Reinventing Construction Procurement with SubBase

In this episode of the AEC Business podcast, I sit down with Eric Helitzer, founder and CEO of SubBase, a procurement platform that aims to bring order, transparency, and automation to this domain.

Room for improvement

Procurement is one of the least digitized yet most consequential parts of construction. The workflow spans field teams, project managers, purchasing, finance, and a fragmented vendor ecosystem.

Errors, delays, and mismatches between orders and invoices quickly cascade into real cost. In many companies, the process is still held together by spreadsheets, emails, and extensive manual reconciliation.

Streamlining procurement with AI

SubBase has grown quickly and now handles thousands of monthly orders and reconciles tens of millions of dollars in invoices for contractors. Eric’s team has built the platform around a simple idea: procurement should connect the field, office, and vendor ecosystem seamlessly, not force teams into workarounds.

Eric explains what he sees on the ground: rising complexity, volatile material prices, supply chain uncertainty, and growing pressure to keep projects on budget despite lean staffing. These forces are accelerating the adoption of purpose-built digital procurement tools, especially ones that automate reconciliation and reduce manual data entry.

Eric also shares how SubBase uses integrations, real-time data, and early predictive analytics to help contractors make faster, more informed material decisions.

It’s not AI for the sake of AI; it’s automation that removes administrative burden from field teams and gives office teams cleaner, more reliable data.

Recipes for success

We explore what differentiates SubBase in a growing, competitive landscape, how the company supports change management in traditionally minded organizations, and what’s coming next on their product roadmap.

Eric also offers personal advice for AEC tech entrepreneurs navigating the realities of scaling a startup in an industry that values trust over hype.

If you’re interested in the evolution of construction procurement and how a new generation of platforms is finally making it manageable, this episode is worth a listen.

Follow SubBase on LinkedIn.