The shift away from big-firm dependency is already happening. Here’s what’s driving it-and how to stay ahead.
The Quiet Exodus
For decades, traditional vendors like CBRE, JLL, and Cushman & Wakefield have dominated the commercial real estate execution landscape. Their size, reach, and established processes made them the default choice for Fortune 500 real estate teams navigating complex projects.
But a significant shift is underway. Enterprise real estate departments are quietly breaking away from these traditional relationships—driven by demands for greater cost efficiency, faster execution timelines, increased control over specialized expertise, and the need to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving market.
According to a 2023 Deloitte survey, 63% of CRE leaders now cite “increased agility and cost-efficiency” as top priorities for vendor decision-making—up dramatically from 39% in 2020. This fundamental reprioritization signals more than a temporary adjustment; it represents a structural realignment of how corporate real estate gets done.
Traditional Vendors are Bloated for Today’s Needs
The major CRE service providers were built for an era of long timelines and massive, bundled contracts. Their structures, pricing models, and account management approaches reflect this legacy. But today’s reality has changed dramatically.
Today’s developers and in-house teams increasingly deal with shorter scopes, targeted challenges, and highly specialized needs. The traditional model—paying $800+ per hour for access to a permitting expeditor, lighting designer, or workplace strategist—has become increasingly difficult to justify.
A 2024 CoreNet report found that vendor costs are rising faster than internal CRE budgets, with 71% of respondents citing vendor inflation as a “significant concern.” This growing disconnect between cost and value has accelerated the search for alternatives.
Scopes are Smaller, But Expectations are Bigger
The nature of projects themselves has fundamentally changed. Today’s scopes are ultra-specialized—think air quality consultants in Austin for a three-week assessment, workplace strategists for post-pandemic space planning, or permitting specialists who know exactly how to navigate specific municipal requirements.
Corporate real estate teams are expected to move quickly and with precision, but traditional procurement processes weren’t built for this new reality. The time required to execute MSAs, negotiate statements of work, and navigate vendor onboarding often exceeds the timeline of the actual project need.
Major enterprises have already begun responding to this shift. Several Fortune 500 companies have quietly developed internal marketplaces and specialized vendor programs to access boutique expertise without the overhead of traditional vendor relationships.
Talent has Left the Building-Literally
One of the most significant developments reshaping the industry is the migration of top talent away from traditional firms. Many of the best project managers, engineers, designers, and strategists have gone independent, forming specialized practices or working as high-level consultants.
If your organization is relying solely on traditional vendor networks, you’re missing access to perhaps the top 20% of available expertise in the market.
It’s important to understand that these aren’t typical “gig workers.” According to Upwork’s 2024 Freelance Forward report, 53% of full-time freelancers now hold advanced degrees, and 40% have 10+ years of experience in their industry. In the CRE/AEC space, these numbers skew even higher, with many independent consultants bringing 15-30 years of specialized experience and the autonomy to work directly with clients without corporate constraints.
Project Teams, Not Vendor Contracts
Forward-thinking CRE departments are now approaching execution more like film producers than traditional managers: assemble the right team for the specific project, execute the scope efficiently, and then disband—without the overhead of ongoing contracts or relationship management costs.
Platforms like Aedifico enable this approach: post a scope, get matched with an expert or a specialized small firm, execute quickly, and move on to the next challenge. The shift is from staffing by contract to building by scope—a fundamentally different approach that aligns resources more precisely with specific project needs.
This approach doesn’t just save money—it dramatically reduces time-to-execution and often delivers higher quality results since the experts involved are selected specifically for their relevant experience rather than simply being the available resource within a vendor’s bench.
The Risk isn’t in Leaving – It’s in Staying
Perhaps the most compelling reason to embrace this shift is the growing risk of maintaining the status quo. While change always carries uncertainty, the greater danger lies in sticking with legacy models while the rest of the industry evolves.
The consequences are predictable and costly: projects get delayed as you wait for vendor availability, budgets expand to accommodate rising fee structures, and internal stakeholders grow frustrated with the disconnect between their needs and your execution capability.
Flexible experts bring speed, relevance, and specialized insight—without the politics, markup, or overhead costs of traditional vendor relationships. They allow your team to be more responsive to business needs while maintaining or improving quality standards.
Post a Scope. Meet your Expert. Execute like it’s 2025.
The future of commercial real estate execution is already here—it’s just unevenly distributed. Leading organizations have recognized that accessing the right expertise at the right time is more important than maintaining vendor relationships for their own sake.
Ready to experience the difference? Post a scope on Aedifico today, connect directly with vetted industry experts, and discover how the new model of CRE execution can transform your project delivery.
Your competitors are already making the shift. Are you?
Request a demo here: Request an Invitation – Aedifico
