e-Tendering and e-Auction

Using Workflow Software as part of an e-procurement and e-Government strategy

e-Tendering is often perceived as the least risky e-government initiative, with e-auction offering the fastest return, these can be piloted with minimum commercial consequences.

One of the benefits of e-purchasing lie in reduced transaction costs and better compliance to pre-negotiated contracts. Most e-tendering solutions exploits internet technology and business process management Software to enable Government departments to arrive at true market prices for direct materials, capital goods and services.

e-auction and e-tendering workflow systems contains four major modules:
1)    Supplier management.  Increases collaboration with trading partners. It creates the opportunity for effective end-user relationship with suppliers under centralised control.

2)    RFx process management. Delivers transparent selection through the entire tendering process with added document security for supplier reassurance.

3)    Online Auction. For a fast return on investment, online auctions can drastically reduce the cost of goods and services.

4)    Reporting and Monitoring. Continuous measurement of the effectiveness of any key performance management.  These measurements include the hard benefits such as price savings and process cost reductions.  e-tendering can also deliver many soft benefits, including adherence to policy and legal compliance.

The business case for  e-tendering and e-auction Solutions is based on the ability to achieve year-on-year reductions in purchase prices and savings from lower process costs.  E-tendering and e-auction as an element of an e-Procurement strategy is part of the growing need to move staff from the back office to improve front line services.

e-Procurement Benefits include:

Cost of Goods and Services
Savings made in the cost of goods or services using technology as an effective tool to support price setting in the tendering process and then driving contract compliance. Average Savings of 5%-15% are common.

Process Efficiency.
Benefits accrued from reduced time spent in administration, elimination of duplicate process steps, internally and within suppliers, automation of manual low value tasks from the process. Process costs can be reduced by as much as 40%-50%.

Service Improvement
Reduced process times to improve responsiveness to customers and empowerment of staff to enable them to do their job better. Cycle time reductions of 50%-75% have been achieved.

Visibility of Spend
Access to key management information to support decision making, capture and analysis of the organisations spend behaviour, better monitoring and control, compliance and contractual arrangements of sourced products with approved suppliers and to the process of ordering these.