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CSU, the Netherlands' largest cleaning company, gets a big chunk of its revenue from public tenders. Inefficient tender management was therefore a costly problem. "The tender process is a multi-headed monster," says commercial director Ruud van Swieten. "We lose a lot of time reading and analyzing texts, with the risk of overlooking important details." That's why CSU implemented Brainial's AI-driven tender management software.
CSU holds over 10% of the market and serves thousands of clients, from local dental practices and primary schools to hospitals and universities. Ruud has built extensive experience with the tender process during his 25 years at the organization. "I'm responsible for legal matters regarding public tenders, relationship management, data, and the ongoing development of our tender process," Ruud explains. From this expertise, he saw where technology could make a difference.
Public tenders are crucial for CSU's growth. Around 60% of their revenue comes from tender processes. With a team of around 35 specialists, the organization works on analyzing and responding to complex tenders. Usually under tight deadlines.
"The tender process is a multi-headed monster," explains commercial director Ruud van Swieten. "In a tender, you often get a stack of documents: from specifications and procurement conditions to draft agreements and KPIs. Everything needs to be reviewed, understood, and analyzed to make good decisions and create a strong proposal. That takes an enormous amount of time."
To tackle this challenge, CSU has been working with Brainial as a smart assistant in their tender process for several months. The AI-driven tender management software helps with document searches, risk identification, and retrieving relevant information from previous tenders.
"Brainial is primarily an add-on for us right now," Ruud explains. "We use it as a helpful tool to reach go/no-go decisions faster and more thoroughly. For example, to quickly see what all documents say about sustainability. Then our expert gets all relevant sections together at once, which is useful for a good summary and well-founded advice. That doesn't just save time but also gives you confidence that you're not missing anything."
They're planning to fully integrate Brainial into CSU's system landscape, including connections to other systems like SharePoint and their ERP. This way, they want to work toward a smarter, more efficient, and more consistent tender process.
The collaboration between CSU and Brainial isn't just about efficiency. CSU is also actively involved in the Code for Responsible Market Behavior, the social standard within the cleaning industry, focused on respect for cleaners, sustainable employability, transparency, and fair pricing.
Ruud, a board member of the Code, saw an opportunity to make AI contribute socially here as well. Students from the University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences researched how themes from the Code have appeared in tenders over recent years. Due to the amount of data and the lack of a uniform analysis method, the research was at risk of stalling.
At CSU's suggestion, Brainial made its tool and support available free of charge. This allowed the students to analyze in a targeted way and expose patterns in a short time. What did they have to say about it? "Without Brainial, it would never have worked."
Although we've only just started, CSU is positive about the collaboration with Brainial. The software already helps identify risks faster and prevent duplicate work. But Ruud sees much more potential.
"It's not just about time savings," Ruud emphasizes. "It's also about better bringing to light the risks that are undeniably connected to tendering. We want to create consistent, well-founded proposals that match our standards AND the client's expectations. Brainial helps with that."
Discover how you can win more tenders with Brainial? Schedule your demo here.
