Optus awarded contract for construction industry trading exchange A consortium of Australia's largest construction companies, the Construction Industry Trading Exchange (CITE), has selected Optus to develop and manage a new online trading exchange, Optus inCITE.

The exchange will enable clients, owners, consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in the Australian construction industry to manage project delivery electronically - including document management, tendering and purchasing of construction services and products.

Optus will build, manage and promote the exchange, to be operational by early 2003 as part of a five-year partnership.

"While other vendors may have given up, Optus has continually championed e-Commerce as sound business sense. Our commitment to developing solutions in this area is now paying off," said Robert Parcell, Director for Optus Business.

Participants in the Optus inCITE initiative represent one third of Australia's non-residential construction industry with a combined turnover of A$10 billion. Their goal has been to create an open and neutral online exchange.

Mike Rollo, Chairman of CITE, said Optus inCITE will deliver improved efficiencies for both private and public sector projects and lift the level of professionalism across the industry.

"When you consider overhead and business process costs represent 10 to 20 percent of the total costs of a typical construction project, even a 10 percent gain in efficiency would lead to significant savings for all participants," Mr Rollo said.

Optus inCITE will be available to all industry participants. It will enable contractors to respond to tenders more easily, quickly and accurately. Sub contractors and material suppliers will also be able to manage their purchasing and tendering processes online.

Another advantage is that a central exchange minimises investment by industry participants seeking individual IT solutions. It will also provide a single entry point for the small to medium enterprises that make up 99.9 percent of the construction sector.

Participants in the Optus inCITE initiative include Barclay Mowlem, Baulderstone Hornibrook, John Holland, Leighton Contractors, Leighton Holdings, Thiess, Transfield Construction and Walter Construction.

"The partnership with CITE is testament to Optus' leadership in online exchange technology, as well as our proven marketing capability to attract a large supplier base - critical to its ongoing success," Mr Parcell said.

Optus will work with partners EU Supply - to supply the tendering software, AEC/communication - to supply the document management software and the portal will be developed by Hothouse.

Media contacts:
Luisa Ford
Optus Corporate Affairs
Phone: +61 2 9342 5045