Gainesville, Fla.–Bid Express, the online bidding service for state transportation agencies and their contractors, has reached two milestones: the service is celebrating its 10 th anniversary and recently achieved 50% market share among US state transportation agencies.

Bid Express was launched in 1997 when the idea of using the Internet for bidding activities was in its infancy. The service grew slowly at first, adding states at a rate of 1-2 per year. In recent years, as many as five states have implemented in one year, showing the rapid growth and acceptance of the technology.

“Our company leadership always believed that Bid Express was going to be successful,” said Joe Phelan, director of sales and marketing for Bid X.com. “Many ‘dot-coms’ came and went, but we were offering a quality service with excellent benefits for both agencies and contractors, so with a little patience, we felt that states would eventually implement it.”

As the use of Bid Express grew, add-on services were introduced to offer contractors the convenience of one-stop shopping for their bidding needs. Bid Express now offers a bid tab analysis service, on-line plan sheets, and the Small Business Network – a virtual community for facilitating the communication between prime contractors and subcontractors/suppliers.

The state transportation agencies in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have all implemented BidExpress. These states are all experiencing the increase in accuracy and efficiency that comes from Internet bidding.

“The growth and longevity is also a testament to our excellent customer service,” said Joe Phelan, director of sales and marketing for Bid X.com. “The team behind Bid Express is the best in the industry.”Contractors pay a minimal monthly subscription fee for the basic service, and can elect additional add-on, bidding-related services, including access to electronic plan sheets, the small business network for reaching subcontractors, and a bid tabs analysis service.

Bid Express is a web bidding information service developed exclusively for the road construction industry. By using Bid Express, contractors can save time needed for preparing and submitting bids and bid bonds on paper, and travel time and expense in attending lettings. Simple screens allow contractors to quickly scan all current lettings, and a search function is available for keyword information on current lettings and bid tab data from previous lettings. Users have access to lettings from all state transportation agencies using Bid Express ­-- not just those of their home state. Agencies benefit by not needing additional staff at lettings and by generating and tracking less paper. They also get electronic bids that are more accurate and ready to load.

Contractors pay a minimal monthly subscription fee for the basic service, and can elect additional add-on, bidding-related services, including access to electronic plan sheets, the small business network for reaching subcontractors, and a bid tabs analysis service.

Bid Express is offered by BidX.com, an Info Tech company. Info Tech software is installed in 40 state departments of transportation, several hundred US cities and counties and two foreign countries, performing a wide range of functions from project estimation to contract administration to electronic bidding. Info Tech, based in Gainesville, Fla., provides customer-oriented, highly technical consulting, software development, systems integration and network communications services for transportation agencies, consulting engineers and contractors. For more information, contact Info Tech at (352) 381-4400 or visit www.bidx.com.

###

Valerie Riley, APR
PHONE: (352) 381-4400
E-MAIL: valerie.riley@infotechfl.com