1st Pricing, a Southern California-based e-commerce and technology company, released a plug-in that links its BIM technology to Autocad Architecture 2009. The company offers plug-ins that are compatible with versions 2008 and 2009; 2010 compatibility is expected in the near future. According to the company, the technology fully integrates BIM into the design process, automatically creating a detailed bill of materials with pricing and an online shopping cart called "5e." 1st Pricing created a standardized platform that links to e-commerce portals with supplier or distributor prices. This allows the purchase of "specified" materials online. With the new platform, this technology can integrate directly with any object-oriented CAD program. Visit the 1st Pricing website to download the free plug-in.

With the click of a button, the 1st Pricing technology accesses multiple databases through an internet portal and can pull the brands that are available in the region. Additionally it can provide green information, energy ratings, RFID, or provide comparison pricing of multiple brands to fill out a detailed bill of materials with all related content on demand making for easy fulfillment from a local building material distributor. Changes and updates are made within seconds so that everyone is on the same page. When users create a bill of materials using the patented 1st Pricing technology, they also create an online shopping cart available for everyone involved in the project to see.

Currently, the company is focused on building materials for residential construction but plans to add commercial building products. In the near future, 1st Pricing expects to provide pricing on virtually every building product used in residential construction while bridging the gap for subcontractors by including labor quotes.