Stimulate Sales with Recovery Data

In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into law.  Commonly referred to as the “Economic Stimulus” or “Economic Recovery” bill, this $787 billion Recovery package was intended to help boost current economic conditions and stave off any further job losses.  Twenty-eight different governmental agencies were allocated a portion of the $787 billion, and each agency was responsible for defining how it intended to distribute its Recovery Act funds to state governments or, in some cases, directly to schools, hospitals, contractors, or other organizations.

Due to the impact Recovery funds have on industries we service, such as construction and finance, Equipment Data Associates (EDA) sought to learn more about how we could provide information about the Recovery Act to help our customers grow their businesses.  In December 2009, EDA began a partnership with Onvia, the nation’s leading provider of Business-to-Government solutions.  Much like EDA, Onvia provides businesses across the United States with a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information used to make effective sales decisions.  For more than twelve years, Onvia has tracked government purchasing activity and commercial/residential projects for clients in various industries.

Onvia now uses www.recovery.org to add visibility to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending, and provides detailed information about ARRA funds from the moment they are approved through the time the contracts are awarded to businesses.  EDA partnered with Onvia to pair Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) data with information on Recovery award winners, and supply businesses that manufacture, sell, or service capital equipment with the information they need to contact Recovery award recipients.  In December 2009, EDA launched the online interface RECOVERY - the nation’s exclusive source of UCC data combined with ARRA-funded project details.

Onvia’s ultimate goal is to “provide transparency and accountability to recovery spending and to ensure that every business, regardless of size, has equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts”.  In order to create jobs, businesses need information about when and where ARRA-funded projects are happening, and they need to know early in order to prepare and submit bids.  EDA’s RECOVERY product pairs contract award information with a UCC-based purchasing history for each contractor, allowing RECOVERY subscribers to find out who has received government funding, what projects they’re working on, what their past equipment finances reflect, and what equipment they might currently need to complete the projects they’ve been awarded.

As of March 5, 2010, EDA has captured 8,993 contract awards issued to 5,404 contractors and subcontractors and knows the complete UCC history associated with 2,570 or 48% of those contractors.  Developing a sales strategy based on award amount and each contractor’s equipment buying history, RECOVERY subscribers will be first in line to sell – and service – the equipment needed for these AARA-funded ventures.

For more information on EDA’s RECOVERY product, or to schedule an online demo, visit http://edadata.com/recovery/.

Sarah Coffey is a Customer Experience Account Manager at EDA
scoffey@edadata.com | 704-814-1420