Cedrus Internet Solutions
Cedrus Internet Solutions (CIS) was founded in 1999. The name was derived from Cedrus Deodora, an exotic tree that our CEO Victor Terblanche used to export in his forestry days.
The original concept was an online business directory, like Brabys, which was broken up into a franchisable metropolis, called www.FindABusiness.co.za. At that stage, there were 6 employees.
We populated databases starting with the larger metropoles. By the end of this project, we had in excess of 16 000 companies listed on our database.
www.123contracting.co.za
The idea was shelved in May 2000 when Mr Terblanche was approached with what was then believed to be a better prospect. The idea was to convert Bills of Quantity into electronic form by using a process called OCR (Optical Character Recognition). We would also convert our current database applications into the Building and Construction realm.
Soon subscribers (developers, consultants, contractors, suppliers and manufacturers) were prompting us for additional services like:
- Directory of Industry contacts
- Researching and Publishing of Tenders
- Document Collections
- Site Inspection Reminders
- Tender Awards
- Site Attendance Registers
Daily Tenders
The additional services soon became our primary focus and Daily Tenders was born in 2002. An influx of subscribers helped the company grow from strength to strength to what was then known in the Industry as the leading information service provider. Staff compliment jumped to 35.
With the additions of Private Projects and Price Assist Live (PAL), Daily Tenders became the building & construction industries’ continent-wide virtual marketplace where information was disseminated and compiled for distribution. This was to facilitate opportunities via the procurement process and ranged from the initial project concept to the adjudication of material prices.
Leads 2 Business
In 2005 PAL became a fully-fledged service called Leads 2 Quotes (L2Q) – an online platform for contractors to distribute bills of quantities to their sub-contractors & suppliers for pricing.
Our core services: Projects, Tenders & Leads 2 Quotes necessitated a name change as we weren’t just focusing on tenders anymore; our subscribers were looking for opportunities in the private sector as well. Leads 2 Business was born.
In 2012 our services were combined into a single website. Staff compliment doubled, reaching 70.
We’ve added several services since then, including an API which allows our leads to be fed into subscribers’ CRM systems for a personalised experience.
Our Company has always been guided by our subscribers’ needs and evolved to meet the challenges of an ever-changing industry and will continue doing so.
To view more Articles, please visit our Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit Leads 2 Business Wiki.
I joined Leads 2 Business in February 2005 as an Account Executive. I was promoted to Sales Manager in February 2007, and to Sales Director in November 2012. I manage the Sales, Telesales & Retention teams nationwide. I’m passionate about our company & staff, as well as the great opportunities we bring to our subscribers.
