects according to those that do not wish to share their labor affiliation or those projects where labor affiliation doesn’t apply.

  • Filter projects according to Certifications, including applicable minority certifications.

Adding A Bidder to Your List

After you have completed your search, select the bidder you want added from the list and click Add Bidder.  That bidder will be added to the project, and you will be returned to the main All Bidders List window.

By Email

Use to add bidders to the project using the company or contact email address.  

To use this feature, click By Email.

Result: The Add Bidders menu is displayed. 

  • Enter the email addresses for the bidders you want to add in the box.

  • When you are done, click Add Bidder.

By Contact List

Lets you add bidders using the companies contacts in your custom lists:

 

The menu lets you add bidders using two methods:

  • With matching trades and location. This option selects more distinct information for the project.

  • Using all the bidders in your list. This method can add bidders not necessarily matching the project requirements.

When you are done, click Add to add the selected contacts to the project bidders list.

Create Contact

To create a contact, see Working with the Directory.

Auto-add Bidders

Use to have the system automatically select bidders based on their Bidder Score.

 

To use this feature, click Auto-add Bidders.

 

About Bidder Scores

 

Bidder Scores are a way to quickly identify the most likely respondents to your bids. These scores are calculated based on the bidder’s history with you, the bidder’s activity in ConstructConnect, and their profile completion and subscription level.

 

We score bidders higher if they have high levels of activity on your previous invites. Next comes contacts that you haven’t invited yet but are highly engaged in the ConstructConnect platform and those that subscribe to ConstructConnect, since they are more likely to be responsive in the future. Contacts with low activity will be scored lower.

 

Scores that vary by a few points are still close enough to consider and can help you identify responsive contacts faster. Bidders will be added to trades are a match between their profile and the project.

Using the Trade Actions Menu

The Trade Actions menu lets you perform a variety of tasks with the bidders for each trade on the project:

 

To use the menu,

  • select the bidders you want to work with and then select the option from the list.

Note

You must first select at least one bidder to activate all the options in the menu.

The following table describes the functions you can perform with the Trade Actions menu.

 

 

Option

Description

Trade

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Self-Performing

Indicates that the bidder can perform the task of a Self-Performing contractor.

Copy Selected Trade

Use to copy the selected bidders to a trade or trades. You can select to always use the selected bidders on the trade or trades. 

Remove Selected From Trade

Use to remove the selected bidders from the trade. You can select to never use the bidder on the trade.

Remove Selected From Project

Use to remove the selected bidders from the project.

Print Trade Bidders

Use to print a list of the bidders

Export Trade Bidders

Use to export a list of the bidders in a formatted spreadsheet.

Communications

 

 

 

 

Send Follow-Up Notice

Use to send a follow-up reminder notice about the invitation to bidders:

 

You can select to send the notice to bidders that fall into either or both of the following categories:

  • No response

  • Under review

When you are ready to send the notice,

  • click Send < x > Notice(s).

Note

The number of bidders in either category is displayed on the line for the response type. The total bidders included in the notice is displayed on the Send Notice button.

Send Invitation to Selected

Use to send the current ITB to the selected bidder. See Working with Invitations for more information.

Resend Invitation to Selected

Use to resend the most recent invitation to the selected bidders.

Send Custom Message to Selected

Use to send a custom message to bidders.

To use this feature,

  • with the message recipients selected, click Send Custom Message to Selected.

  • In the Send Custom Message menu, select the template for your message.

  • In the Message box, enter the message text.

  • When you are ready, click Send Message.

Note

  • Click the Recipients tab to see the contacts for the message. You can delete any of the recipients from the message. This does not remove the bidder from the project.

  • The Message Preview displays how the final message will appear to recipients.

Understanding the Suggested Bidders List

The Suggested Bidders list is below the invited bidders list for each trade and displays bidders that may be a potential fit for the project's trade requirements. Suggested bidders can be viewed in three categories by clicking the tabs at the top of the list:

  • All - These are a combination of bidders in your directory and those in the ConstructConnect network.

  • My Directory - These are bidders in your network that may be a good fit with the project but have not been invited. For more information, see Working with the Directory.

  • Network - Bidders that are part of the ConstructConnect network but are not in your directory.

The following is the information in the list for each potential bidder:

 

Field

Description

Company Name

The company and contact name.

Note

Clicking on the company or contact name opens the details page for the selected.

Name

Distance

The company distance from the project.

Directory

The company is in your Directory listing.

History

Indicates the bid history for the company.

Response

The response history for the company.

Engagement Score

Indicates the level of activity the bidder has performed on the project.

Action

Click +Add to add the bidder to the bidder's list.

Working with Call Notes

Call Notes are used to indicate the communication status with the bidder and are displayed on the line for bidders in the matching trades list. A shaded Call Note icon indicates the presence of an existing note:

 

Note

Hovering over a note with existing content displays the note text:

To access Call Notes from the Bidder's list, click on the Call Note icon on the line for the bidder.

Result: The Call Note menu for the bidder is displayed:  

 

Note

The top section of the menu displays the name and contact information for the company.

Viewing and Setting the Bidder Status

The bidder status panel on the right of the menu displays the CSI codes that apply to the selected bidder and options for setting the bidder's status. You can change the response by clicking on the arrow and selecting a different response. The Bidder status can be set to one of the following: 

 

Note

Changes to this setting are saved immediately.

Adding A Call Note Status

To add a call status, use the drop-down Call Status menu to select the appropriate call status.You can enter a note here, too, if needed. When you are done, click Add Call Note.

Result: The Call Note is added to the bidder's profile.

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