Who is Ability?

Ability is one of Norway’s leading suppliers of Facility Management and property management services, cleaning, canteen operations, hotel cleaning, and landscaping services.

Ability has 1,300 employees from over 75 different countries. Ability’s head office is located in Bergen, with regional offices in Oslo, Stavanger, and Trondheim.

Ability covers the entire country, from Lindesnes to Hammerfest. They also have a network of other partners around the country. More than 800 clients use their services.

The challenges

Spending too much time on each proposal and quality assurance, not enough proposals submitted, and a high margin of error

Before using XaitPorter, Ability faced several challenges when producing proposals. Anne Gro Haga, National Sales and Bid Manager at Ability, elaborates:

“We spent a lot more time on each proposal, which meant we couldn't respond to as many RFPs. We also had to spend more time on quality assurance of the bids than we do now before we submit them.”

Before XaitPorter, Ability created all of their proposals using Word. It took them a long time to produce each proposal, as well as to ensure quality.

“To ensure everything was covered, structured correctly, etc., we relied on coworkers to review the proposals.”

As Haga points out, the tool they used in the past did not handle the quality assurance aspect well:

“A proposal isn't written from scratch every time. There's a lot of content you reuse. When you do it in a solution that's not made for large, complex documents, you risk making mistakes."

As an example, she says:

“Say you're reusing content from previous bids. The content must be tailored to fit your current client's needs. Otherwise, you risk making them feel that your proposal is generic and irrelevant to them.”

Ultimately, Ability realized there was too much margin of error. They began searching for a solution that would meet their requirements.

The solution

Collaboration and co-authoring software built to increase output and quality for large, complex documents 

Ability first heard about XaitPorter when they read that oil major BP used it for their licensing rounds on the Norwegian Continental Shelf:

“That fascinated us. BP's needs were similar to ours. We contacted Xait, and they demonstrated XaitPorter to us. We decided to start using it.”

Furthermore, Ability wanted to partner with a Norwegian solution provider. Having access to support in their native language, within a Nordic time zone, and getting help when they needed it was essential to them.

What was Ability’s experience with Xait's onboarding and training?

“We received comprehensive training from Xait to ensure that we could use all the features of XaitPorter” says Haga. “The client Success Team at Xait is available to help us if we need assistance.”

How does Ability use XaitPorter today?

“It’s what we use to create all our proposals, and we’re able to structure them according to each client’s bid requirements. On this basis, we add qualification requirements, solution, proposal letter, price charts, and any other required documents. Then we export it as a complete document when it's time to submit.”

The results

A higher number of proposals submitted, better quality proposals, fewer proposals rejected, more deals secured, more jobs created, and more revenue generated

With XaitPorter, Ability has increased their proposal output and improved the quality of their proposals.

“Compared to previous years, the margin of error on submitted proposals has significantly decreased. Also, we have seen a rise in volume since using XaitPorter. In some years, fewer RFPs may have contributed to the increase, but it’s mainly due to our increased ability to handle work.”

In Haga's view, this is made possible by three aspects of XaitPorter.

1. The ability to build and maintain master documents

Ability has created master documents that they use when responding to RFPs. For example, a master document contains all the information related to cleaning services and canteen operations.

“We have structured the master document to make each offer streamlined and well-organized. When we start working on a bid, we use the relevant chapters from the master document. It's always getting updated, with new chapters and subchapters. Each request for proposal from our clients vary to a great extent."

2. The table of contents is automatically updated

Haga and her team find the automatic updating of the table of contents to be one of the most valuable functionalities of XaitPorter.

“We work with proposals containing numerous chapters and subchapters and spaning up to 350 pages. The table of contents automatically adjusts as we move chapters up and down. We were not able to do this with the tool we used in the past.”

3. The ability to compile all bid requirements and attached documentation into a PDF document

With XaitPorter, Ability can compile all of a bid's requirements into one document, such as qualification requirements and proposal letters. Haga says this makes it easier for clients.

“When potential clients get our proposal, they can click on the chapters according to what they want to see. They don’t have to search through a large number of documents that are uploaded to their portal.”

Quantity vs. quality? Both, thank you very much!

When creating bids and proposals with file-based solutions and desktop publishing tools, proposal teams have to deal with the following “law of nature”: When quantity goes up, quality goes down. It's up to you which one you choose.

The ideal proposal productivity situation would be to meet both quality and quantity targets. Haga and her team can now write more and higher-quality proposals thanks to a co-authoring solution built for high-impact, high-value bids and proposals.

Haga explains how XaitPorter makes this possible:

“Working with a tool that allows you to structure and reuse large amounts of text, and to retrieve proposals you've already submitted, means that you can work with a level of quantity and quality you've never experienced before.”

Haga says the master document is crucial here:

“Continually working with the master document in the backend ensures that quality doesn't suffer because of quantity. We get a triad of benefits: faster production, more proposals submitted, and better proposal quality.”

Numbers don’t lie: Bids are no longer rejected

Ability keeps project lists that are filled out from year to year, showing the number of bids submitted, the number of bids rejected, and the number of bids won and lost.

“I went back through the lists one day to see if anything had changed. And it had. Almost none of our proposals have been rejected since we started using XaitPorter.”

Error margins have been greatly reduced

In the past, Ability's proposals contained both content and formatting errors. It’s nearly impossible to avoid this when using file-based solutions. The margin of error they have today is negligible. Why is this the case? To Haga, the answer is obvious:

“Thanks to the tool we're using, we're able to build proposals in a way that prevents us from making mistakes. When your entire proposal document is built around the client’s requirements, it’s impossible to forget key documentation, such as ISO 9001.”

“Working with a tool that allows you to structure and reuse large amounts of text, and to retrieve proposals you've already submitted, means that you can work with a level of quantity and quality you've never experienced before.”
– Anne Gro Haga, National Sales and Bid Manager, Ability

More deals won means higher revenue for Ability – and more jobs for their employees

Ability's increase in proposal volume and quality has made them stand out from their competitors in their market. Consequently, they have won more contracts. The revenue from new sales has increased as a result.

The ability to create more winning proposals benefits not only Ability but society as well – in the form of new jobs:

“We work a lot on public tenders, which are sent out regularly. Typically, there are two-year and three-year contracts. You lose some of them, so you need to downsize or let employees go. XaitPorter helps us win more contracts, which allows us to retain and even hire more employees.”

In summary: Ability has gained results through XaitPorter that have positively impacted their entire organization – by improving competitiveness, winning more projects, creating more jobs, and increasing revenue.

About Xait

Xait is a global technology company founded in 2000 that produces and delivers software for document automation, collaboration and intelligent pricing. Our mission is to help enterprise clients win business by supporting their sales enablement efforts from quote to contract. We are passionate about challenging industry mindsets and developing products that improve the way people work together.