Akita worked with a leading landscape construction company that faced with the challenge of managing tender requests in an Excel spreadsheet held in an ageing, unsecure version of SharePoint On-premise.
To address these issues, the company partnered with Akita to implement a new tender management system built using Microsoft Power Platform applications and Dataverse. Combining a model-driven Power App and advanced reporting in Microsoft Power BI, the new solution has streamlined the management of the tendering process and improved reporting capabilities.
Challenge
The company's use of an unsupported version of SharePoint On-premise for hosting its tenders posed security vulnerabilities and did not meet Cyber Essentials requirements. The existing Excel solution also lacked the necessary efficiency to keep up with the increasing volume of tender requests.
Reporting on open and won tenders was also a very manual process. Executed in Excel, it was prone to inaccuracies and did not provide real-time insights. This made the process of gathering business intelligence from tender results slow and arduous.
The company sought a more streamlined process, centralised data management, and dynamic reporting capabilities to enhance decision-making at all levels.
Delivering The New Tender Management System
To meet the company's requirements, Akita designed and implemented a robust model-driven Microsoft Power App solution – hosted in Dataverse - to streamline tender request management.
The new app allowed for the rapid creation of tenders, capturing additional details that were not possible in the previous Excel-baed tender management system. This enhanced flexibility empowered the team with comprehensive insights into tender activities.
In addition to the model-driven Power App, Akita embedded a suite of sophisticated Power BI reports. These reports provide the company with real-time access to key metrics such as tenders won by value and region, price, by month, plus other data points relating to tender results.
Outcomes & Benefits
The modernised Dataverse-based tender management system not only achieved Cyber Essentials compliance but has also facilitated smoother workflows and improved board-level reporting. The company now enjoys faster and more accurate tender request logging, resulting in an increase in overall efficiency within the team.
By centralising all tender-related data within a single application, the company achieved greater data consistency and accessibility. The additional tender details now captured also provide the company with a more comprehensive understanding of each tender's unique characteristics, facilitating more informed responses.
The Power BI reports now deliver real-time insights, enabling the team to monitor tender performance efficiently. These reports were also utilised at board-level monthly meetings, providing vital data for strategic discussions.
Testimonial:
"The team at Akita really took on board the needs of [the company] & the proof of concept was produced in just a few days.
Once the order was placed the timelines were stuck to and the development of the system is fantastic.
Everyone at [the company] loves the system and the Power BI element of the system is excellent. We would highly recommend Akita to anyone looking for a system building"
