Headline
Subhead
(Source enr.com - Date 3/23/03)

By Judy Schriener

After several months of what can kindly be called a pause in the forward movement of online e-procurement in the construction industry, the two major independent firms that are most committed to developing it have made some progress.

BuildPoint Corp. today is announcing its new SubQual (for "subcontractor qualification") tool. The tool provides an organized and consistent way for construction companies to gather, classify, archive and share information about subcontractors that will help the contractors determine the subs' qualifications. SubQual is a component of what BuildPoint is calling its Enterprise Bidding Platform, its ever-evolving and expanding online invitation-to-bid solution which BuildPoint intends to eventually turn into a full online e-procurement application.

Last week WinEstimator Inc. rolled out its WinEst 6.0 software, which includes what the company is calling its RFQ server option, which works as a "cost data conduit" that enables customers to move cost estimating data to and from the Web in certain circumstances. WinEstimator CEO Istvan Szabo formed Cost Core Technologies LLC, which acquired some assets of the previously defunct ContractorHub two months ago.

BuildPoint is working on a two-pronged approach to building its solution. It is soliciting "design partners," large construction companies that will pay several hundred thousand dollars each, which amounts to discounted two-year licensing fees, for the privilege of providng input to BuildPoint that should result in getting a tool that is more customized to their needs. BuildPoint is close to signing with one major firm and Founder and Chief Technology Officer Florian Aalami says the firm hopes to have five signed up by the end of the third quarter. Prospects include what President and CEO Mike Kaul calls the major thought-leaders: Skanska, Webcor, Bovis, Clark, Swinerton and a handful of others. BuildPoint also is working on partnering with major software developers of project management software, such as Primavera and Meridian, to integrate their applications, says Aalami.

Both companies hope to be on their way to building what nearly every dot-com on the construction planet claimed to have a year ago--true end-to-end e-procurement soltuion--but none have to this day.

© 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies - All Rights Reserved