Construction industry procurement software firm QuoteToMe builds on passion

John Chabluk feels fortunate to have come of age during the transition from an analogue world to a digital one.

The 33-year-old says he grew up with an expectation of people connecting through technology and the internet. When he saw a chance to modernize how people in the construction industry purchase materials and equipment, he jumped on it.

Chabluk is the founder and CEO of QuoteToMe, a procurement automation software designed to streamline material purchasing processes and enhance financial data accuracy for contractors.

The software collects and compares supplier quotes, tracks project spending in real time and automatically matches invoices with their purchase orders.

Centralizing communication and handling quote comparison results in 10 per cent to 30 per cent savings, according to QuoteToMe’s website. The company makes money by selling subscriptions for its services.

Chabluk came up with the idea while working as a sales representative for the U.S.-based equipment rental company United Rentals.

He envisioned a platform that would allow everyone involved on a project to see what was happening with the sourcing of building materials and equipment rentals, rather than making phone calls, sending text messages and emails, and doing site visits.

“It was very obvious to me that this needed a software solution wrapped around it,” Chabluk said.

The Winnipeg entrepreneur founded QuoteToMe in 2017, and the company launched its purchasing service in November 2019. The company’s office is in Edmonton, where many of its first clients were based (although many of QuoteToMe’s 15 employees work remotely).

The company has completed “a handful” of successful financing rounds, Chabluk said, raising a total of around $8 million. QuoteToMe’s software has handled more than $500 million in construction procurement, he added, and is currently being used on more than 10,000 projects across North America.

The company’s customers include Bockstael Construction in Winnipeg. Chief operating officer Nick Bockstael recalls Chabluk introducing himself at a Young Construction Leaders of Manitoba event when he still worked at United, and telling Bockstael about his idea for QuoteToMe.

“You could tell that he cared about it. You could tell that he was going to work hard on making it happen,” Bockstael said. “And the idea itself had a lot of merit. It was fixing a problem that we had and that I’m sure a lot of other contractors had.”

Bockstael Construction, which today employs more than 180 people, was one of the first companies to use QuoteToMe.

“What it has really done for us is created a better experience for site superintendents in terms of the amount of time they have to put into purchasing effort,” Bockstael said. “It’s sped up the process of procurement and gotten better results as we get more competitive quotes.”

CANA Construction, a Calgary-based company with $1 billion of work in backlog and almost 500 employees, has used QuoteToMe for the past year. It’s been “very beneficial” to the company, said Dwayne Dubois, chief financial officer.

“It’s sort of like a one-stop-shop when we need things,” Dubois said.

QuoteToMe’s employees are responsive and open to solving any problems that arise, and Chabluk is knowledgeable about the construction industry, he added.

“It’s great to talk to someone who’s not just a software guy,” Dubois said. “He actually understands what it is we’re trying to do.”

Chabluk said he feels proud whenever he drives past one of his customers’ construction sites, knowing those projects are shaping the communities they are in and that QuoteToMe had a hand in making them successful.

“It’s been a great passion of mine and (of) our team to be able to serve this industry,” he said.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca