H2bid Revolutionizing the Way Vendors and Contractors Seek Bids and RFPS in the Water Utility Market

Introducing H2bid, Inc., a procurement exchange providing B2B information services to the water utility market, efficiently connecting vendors and contractors with water and wastewater infrastructure contract opportunities. The purpose of H2bid is to create the first exchange for the water utility industry and de-fragment the industry by creating a single source where all water/wastewater utilities can post bids and RFPs, and all vendors and contractors can find bids and RFPs, as well submit electronic responses. H2bid is successfully leveraging data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning with tools such as analytics, forecasting, benchmarking, better due diligence, insights on pricing, more efficient contractor/subcontractor teaming methods, etc.    

Glenn Douglas Oliver, the co-founder, president, and CEO of H2bid, Inc. states “The exchange creates many benefits for industry businesses, and consumers, including: more efficient commerce, maximize competition, lower prices, green procurement, transparency, a comprehensive source of industry-wide data where we can apply analytics to enable smarter procurement decisions, help keep water and wastewater rates affordable, make the contracting process fair and open for everyone, and make it easier for new technologies and smaller companies to break into the industry.”

Some of the services H2bid offers are as follows:

a. Bid information service

A subscription service where vendors and contractors can access database of bids and RFPs from water and wastewater utilities covering all of North America (U.S. and Canada). Also, send out daily email alerts of new opportunities as they come in each day. Price: $1,995/yr.

b. Bid Forecaster Report

A subscription service where providing 10 projects per month that have not gone out for bid yet (pre-bid stage). $10,000/yr. Can be customized for selected states: $2,000/state/yr.

c. Electronic Bidding

A platform that allows utilities to post bids and RFPs and receive electronic responses. Designed to be an exchange capable of conducting bid activity for all utilities and all vendors and contractors.

Oliver, who started H2bid after working as a water commissioner in Detroit and being involved in the water utility industry for over 15 years as both as a public official and as a private entrepreneur, often felt that the company was not seeing adequate competition for contracts. Thus, why he started H2bid to more efficiently contact vendors and contractors with contract opportunities. H2bid was founded in San Francisco in 2011 and the company has a team of 25 people doing data entry and data sourcing, development, marketing, and a data scientist who is an expert in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Not only is the company attracting and targeting vendors and contractors that supply products, services, and software to water and wastewater utilities, but also water and wastewater utilities that are still using a paper-based procurement system. Their e-bidding platform is especially well-suited for the medium and smaller utilities (which represent over 80% of the 54,000 water utilities).