How Oosterhof Holman reuses knowledge from 500 tenders with Brainial
As a contractor in civil engineering and infrastructure, Koninklijke Oosterhof Holman works across a wide range of disciplines. Its projects range from bridges and roads to pipelines and traffic management. This broad mix of expertise also requires many different types of knowledge. That is why a new tender team is assembled for each bid. It is then up to bid writer Arjan Zijlstra to bring all that input together and turn it into one strong proposal.
In this case study, Arjan explains the challenges he faced in the tender process, why Oosterhof Holman chose Brainial and how he now uses knowledge from around 500 previous tenders to create a strong first draft much faster.
Every tender requires a different approach
Because Oosterhof Holman works across so many disciplines, one tender might be for a bridge and the next for landscaping work. Each tender therefore involves a different combination of technical specialists, cost experts and project team members. Arjan joins the team needed for that specific tender and brings all their input together into one coherent story. “The technical knowledge sits with the specialists. I gather their input and then translate it into the strongest possible proposal and plan of approach.”
Before Brainial, the process broadly worked in the same way, only much less efficiently. “The run-up to a tender took longer,” Arjan explains. Information had to be gathered manually, and a great deal of knowledge simply existed in colleagues’ heads. Sometimes, significant time had already been invested in a tender before it became clear that the opportunity was not actually a good fit for Oosterhof Holman.
A tool that brings all your tender knowledge together
With the rise of AI, Oosterhof Holman actively started looking for ways to use the technology effectively in its work. “The tender process quickly came up as an obvious area,” says Arjan. At first, a tool like ChatGPT might seem like the logical choice. But Oosterhof Holman soon ran into its limitations. “Old proposals were not organised in one clear place, and you cannot keep adding documents indefinitely.” So the company continued its search.
When Brainial came along, the team was convinced fairly quickly. “The great thing is that you really work in an environment that is specifically set up for your own company,” Arjan explains. “All your previous proposals are stored together. And when you ask a question about a particular tender, Brainial actually pulls in all the documents related to that specific bid.” This makes the answers much more specific. They are based on the relevant tender documents and Oosterhof Holman’s own previously built-up knowledge.
Ask a question, check the source and move on
According to Arjan, Brainial’s source referencing is another major advantage. “As a bid writer, you are dealing with a huge amount of documentation, sometimes hundreds of pages. During a meeting, you might suddenly question a particular detail because nobody knows exactly what the specification says.” Previously, that meant opening documents, searching, scrolling and hoping to find the right passage quickly. “Now I simply open Tender Chat, ask the question and immediately get an answer with the source included. It keeps the process moving and I know straight away where the answer comes from.”
More and more colleagues are now discovering how useful that is. Adoption of the new tool did take some effort at first. “With some people, the cement has already set a little,” Arjan jokes. That is why Oosterhof Holman continued to actively support adoption internally. Training sessions were organised, and Brainial employees visited the company to offer guidance, demonstrate the platform and answer questions. “That is how Brainial gradually became part of the way more and more people work.”
Drawing from 500 tenders
According to Arjan, the biggest time saving comes from being able to access information from previous tenders much more quickly. “An intern researched Brainial as part of his graduation project. We used the recommendations from his report to further improve how we use and organise Brainial.” The platform now contains around 500 previous tender proposals, complete with labels and evaluations. “That means we can build on knowledge from previous tenders much faster whenever a new opportunity comes in.”
Drawing from this knowledge does not mean that Arjan simply copies and pastes old content. “Every tender still requires a tailored approach. But over the years, we have developed methods that have demonstrably worked. Those are often already described very well in previous proposals. Brainial helps me find them quickly and use them as a starting point for a new plan.” Where this used to take days, Arjan can now produce a first draft within a few hours. “The writing process simply gets moving much faster.”
Getting the first 30% onto paper faster
“Of course, every tender still requires a tailored approach,” Arjan emphasises. “For every opportunity, you adapt and refine the content based on the contracting authority’s requirements.” Brainial does not simply write a complete, ready-to-submit tender. Its main value for Arjan is helping him create a strong foundation much faster. “With Brainial, I can get that first 30% of the proposal onto paper very quickly.” Arjan admits with a smile that he is actually fairly sceptical about AI. “I prefer to write things myself. I also want to stay in control of that.”
And that is exactly why Brainial works so well for him. A large part of the searching is taken care of, while Arjan remains responsible for the content, tone and tailoring. That leaves him with more time for the remaining 70%. “And that is exactly the part where you add your own flavour, convince the contracting authority and ultimately win them over.”
Work that is now paying off
To make such targeted searches possible, Oosterhof Holman labelled its previous tenders according to relevant characteristics. “For each tender, we added relevant labels, together with the tender guidelines and the client’s evaluation. Those labels now allow me to search very specifically. For example, I can search for construction teams, collaboration or cost control. I can quickly find a comparable proposal and also see how the client responded to it.”
With Tender Search, Arjan finds not only previous content, but also the context surrounding it: which approach was used and how it was evaluated. That is useful for Arjan, and for his colleagues too. “I have most of the knowledge reasonably well stored in my head by now, but recently we hired a new bid writer, for example. It is incredibly useful that he can access that knowledge straight away. It also means I can actually go on holiday without the tenders grinding to a halt,” Arjan jokes.
“The fact that I do not look at competitors might be the biggest compliment”
When asked whether he would choose Brainial again today, Arjan does not need long to think. “To be honest, I have not really followed what competitors have been doing lately, so it is difficult for me to compare. But the fact that I have not felt the need to might be the biggest compliment I can give Brainial.”
By now, the platform has become a fully integrated part of his workflow. “I know it inside out. It is user-friendly and I am extremely happy with it.”And all those minutes and hours saved add up to exactly what Arjan values most: more time to turn a strong first draft into a convincing proposal.
Want to create your first draft faster too?
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