REBUILDING ESTIMATIONS: BRINGING PEOPLE, PROCESSES & SYSTEMS TOGETHER

We’ll be the first to say it: the PlaceMakers Estimations service needed work. The turnaround times weren’t cutting it – and when you’re quoting for jobs and keeping projects moving, time matters

So, we’ve rebuilt how Estimations works from the ground up, giving our people the tools and visibility they need to move faster – and work better together.

We’ve replatformed – here’s what that means

Until recently, the process of building an estimate at PlaceMakers relied on multiple teams juggling multiple systems. Your Account Manager, the in-branch Estimations team, Frame & Truss, the National Estimating Unit – everyone played a part, but not everyone had the same information or view of the job.

Now that’s changed. With a replatformed system in place, every team involved in your job is working off the same page.

“All the related activity takes place in one system,” says Sales & Service Product Manager Blake Johnson, who’s led the overhaul. “That means anyone who’s taking action is doing it based on the same set of plans, the same details, the same requirements.”

It’s a similar approach to what we did with Trade Support 2.0 – bringing people, processes, and platforms together to support customers more efficiently. The result is a more connected PlaceMakers team, delivering quotes with better consistency, speed and care.

Turnaround times are coming down

Thanks to this upgrade – and a wider programme of work to improve how our Estimations teams operate – quote times are already getting faster. Some estimates that once took weeks are now being turned around in days.

This isn’t a tech rollout for tech’s sake. It’s about building capability that reflects how important this service is to you. And we’re not stopping here – more improvements are in the pipeline.

The power of PlaceMakers

At the heart of all this is the relationship between you and your branch. We want to make that stronger.

“It’s the power of PlaceMakers,” Blake says. “You have a personal relationship with someone who can then leverage the scale of the whole operation to deliver for you.”

We’ve always believed in building trusted partnerships – and this Estimations uplift is about giving your PlaceMakers contact the full force of our network to support your job, your business, and your customers.

What’s next

We’re already seeing the benefits of this replatforming across the network – and we’ve got more to come. While we’re not ready to go into detail yet, keep an eye out for what’s next. It’s going to take this to the next level.

In the meantime, if you’ve used Estimations before and found the wait too long – it’s time to give it another go. Because this time, we’re doing it better. So why not outsource your estimating to us?