Case Study: Swinerton Builders achieves faster, streamlined preconstruction bidding with SmartBidNet (Smart Bid)

How one of California's most prominent general contractors employs preconstruction technology to stay at the forefront of the commercial building industry

Swinerton Builders, a 100% employee‑owned general contractor operating across the Western U.S., needed a faster, more reliable way to manage preconstruction and invitation‑to‑bid workflows that often involve 300–400 subcontractors and multi‑office coordination. Seeking ease of use for subcontractors and a single database for multiple offices, Swinerton turned to Smart Bid and implemented the SmartBidNet preconstruction platform to replace their prior system and support both hard‑bid and negotiated/GMP processes.

Smart Bid’s SmartBidNet was rolled out company‑wide (fully implemented for about a year) and is used by roughly 275 of Swinerton’s 1,000 administrative staff to distribute plans, issue revisions, and manage bid communication. The solution enabled rapid turnaround on a recent $60M downtown San Francisco retail preconstruction — budgeted in one week — and supports Swinerton’s workflows from preconstruction into early construction, handling hundreds of subcontractors per bid while improving speed and usability (noting further improvements in Version 12).

Swinerton Builders

David Green

Vice President and Regional Estimating Manager