Champagne Glass and Doors Case Study
7:55 MIN WATCH

Overview

Ryan Shoemaker’s glass business was receiving more enquiries, but keeping up with estimating while managing live projects was stretching the team’s capacity.

Within two months of using GuthrieAI, Ryan had moved the bulk of his estimating work outside the office. His team receives organised takeoffs and compiled supplier pricing, leaving a final 30–45-minute review before submission. He reports greater bidding capacity, improved quality and reduced overheads.

“I hesitated to do this podcast because this has become our little secret weapon that separates us from the competition locally.”

— Ryan Shoemaker, Champagne Glass and Doors

Growing demand, competing priorities

As more opportunities came in, Ryan was balancing the work needed to win the next project with the demands of delivering existing jobs.

Estimating required time to review drawings, prepare takeoffs and gather supplier pricing. Experienced staff were needed to manage projects, creating competing demands on the same people.

Ryan needed a way to increase estimating capacity while giving his team more time to focus on project delivery.

A full estimating department, with the final review still in-house

GuthrieAI now handles Ryan’s takeoffs, sends requests for quotations to suppliers and compiles pricing for review with his team.

Each takeoff package is structured around the project, with breakdowns by section, floor, storefront, interior versus exterior, or doors versus windows.

“Their staff is really good at going through the projects, and they can dissect by division, and we get a beautiful takeoff list.”

— Ryan Shoemaker, Champagne Glass and Doors

Daily communication keeps Ryan’s team involved throughout the process. By the time a bid reaches them for final review, the takeoff and supplier information have been brought together.

“This is our full estimating department now, completely removed from our office other than a 30-45-minute intervention at the end before it gets submitted.”

— Ryan Shoemaker, Champagne Glass and Doors

More opportunities, better output and lower overheads

  • Greater bidding capacity: Ryan reports an increase in the number of projects his team can assess daily, weekly and monthly.
  • Improved quality: Alongside handling more opportunities, Ryan says the quality of the estimating output has improved.
  • A focused final review: His team’s involvement at the end is typically 30–45 minutes before submission.
  • More time for project delivery: Experienced staff can concentrate on managing jobs and keeping work on schedule.
  • Reduced overheads: Ryan credits GuthrieAI with removing a significant burden from his office.

“The amount of projects that we can look at on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis have increased … the quality of the product that we put out has increased a lot too.”

— Ryan Shoemaker, Champagne Glass and Doors

For Ryan, the value is having the support to pursue more work while keeping his team focused on delivering it.

“This has been fantastic. It has removed a lot of our overhead.”

— Ryan Shoemaker, Champagne Glass and Doors
30-45m
Final Review

Team intervention is reduced to a short review before submission.

Increased
Bidding Capacity

More projects assessed daily, weekly, and monthly without adding office overhead.

Champagne Glass and Doors Logo
Company Champagne Glass and Doors
Key Contact Ryan Shoemaker
Solution Full estimating department, outside the office

Key Project Impact

Bidding Capacity
Increased
More projects assessed daily, weekly and monthly
Final Review
30-45 Min
In-house time required before submission
Overhead
Reduced
Removed a significant burden from the office
Book a Custom Demo
Share this Testimonial

Explore More Client Testimonials


Glass and Metals
Glass and Metals

“If you’re not using GuthrieAI, you might as well hit the bricks, ’cause you’re just not gonna keep up.”

See more →
DP Glass Co.
DP Glass Co.

"I look at Guthrie now as more of a partner rather than a service."

See more →
Northeast Envelope Solutions
Northeast Envelope Solutions

"The Guthrie team does my takeoff, provides my overview. I’m still going in and finalizing the proposal."

See more →
FAQ's

Common Questions

No. The AI Apprentice does the first pass; an Estimating Agent Manager checks it and is your main point of contact. The initial 30-minute report is fully generated by AI.

No, we are promoting them. GuthrieAI is designed to eliminate the "grunt work" (manual takeoffs, hunting through PDFs, formatting documents) that causes estimator burnout. Instead of replacing your team, we free them up to become Agent Managers. They transition from being data gatherers to being strategic closers—reviewing AI summaries, applying their market knowledge to pricing, and spending more time building client relationships.

RFQs go out from your own estimating email address, with your estimator copied. We act as an extension of your team, not a third party.

Monthly, month-to-month. There is no long-term contract required.

Yes. It's all of your data, and you keep access to it even if you leave the platform.

We work with many subcontractors in the industry. However, we enforce strict NDAs, no data is ever shared between clients, and all RFQs go out under your company's name.

We are actively developing solutions for this. Currently, manufacturers with quote desks, such as Kawneer and YKK AP, already use our service today to streamline their internal processes.

Every account is powered by a hybrid operational layer: 1 AI Apprentice (our proprietary AI workflow automation system) and 1 dedicated human Estimating Agent Manager. The AI handles instant document organization, tracking, and proposal generation templates, while your Agent Manager ensures operational visibility, monitors critical deliverables, and guarantees 100% compliance with RFI and bid deadlines.

The platform converts fragmented, email-heavy processes into structured data. For RFIs, GuthrieAI automatically tracks submission dates, logs open questions, and manages continuity across addenda. For proposals, our AI Apprentice extracts core project requirements, isolate trade-specific scope, map exclusions, and rapidly assemble compliant, professional responses so you can submit accurate bids much faster.