Synergy Between BIM and e-Procurement: A New Paradigm for Digital Procurement Management

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector is undergoing a digital transformation thanks to Construction 4.0 technologies. Among these, e-procurement represents a key element for the optimisation of tendering procedures and the improvement of administrative transparency, through the dematerialisation of documents and the rationalisation of workflows, resulting in time and cost reductions in procurement. In parallel, Building Information Modeling (BIM), stimulated by national and international regulations, allows a more integrated management of design information, improving the quality of decisions and reducing errors and inefficiencies. However, the integration between BIM and e-procurement is still limited, as e-procurement mainly focuses on document digitisation without fully exploiting the potential of BIM for advanced data management. With this in mind, this research aims to analyse the state of the art regarding the joint application of BIM and e-procurement in the public procurement sector. Through an in-depth bibliographical analysis, the main scientific studies and existing application experiences will be examined in order to identify best practices, still existing criticalities and phases of tendering procedures where BIM can bring the greatest added value. Furthermore, in order to concretely understand the potential and limits of this integration, an application to a case study will be developed, analysing in detail the achievable advantages and the problems encountered in the operational implementation. The analysis conducted also aims to outline possible evolutionary scenarios and strategies to overcome the technological, organisational and regulatory barriers that currently hinder full interoperability between these two technologies. The final objective is to provide a comprehensive picture of the opportunities arising from the joint adoption of BIM and e-procurement, highlighting how this synergy can improve efficiency, transparency and economic sustainability in public procurement.