9 online platforms that help contractors find, track RFPs | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

Befitting the construction industry's reputation as a technology laggard, building pros say old-fashioned relationship building is still the best way to find new bidding opportunities. 

Nonetheless, there are a variety of electronic databases that help general columbus oh dump truck company and subcontractors track requests for proposals, or RFPs, for public and private projects. 

Here are the ones that Construction Dive sources have pointed to as resources for commercial builders, along with the benefits and challenges users see for each.

ConstructionWire

BuildCentral’s ConstructionWire.com provides details on active projects — from pre-planning to early construction. Each report includes the location, schedule, project details and key contacts.

The database focuses on private projects such as office buildings, hotels, retail and multifamily among other sectors, with a total construction value of over $500,000. The system’s staff gathers information directly from project sponsors, such as general contractors, architects, owners, city and state agency filings and business publications. About 3,000 to 5,000 projects are added each month, according to the company.

Users can see project types within the database, such as whether the project is a data center, grocery, hotel, medical, multifamily, etcetera. Other features include access to what stage the project is at, such as whether it’s in the planning phase, its future start date, early construction or completion date. The platform also shows whether the construction type is new, expansion or renovation.

Used by: U.S. Air Force, Turner Construction, Gilbane, AECOM

Price: Withheld

Construct-A-Lead

This online database provides access to commercial construction project information throughout the U.S. and Canada, both public and private. Users can sift through open projects by state, ZIP code, project type or keyword.

For example, multifamily projects can be searched by number of units, then by sub-project type, including apartment, condo, affordable housing, senior living and student housing. Hotel projects are available to search by the number of rooms, then by sub-project, including budget, extended stay, mid-range, upscale, luxury and brand. Medical and hospital projects can be searched by number of rooms and sub-project types, while restaurant projects can also be searched by brand, according to the Construct-A-Lead website.

Used by: Withheld

Price: Plans start at $995 per year for a county-level subscription and go up to $11,995 per year for a national full access subscription. Custom pricing is also available.

Dodge Data & Analytics

Dodge Data & Analytics’ database adds or updates over 6,500 projects daily, according to the company. Those early stage construction projects include public, private, small and large, according to its website.

The platform provides visibility into expected labor costs to quickly assess the profitability of potential projects before committing to bid. Users may also access who has downloaded plans to a specific project to gauge outside interest, plan next steps, develop a shortlist of potential partners and understand what the competition is doing.

Dodge's content collection process includes a team of reporters that build relationships with commercial construction professionals to capture the hard-to-find private projects, said Steve Masters, Dodge’s senior vice president of product management. That process is supplemented by web scraping techniques as well as partnerships with local, state and federal government agencies that provide their project documents through Dodge Construction Network.

Used by: Hoar Construction, Messer Construction

Price: Varies

State tracking resources

Many state and local governments have databases construction firms can check regularly for updates about when RFPs are supposed to be released.

For example, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has one such site and the state of Virginia has a website that tracks higher education projects.

Used by: Messer Construction, Wurzel Builders

Price: Free

GovSpend.com

GovSpend maintains a database of all government spending at the federal, state and local levels, according to its website. The online platform has a dedicated team that maintains relationships with government agencies and requests their purchase information directly from them.