We were leaving good opportunities unanswered because we simply did not have the capacity. The AI system now gets us from enquiry to a strong first draft in days, shows us what needs chasing, and gives our technical people back time for clients. It has changed how we run the whole proposal process.
A UK environmental consultancy was struggling to manage a growing volume of client enquiries and proposals. Manual drafting, repeated searches for existing content and lengthy review cycles meant proposals could take more than three weeks to complete.
With valuable opportunities going unanswered and specialist teams spending significant time on administrative tasks, the business needed a more efficient approach without increasing headcount.
Following a structured AI Value Scan, Synetec developed a bespoke AI Proposal Operating System to automate key stages of the proposal lifecycle while maintaining expert oversight.
The initial four-week proof of concept delivered a 50.6% reduction in proposal turnaround time, demonstrating how targeted AI automation can improve operational efficiency and increase business capacity.
The consultancy relied on its technical specialists to prepare detailed proposals for prospective clients. However, the process involved considerable manual effort, from reviewing initial enquiries and locating previous content to drafting documents and managing approvals.
As a result, proposal generation had become an operational bottleneck, limiting the organisation’s ability to respond to new opportunities.
- Lengthy turnaround times: Proposals could take more than three weeks to produce.
- Manual processes: Teams spent valuable time drafting documents and searching for existing information.
- Limited capacity: The business was unable to respond to every opportunity.
- Extended review cycles: Multiple stages of review and approval delayed proposal completion.
- Specialist resource constraints: Technical experts were spending time on proposal administration rather than higher-value client work.
The business needed a more consistent, scalable approach that would allow it to respond to more enquiries without increasing headcount.
Synetec began with a structured AI Value Scan to identify where automation could deliver measurable operational improvements.
The proposal lifecycle was identified as an opportunity to reduce manual effort, improve response times and enable technical specialists to focus on their core responsibilities.
Synetec designed and implemented a bespoke AI Proposal Operating System, bringing together key stages of the proposal process into a more efficient workflow.
The solution incorporated five core capabilities:
- AI enquiry triage: Supporting the initial assessment and organisation of incoming enquiries.
- Opportunity prioritisation: Helping teams identify which opportunities require attention.
- AI-assisted proposal drafting: Reducing the manual effort involved in preparing initial proposals.
- Expert review and approval: Maintaining human oversight and quality control.
- Pipeline tracking and reporting: Improving visibility of proposal progress and outstanding actions.
Synetec initially delivered the solution through a four-week pilot, allowing the consultancy to evaluate its effectiveness against agreed operational and quality measures.
Following the successful pilot, the solution was rolled out across the business over the subsequent nine weeks.
This phased approach enabled the consultancy to establish the value of AI automation before extending its use across the wider proposal process.
The initial four-week proof of concept achieved:
- 50.6% reduction in proposal turnaround time, enabling faster responses to prospective clients.
- 94% of first drafts met the agreed quality threshold, supporting consistency while reducing manual drafting.
- Enquiry response rates increased from 63% to 92%, allowing the business to respond to a greater proportion of opportunities.
- Approximately 67 specialist hours freed each month, equivalent to more than eight working days of technical capacity.
Beyond the measurable improvements, the AI Proposal Operating System enabled the consultancy to reduce the administrative burden on its technical specialists.
By automating repetitive stages of proposal generation and improving visibility across the pipeline, teams could devote more time to client engagement and highervalue technical work.
The solution also provided a more structured approach to managing opportunities, supporting consistency throughout the proposal process.
The successful proof of concept demonstrated how AI automation could help the consultancy increase its operational capacity without a corresponding increase in headcount.
Following the initial pilot, the solution was rolled out across the business, with further optimisation underway.
The project illustrates how identifying and automating a high-value workflow can deliver measurable improvements in productivity, responsiveness and resource allocation.
“We were leaving good opportunities unanswered because we simply did not have the capacity. The AI system now gets us from enquiry to a strong first draft in days, shows us what needs chasing, and gives our technical people back time for clients. It has changed how we run the whole proposal process.”
Senior Operational Leader, UK Environmental Consultancy
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