E-procurement
Red2 auction provides a customisable e-procurement environment that delivers on the promise of lower procurement costs.
Reverse auctions creating a competitive environment in which buyers realise a saving on procurement needs by enabling suppliers to bid electronically. Typically an e-RA (electronic Reverse Auction) provides a 8 - 24% saving compared to a more traditional procurement model.
Reverse auctions enabling purchasing requirements to be listed by either a single business or a collection of businesses on a single portal. Suppliers are then able to competitively bid on the requirements (services, products and commodities), in a reverse auction approach (i.e. the lowest bidder wins). Red2 auction supports the straight forward reverse auction model, but also provides a e-tender hybrid. The principle is very similar to a reverse auction; the poster of a specific requirement is able, at the end of the auction, to select the supplier who is best suited to the requirement in hand. This may not, always, be the lowest bidder.
Whatever your e-RA or e-Procurement needs, Red2 auction can customised to your requirements, and integrated into your existing procurement systems and process.
- Secure environment to publish tenders, invite suppliers and manage client-supplier relationships
- Graphical display of bidding and real time metrics.
- Reverse auction model (where the lowest bidder satisfies a tender)
- Tender auction model (where pricing may not be the only consideration in the buying decision)
- Transparent and fully auditable
- Suitable for service, product and commodity procurement
- Grouped or individual procurement lot packaging
Case Study - Supplie.ie
Client Description
Supply.ie is an online e-procurement auction site, specializing in connecting a potential buyer to a range of suppliers. Buyers can purchase products or services competitively from qualified suppliers whilst saving time and money.
Supply.ie is a reverse auction B2B site that successfully went live in 2010. Based in Ireland, it was created in order to assist local buyers in obtaining the most competitive quotes in a reliable and time-saving manner. The website works by enabling buyers to post their buying specification(s) with supply.ie. Relevant suppliers are automatically notified and can bid on this request. The buyer then receives all the competitive quotes and chooses a suitable supplier. This system is based on efficiency, transparency, value-creation, and target-driven marketing.
The business integrates a highly customizable and sophisticated business model with a developed software platform to enable suppliers and clients to connect seamlessly. Supply.ie believes in the collective demand of their customers, as well as unseen opportunities for the suppliers. Utilizing Red2s technology, the firm was able to realize their potential and develop value creation for themselves as well as their users.
Project Description
Red2 was asked to develop customizable specialized software to enable a reverse e-procurement auction model for supply.ie. The business model is quite complex, with multiple round auction process staged over a number of days. At each round, seamless email notifications as well as analysis of the bids is necessary to deliver to all the users involved. Each stage has additional requirements, which included the minimum number of suppliers bidding required to continue the auction, and the removal of bidders in the first round to drive fair and equal bidding behaviours.
Benefits
For the Supply.ie users as well as the company, many financial and service benefits have arisen as a result of the implementation of the Red2 auction software.
Benefits for supply.ie
- Customizable Revenue Model
- Choice of auction model
Sophisticated and customizable extranet administration, including:
- ability to create, monitor, and withdraw auctions
- ability to rate users
- ability to create and monitor category types
- monitor and control user quotes
- edit system generated user communications
- ability to change auction logic as Business Plan changes with time, a key benefit of Red2’s technology
- ability to report on auction history as well as on-going auctions
- ability to search users and access detailed user history
Benefits for users
- User is able to act/log on as both the client and the supplier
- Client and supplier are updated by automated and supplier/buyer driven email notifications
- Buyer has ability to pick specific supplier at end of auction when price is agreed upon
- Supplier information is confident until end of auction
- Both buyers and suppliers are verified and authenticated to ensure smooth and secure transactions
- Customers and sellers are able to save time and money by using the online tools
- For buyers, Supply.ie reduces the cost of purchasing by reducing the time spent sourcing, vetting and negotiating with suppliers
- A Q&A system is open to all users to post questions and review past issues, creating a social platform
- Automated emails enable user to be up to date with potential auctions and clients without logging into the website
Quotes
"supply.ie is an online quotation system which uses electronic Reverse Auction (eRA), Software as a Service (SaaS) and electronic Request for Quotation (eRfQ) principles. This is delivered via the Internet to customers who merely require a PC/laptop and Internet connection. supply.ie's key supplier is our innovative technology provider in London, Red2 Limited. Red2's creative and innovative development approach has ensured supply.ie has been built with industry-standard levels of simplicity, usability, flexibility and scalability. "
by Mike McGrath