The majority of Ontario local construction associations will integrate their electronic bidding system and online plansrooms with Reed Construction Data’s project news, plans and specifications. This will give contractors better access to and management of construction opportunities, resulting in efficiencies for finding new work, contractors and bidding.
A newly minted alliance between local construction associations across Ontario and Reed Construction Data (RCD) will deliver unparalleled digital project information and construction procurement opportunities for the industry, partnership stakeholders say.
“As we work together and play on our respective strengths, together we will be extraordinary,” said John Mollenhauer, president of the Toronto Construction Association. “I believe strongly that together we have created something that will dominate in the electronic tendering market.”
The core of this partnership will see Ontario local construction associations integrating their electronic bidding system and online plansrooms with RCD’s project news, plans and specifications. This combination of expertise, experience and intimate knowledge of all things construction will benefit the industry, association members and customers. At press time, a majority of the associations had joined the alliance.
“The key in this partnership is that, unlike other competition out there, construction is all we do at the local association level and that is the same with all that Reed Construction Data does,” explained Martha George, president and CEO of the Grand Valley Construction Association, based in Waterloo Region. “It is a no-brainer to partner with someone focused on our industry. We both have the same goals and similar mandates and that makes this that much stronger.”
RCD, a division of Reed Business Information, provides local construction data, building product information, construction cost data and market analytics to construction industry professionals in Canada and the United States. This partnership with the Ontario local construction associations allows for improved access to and management of construction opportunities, resulting in efficiencies for finding new work, contractors and bidding.
“By combining the strengths of RCD and the local construction associations in Ontario, we will be increasing our collective reach to over 10,000 non-residential construction companies,” said Mark Casaletto, vice-president and general manager, RCD Canada. “This will provide the most efficient and extensive reach into Ontario construction no one else can provide.”
British Columbia construction associations also recently entered into a similar integration partnership with RCD.
There is an emerging confluence of new web technologies, interest and energy around pre-bid and bid communications and these new alliances tap into that, said Craig Roberts, director of business development for RCD Group.
“We recognize that owners expect more efficient methods of advertising their projects and attracting the very best qualified contractors. Building product manufacturers demand state-of-the-art character recognition methods for identifying product specification opportunities and to grow their market share,” said Roberts. “Contractors use the web for business every day and expect efficient ways of identifying opportunities, bidding on them, and related communications.”
Leading procurement expert Stephen Bauld, president and CEO of Purchasing Consultants International, believes the alliance is a “perfect marriage” between organizations that are “steeped” in construction history and experience. “The alliance will not only be a huge benefit for the construction industry, but also for government procurement because there will now be a total solution to get all the information needed to bid on any tender or RFP,” said Bauld. “It is huge advantage for all the contractors who will see all the bid opportunities available.”
Derek Smith, executive director of the London and District Construction Association, said having some local construction associations “almost as old as Confederation” now partnered with RCD and its publication, The Daily Commercial News, established nearly 90 years ago, provides a “history and knowledge base” other bid and tendering services cannot bring forward.
“I am excited about what the future opportunities we will have collectively,” said Smith. “This strategic alliance will be an unstoppable force at the end of the day from plansrooms to online e-tendering solutions.”
The comprehensive, multi-stage opportunities the alliance will provide for RCD customers, coupled with owners benefiting from a wider audience of quality potential bidders, presents a “win-win” situation, partnership stakeholders agree. The TCA board unanimously voted in favour of the partnership with RCD and the other local construction associations, Mollenhauer said.
“Our members are better served with an electronic plansrooms in this partnership than in the old one. TCA has a relationship with the builder community and that is its greatest strength,” he explained. “We understand the manufacturers and trades that use the electronic plansrooms. We understand the downstream stakeholders such as the people who bid the projects. Meanwhile RCD has relationships with the architects, engineers and owners upstream. We complement one another and the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.”
The alliance partners expect other local construction associations to see the value and the evolution the new partnership provides for not-for-profit industry associations and the industry as a whole. There are no concerns about “loss of identity” through this partnership, added George.
“This partnership with Reed will only enhance identities,” she said. “From a competitive standpoint, for the associations, I firmly believe if we stay the same we will be falling backwards. The industry is more sophisticated and demanding of information than ever before. Associations could be left in the dust if they do not evolve through expanding services that they can offer. By using an engine like RCD, we will have a greater reach with public buyers and owners.”
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