28 Jun 2022

Staff Spotlight: Nirasha Rampersad

by | posted in: Staff Spotlight | 0
Nirasha Rampersad- doc

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.

About Nirasha Rampersad

I started working for Leads to Business June 2017 as Support Assistance in L2Q.

15 Feb 2022

A Day in the Life of the Leads 2 Quotes Department

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General | 0

Upon arriving at the office, a cup of coffee is the first (read: most essential) aspect to attend to. Once the coffee has been made, it is time to read through the emails. L2Q Requests are checked and moved to their folder. The L2Q Requests that have not been uploaded before, are left in order, to be attended to on a first-come, first-served basis. The L2Q Requests that have been uploaded before, are assigned to the relevant person to attend to.

Once the emails have been attended to, it is back to the drawing board. Outstanding bills from the previous day are completed and the next is attended to in order.

PDF bills are converted to excel and then checked word for word and quantity for quantity, before being traded and uploaded. Excel bills are processed and checked before being traded and uploaded.

Buyers are contacted to find out if follow-ups are required on their control lists. Vendors and subcontractors are contacted as required, and feedback is provided to the contractors. Closed tenders are followed up on to find out if they have been awarded and to which company/companies. The relevant companies are contacted to obtained the required information and the awards are updated and sent out.

During the process of working on the bills, control lists and awards, we are required to answer calls on our assigned days. We also deal with telephonic enquiries from L2Q Subscribers, as well as, email enquiries from colleagues and subscribers. We assist with training subscribers on Leads 2 Busines and submit content for our Social Media Publications.

Should there be a day when we are not swamped with bills, we assist where needed, should that be Directory, Tenders or Projects.

We are always busy and love raising the L2B Flag high.

 

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.

About Cecile Van Deventer

I joined the L2Q Team in 2006, as a L2Q Support Assistant and have been the HOD since 2010. I supervise L2Q Bills, Daily Tender Bills, Control Lists and Directory.

15 Apr 2021

Infographic: Leads 2 Quotes

by | posted in: Infographic | 2

Are you a Contractor or Buyer? View our infographic on L2B Leads 2 Quotes and Subscribe today to take advantage of all the benefits.

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.

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

8 Apr 2021

Quick Fact – April 2021

by | posted in: Did You Know | 0

Did you know we offer a Leads 2 Quotes Subscription option?

For more information check out our Pricing Page and check out our Infographic and How-To features later this month for more on Leads 2 Quotes

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.

 

 

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

14 Nov 2017

Did you Know #DYK: Specifying Trade Mapping / What is Trade Mapping?

by | posted in: Did You Know | 0

Imagine this scenario….
You eventually receive your BOQ from the long-awaited site meeting, you (very enthusiastically) rush back to your office so you can start working on your bill, as you sit down to upload the bill on to Leads 2 Quotes, you are stopped dead in your tracks. As you browse through your bill you come to the realization that you want a certain trade listed under another or listed as a trade on its own. You then remember that, “Hey L2Q has Trade Mapping” and a feeling of relief comes over you.

 

So….what is Trade Mapping? First and Foremost, Trade mapping is a Leads 2 Quotes function that allows Buyers to tell us where they want their trades and how they want it to be split up or traded with one another, for example, the buyer indicates where they would like a certain trade like Rock Blasting to be traded with Earthworks and not added as a trade on its own.

 

So how does trade mapping work?
Once you log in as a Leads 2 Quotes subscriber, you select RFQ’s sent under the red block on your Dashboard, which will open up a whole new tab.

 

L2B Dashboard

The second page allows you to create a new bill request, as indicated below:

L2B Dashboard Actions

Once you have selected to “Create a New Bill Request”, it will take you to the next page where “Trade Mapping” can be added in the 2nd step, as indicated below:

Create New Bill Request

 

Buyers can also edit their “Trade Profile” in the drop-down box under “Actions” on the top right-hand side:

Actions

This will take the buyer to the following page where they can amend their Trade mapping:

Create New Bill Request

Once all relevant trades have been selected, they will be taken to the “files” page, where they can upload any drawings, images or files relevant to the bill, this gives the Vendor a better indication as to what specifications there might be.

Create New Bill Request

 

Once all relevant information has been selected, added and uploaded, buyers need to confirm if all information regarding their Bill is correct, to prevent any errors appearing on site.

Create New Bill Request

Once you have confirmed that all your information is correct, Leads 2 Business will get an L2Q Request. The Leads 2 Quotes department will then process, trade and upload your Bill onto the site.

Buyers will then be able to search for Vendors with those selected trades, in the region where the project or tender might take place, and send that portion of the bill through to be priced by Vendors. Once relevant vendors have been selected Buyers can send Request for Quotes (RFQ’s) through to relevant or preferred vendors to price via the Leads 2 Business system. Buyers also have the option to add the bill onto “Open Quotes”, which allows all Vendors to price on the BOQ that match their trades, which in other words exposes the buyer to a lot of different suppliers that use the Leads 2 Business system. If you are unsure about what “Open Quotes” is, you are welcome to go to the L2B blog that explains what “Open Quotes” is and the functionality thereof.

 

Trade Mapping forms as an integral part of our system, which allows buyers to express their preference regarding where they want specific trades to be listed, and this in part enables them to streamline the process of pricing effortlessly.

If you are unsure how/if your BOQ is uploaded onto the system, you can contact our dedicated L2Q Department by sending an e-mail to BOQ@L2B.co.za

 

Enjoy trying our Trade Mapping Function!!!

Trade Mapping Celebration

Image Source

About Bianca Otto

I joined the Leads 2 Business team in June 2017. I was appointed as an Account Executive based at the Johannesburg Branch. I believe that I have the necessary attributes to realize and understand responsibilities and fulfill my duties with diligence and professionalism.

19 Oct 2016

Closing Date

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General | 0

Closing Date

96-blog-closing-dates

When I started working at Leads 2 Business, I had no idea what was in store for me, I had little to none experience in the Building and Construction industry, let alone Tenders.  It was all completely Greek to me, however, as the days progressed all the information started to come together like a puzzle, piece by piece. After tons of training and the feeling of my mind going to explode, I could finally look at the complete picture instead of looking at the puzzle pieces one by one.

Learning the nitty gritty of the tender process has been quite interesting, I mean, I always thought that if you want to build something, you go ahead and build something. Not so fast buddy, clearly this was not the case. I soon came to realize that it’s quite a process. From a light bulb moment, to a design, to obtaining the correct professionals and, and, and,…. Phew!  The stages include advertising of tenders, sale of tender documents and attendance of compulsory briefing sessions by prospective bidders.

I work in the Leads 2 Quotes Department and deal with the Daily Tender Bill Requests  and closing dates became pretty important to me because once a closing date has arrived I cannot obtain a BoQ for a Tender and if a closing date can be so important to me, just imagine the importance of a closing date for someone who is tendering on a Tender.

By the said closing date, the tenderer should have gotten all his ducks in a row. Where required, attend the compulsory site meeting and get the feel of the project ahead. Start getting prices from Vendors to submit with his bid documents and making sure all his returnable documents are in order.

Take note that a closing date is your deadline. That date is the last date you can submit the relevant documents required to place your bid. Your bid has to be in by the specific date and the specific time stated on the Tender notice. Not a second later. If you submit your bid a second later, your bid will not be accepted. This is to avoid any irregularities and corruption.

Unfortunately, if it was compulsory to attend the site meeting, and you did not attend your bid would not be considered as well. The rules for Site Meetings and Closing Dates unfortunately go hand in hand unless otherwise stated.

But don’t let life get the better of you, stock up on the energy drinks and caffeine. Take note of the dates, take note of the meetings. And just like a wedding, save the dates.

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Nadine Vermeulen

I started working at Leads 2 Business in October 2014 in the Leads 2 Quotes Department. I managed all the Daily Tender Bill Requests and followed up on BoQ's for our Daily Tender Subscribers. In 2017, I was promoted to L2Q Assistant and now work with Bill of Quantities for Contractors. 🙂

12 Oct 2016

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

95-blog-respond-by-dates

Are you familiar with these phrases?

Time is money.

No time like the present.

Take time to smell the roses.

Time will tell.

Third time’s the charm.

Time heals all wounds.

Time’s a-wasting!

 

You get the idea…

 

“Timing is everything,” A statement that is obvi to most ppl these days, but alas not everyone (SMH as I type this). We live in a fast paced world where instant messaging is not only an app but a way of life. As a Millennial myself I can attest to this. It is the norm to get a response within 5 minutes from someone and if it takes any longer something must be wrong. Possible scenarios (some involving serious injury or death) come to mind.

 

Do you know what a RBD is? It’s a crucial bit of info within a RFQ. There I go again with my acronyms… (Yes, the previous ones were intentional)

RBD is otherwise known as a Respond by Date and RFQ is also known as a Request for Quote, these terms are probably familiar to you if you subscribe to L2Q (Leads 2 Quotes) .

*For more details on how L2Q works: https://blog.l2b.co.za/l2qosis-symbiosis-through-l2q/

*For more on the in’s and out’s on RFQs: https://blog.l2b.co.za/pricing-online-rfqs/

 

Now that you are all caught up on the acronyms let’s get into why timing is so crucial to them.

When a Buyer sends out RFQ’s he specifies a date by which he requires prices back (aka the RBD). The RBD is usually prior to the Closing Date (CD) of the tender. The reason for this is because the Buyer needs to complete the Tender Document before the CD so that it can be delivered timeously to the Client to avoid being disqualified. Now I’m not going to go into depth regarding the CD as this will be covered in next week’s blog (check back same time next week if you want to know more).

Vendors are often aware of the actual Closing Date (as referred to on the tender notice) and may often advise that they will only respond closer to this date. Imagine you are a Buyer and have multiple tenders to submit, multiple prices to collate and the Vendors you have sent RFQ’s haven’t responded, you might start to stress (a lot).

In the end it’s all about communication and timing and at L2B we endeavour to facilitate this.

Here are a few tips to consider:

Buyers can take into account that Vendors require adequate time between receiving an RFQ and the RBD in order to respond positively.

Similarly Vendors need to make note of the RDB on RFQ’s and please respond to these on time.

Buyers are able to send through the relevant drawings and specs for Vendors to be able view for accurate pricing.

Vendors have the ability to register as a Vendor on L2B (this is free of charge) in order to view drawings and price online.

Buyers are encouraged to communicate with Vendors regarding receipt of their prices as well as potential use of their services.

Vendors can easily make use of the links on the RFQ to advise if they ‘intend to price’ or ‘decline’ which only takes a few seconds. This informs the Buyer accordingly which prevents unnecessary follow-ups while aiding communication.

Taking the above into account it all amounts to copious amounts of time saved and I think we can all agree that that’s one thing we can never have enough of.

Want to save time and subscribe to L2B? Comment or Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

 

Sources:

http://time.com/4373616/text-abbreviations-acronyms/

http://www.bucknell.edu/communications/bucknell-magazine/instant-gratification-and-its-dark-side.html

http://socialmarketing.org/archives/generations-xy-z-and-the-others/

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

1 2