12Build had been known but not fully embraced at Vuylsteke-Eiffage. "Two or three years ago, our previous lead estimator mentioned the name 12Build, and last year, our new lead estimator brought it up again," Jan explains. "After hearing positive feedback from our sister companies, we finally decided to take the plunge."
Vuylsteke-Eiffage started using the 12Build platform in June 2024. "We’ve only been using it for four months, but it’s already running smoother and smoother. We're receiving much more response to our quotation requests than we were used to."
Vuylsteke-Eiffage is a class 8 construction company active in Flanders across various sectors, such as healthcare, parking complexes, public buildings, office and apartment construction, and industry. As a family-owned company, respect, honoring commitments, and employee safety are at the core of their values. Thanks to their recent investments in expanding their factory and new office buildings, Vuylsteke-Eiffage continues to focus on growth and innovation.
"At first, our colleagues weren’t too excited about adopting 12Build," says Julie, Head of Administration. "Learning yet another new system seemed like it would take time." However, she quickly saw its potential. "Now, we’re meeting new people and companies to potentially collaborate with. It’s always useful to keep an eye on the market."
Julie also saw immediate benefits for her administrative tasks. "When a colleague leaves, you can’t just access their emails and documents. Within 12Build, you have access to all the information based on your role within the organization," she says. "Plus, you can instantly see which companies have gone bankrupt on the platform."
Jan adds, "We’re now more aligned with other companies within the Eiffage Group that also use 12Build." This alignment is helpful when Vuylsteke-Eiffage collaborates with other branches or vice versa. "Everyone can access documents faster without having to email around PDFs and Excel sheets." He doesn’t miss the cumbersome process of outdated spreadsheets, WeTransfers, and emails. "With 12Build, we have better automation and centralization in our quotation process. I think we’re saving about thirty to fifty percent of the time on quotation requests."
Jan and Julie agree: Having all communication centralized and consistent makes everything clearer for everyone, both internally and externally.
"Our communication with 12Build was quick and straightforward," says Jan. "Your Customer Success Manager Roy was very helpful. Following that, we continued on our own, with occasional support from your team. Definitely a ten out of ten!" The smooth communication with 12Build led to a seamless onboarding process. "The speed of the onboarding phase really surprised us."
Despite starting in June, the summer holiday didn't hinder the process, according to Jan. "The downside of construction holidays is that you tend to forget things. But your platform is easy to get back into even after three weeks. There are different holiday periods in the regions where we work, so the quotations keep coming in."
The next step for Vuylsteke-Eiffage is to further optimize their quotation process. They plan to do this through the integration between 12Build and KPD Tendering (formerly vNext). "This way, we stay aligned with our sister companies." Jan prepares the quotations in KPD and then fills in the bill of quantities in 12Build.
We asked Jan for a golden tip for those considering starting with 12Build. "A tip?" he asked. "The hardest part is taking that first step to introduce something new into the company. There were already enough software programs within Eiffage, so there was a bit of frustration among colleagues."
"My tip is to start using 12Build. You can’t really go wrong. It’s always available as long as you have internet, and let’s face it, what company doesn’t have internet these days?" he laughs.