REDUCING THE TIME AND EXPENSE CREATING PROPOSALS Professor of Business Research, BSAD 400 BakerOctober 11th, 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY1BACK GROUND INFORMATION2PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES3RESEARCH METHODOLOGY4ESTIMATES OF COST AND SCHEDULE6QUALIFICATION OF REASEACHER8APPENDIX9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAUTOMATING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF XYZ CONSTRUCTION COMPANYProposals are extremely important tools in construction, sales and marketing efforts but they also pose some serious challenges. These are some of the specific problems our company is facing:Inefficient delivery of information where and when it’s neededLack of tools to help construction sales people to work productivelyDifficulty in completing and delivering quality proposals quicklyConstruction sales people are experiencing too much desk time and not enough face time as they wrestle with the challenge of preparing proactive proposalsInconsistent looking proposals that contain conflicting and sometimes incorrect informationThe main goal of this project is to research a specific need expressed by members of the Proposal Development Group and Sales Department, that is the need for an industry specific Proposal Software Program. As outlined in the proposal, this is to be accomplished through significant interaction between the researchers, Information Management department and experts in the Proposal Development Group and Sales Department. This type of cooperative agreement is seen as fundamental to the success of all projects. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONTHE POSITIVE IMPACT OF A PROPOSAL WRITER PROGRAM ON XYZ COMPANYXYZ Company has generated 1,000 proposals (of which 30 percent are less complex; 70 percent more complex) during FY 1999. Members of the XYZ’s Proposal Group have spent approximately 46,000 hours in proposal writing! This however, does not include revisions made due to addendums to R.F.P.s. Below is a summary of cost incurred by the XYZ Company through FY 1999. I...
