Bidding on Collaboration

Jan 1, 2001 12:00 PM

Dozens of e-commerce exchanges are serving the construction equipment industry, and more than a few specialize strictly in rentals. It can be confusing, not to mention time-consuming, for a rental company to test them all, pick a favorite or two and hope they're still around five months down the road.

One solution now arriving is collaborative software technology that allows online buyers and sellers to tap into a network of online exchanges at once. One such provider, WayBid Technologies, calls its service a "dynamic pricing network" and already claims United Rentals, JLG and Grove Worldwide as "early adopters" of its technology.

The software connects electronic marketplaces together in real time, breaking down the boundaries of a single exchange in a seamless process, according to WayBid co-founder and chief executive Peter Trevisani. The benefits of using a network of sites, he says, are 25 percent higher asset value for items listed and a 65 percent transaction sales rate compared with an industry average of 15 percent.

"No longer do we have to sort through the inefficiencies created by a working with a single exchange," says JLG senior vice president of sales Craig Paylor. "We are able to resell our used and refurbished equipment to the broadest audience possible by accessing multiple exchanges simultaneously."

WayBid software currently supports online auction transactions, but the New York-based company plans to support all online transaction models, including bid/ask, reverse auctions, request for proposal and request for quote, later this year.

ALSO: In the Great Internet Shakeout of 2000, alliances and mergers rapidly became a means of survival for many e-commerce companies. Here are the latest strategic partnerships on the construction rental front:

TaskPoint, a business-to-business construction equipment marketplace, has partnered with diversified equipment manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand to give www.taskpoint.com customers access to IR light compaction equipment. In addition to commerce applications, TaskPoint has an interactive database for heavy equipment specs, configurations and compatibility.

IronOx has become the first online construction site to offer the LoJack security tracking device and theft recovery system, according to the company. IronOx, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Trinity Industries, will serve as a LoJack dealer and offer the product on all equipment sold through www.ironox.com

Online marketplace Rentmaker has partnered with Hard Dollar Corp. and can be accessed at www.harddollar.com, which serves the infrastructure construction industry with Web-based applications, information, education and commerce facilities. www.rentmaker.com claims more than 8,500 participating rental suppliers and is based in Watertown, Mass.