FL E E T M AN AG E M E N T | By Becky Schultz
Buyers and Sellers Find Online Options for HEAVY EQUIPMENT There is high demand for heavy equipment but limited supplies. A unique online marketplace prepares to deliver solutions.
T
he construction industry has undergone unprecedented change since the early days of the pandemic. Many construction business owners were forced to conduct operations in ways they had not previously considered, and the industry saw rapid adoption of technologies capable of digitally bringing multiple parties together in a single online space. Buying, selling and servicing of equipment was no exception. Yet, while the pandemic
augmented a shift to online heavy equipment sales and purchases, it was a transition already in progress. According to Howard Hawk, president of bidadoo, an online heavy equipment, truck and industrial equipment marketplace, online buying and selling had seen a steady, consistent growth over the past couple of decades. However, the pandemic led to “a monumental shift in buyer behavior” as users were forced to find ways to obtain or
sell high-value used assets during the shutdown. “With the pandemic, I feel like the adoption rates sped up by 10 years… and I don’t think it’s going back,” Hawk states. “I see a huge acceleration in online buying behavior and acceptance and especially for larger, complex transactions.” Pandemic-related factors continue to push buyers and sellers online — most notable of which is the limited availability of both new and used machines.
SHORTAGES DRIVE UP BOTH DEMAND AND PRICES As the global economy started to emerge from the pandemic, steel producers and other component suppliers began the process of ramping up production. But this takes time and has been hindered by the slow return of employees and substantial exodus of many others from the workforce. Then, there’s the global supply chain. Fewer workers, insufficient numbers of containers and ships
Online marketplaces such as bidadoo are helping construction businesses find needed equipment and resources, while minimizing the costs of sale and extending the reach of sellers to more potential bidders.
All images courtesy bidadoo
40 EQUIPMEN T TODAY | December 2021
www.ForConstructionPros.com
and logistics nightmares contributing to pileups at ports have produced disruptions that could take months to resolve. The result is extended backlogs for the materials and components that go into new domestically produced equipment and vehicles and delayed shipments of new units manufactured outside the U.S. Dealer lots have become more sparsely populated and new equipment order backlogs have steadily lengthened.
