The Octane Alliance, which has an aggregate 1.2 billion sf of commercial real estate space, has connected about a third of its properties to the Web site, which helps provide collective bidding on services and vendors. "We are very pleased with the SiteStuff platform as we're rolling it out across our organization," Joe Fitzgerald, vice president of CB Richard Ellis, tells GlobeSt.com. "Today we estimate we have a third of our portfolio registered and online, but as with any new technology, there's an education curve associated with changing business processes."

The Octane Alliance has a three-pronged campaign to integrate e-commerce into ordering, purchasing and communicating. The first had been launched with SiteStuff, which provides per-order savings by using collective purchasing and bidding power. A study by Deloitte & Touche has shown SiteStuff could save "tens of millions each year" on sourcing goods and services for commercial and multifamily properties. The SiteStuff rollout will take about a year.

Fitzgerald says the effort, which requires a liaison at each of the four companies, is worth the effort. "We're confident that any perceived inconvenience will be offset by the efficiency gained and value driven back to the client," he says.