Surely construction industry veterans have heard this story before. Actually, Internet firms are the ones with the greatest to fear. Now that the frenzied rounds of venture capital funding have settled down and the lion's share of alliances and partnerships have been signed, tech startups are facing the prospect of actually having to do some real business. Some little bits and pieces of business are are starting to fall into place and more will follow in months to come. Internet firms will be under mounting pressure to produce some significant profits in relatively short order.
Many larger firms see e-commerce as the future of construction procurement.
But industry practice is not yet measuring up to the promise. E-commerce has passed the conception stage and is gestating. No one is really sure what it will grow up to look like. Construction firms need not act precipitously to dive into e-commerce. Technology firms are just beginning to move from offering interesting bells and whistles to addressing the real needs of the industry, which is why they have yet to make a major impact on construction.