What Is eTendering?
E-Tenders are an integral part of the procurement process, designed primarily to facilitate an effective method of procuring goods and services online. With E-Tendering, businesses can find the most cost-effective suppliers for upcoming purchases. Suppliers compete to win sales or provide business services in response to procurement opportunities. The etendering process can be completed end-to-end on an eprocurement or esourcing software.
With this entirely digital framework, it enables a more seamless, controlled procurement process, which allows the procurer to manage and evaluate bids with ease.
E-Tendering or “electronic tendering” means a tendering process where the Contract Documents are published electronically and the tender response to these is also submitted electronically in the first instance, and “e-tender” shall be construed accordingly.
e-Tendering (electronic tendering) refers to the use of a technology platform to solicit proposals from suppliers and evaluate them via an online framework (e-Procurement). Paperless e-Tendering consists of soliciting bids, evaluating bidder proposals, exchanging documents, and ranking short-listed potential vendors and their proposals.
After the buyer has reviewed a formal requirements document and approved it (e-Informing), some vendors are prequalified or shortlisted (e-Sourcing), the e-Tendering stage of the electronic procurement process begins.
How does eTendering work?
In the context of e-tendering, an invitation to tender (ITT) or notice inviting tender (NIT) is sent to potential suppliers in response to a purchase request that may take place through an Internet-based, online, or mobile software platform.
E-tendering facilitates the submission of the necessary information in response to an official request for proposal (RFP) within a specified deadline, generates and exchanges documents with e-signature and messaging, and evaluates bidders for the procurement opportunity.
In the event that the vendor is selected, the finalized e-Tenders will be legally binding. It is important to note that although submitted tenders may summarize final terms and conditions, the eProcurement process can include negotiating terms and pricing and conducting auctions before selecting a vendor.
The documents can be accessed by authorized personnel throughout the organization, since they aren’t owned by one person on their local device. In accordance with company policy, information viewed during the e-Tendering and eProcurement processes should not be divulged until a contract has been awarded.
E-Tendering may be required by organizations for the purchase of goods or services exceeding specific dollar thresholds or procured from a specific source.
What are the benefits of eTenders for companies?
- Improved cost savings: Due to the reduced amount of time, manual overhead from negotiations and paper involved, the automated process can generate significant savings compared to the manual process.
- Process that is organized and transparent: Opportunities, documents, and notices can all be uploaded onto the eTender platform, thereby enabling easy collaboration with your suppliers. In addition, you can time stamp all changes, updates, and questions, giving you an audit trail of every action taken.
- Evaluation of bids becomes more efficient: Tendering information can all be managed by a single web portal. This allows suppliers to be compared and evaluated here in lieu of evaluating their responses based on email and print outs of individual In addition, the suppliers can be notified of any changes or updates to the process in a standardised and collective manner through an electronic tendering system, thereby ensuring minimal mistakes place.
- Transformation of the procurement process: supplier information collected through eTender platforms may be used to update a company’s financial system, or directly into a supplier/contract database. Furthermore, they are able to provide management information, including the breakdown of product categories being sourced, the average time to award contracts, and the cost of the contracts.
Electronic tendering eliminates the costs of paper and printing for requests for proposals and contracts, as well as manual processes.
By eliminating paper costs, it is also possible to avoid the need to later send a corrigendum, which is a central listing of errors to be corrected. The e-Tendering platform allows any errors to be corrected online through e-mail communication.
Businesses can eliminate time-consuming tasks and fraud by accessing digital data integrated into eProcurement, AP automation, and ERP systems, and making global mass payments electronically.
In using online requirements for a purchase, the tendering process is streamlined and sped up, enabling published deadlines to be met without requiring a postponement.
What are the benefits of eTenders for Suppliers?
- Location restrictions are reduced: SMEs can participate in public sector tenders and suppliers can view tenders without regard to their location.
- Time and resources are saved when looking for contracts: This also facilitates obtaining tender documents, which allows offers to be submitted on a more timely basis as compared to more traditional methods. By eliminating communications with the buyer, the guided online completion experience enables the buyer to complete the tender response more quickly.
- As a result of instant delivery and real-time feedback on the progress of purchasing, eTendering helps to foster peace of mind by eliminating any concerns or apprehensions about a buyer’s receipt of documents within a specified period.
Why is eTending important?
E-tendering allows the buyer to obtain bids from vendors who are well-qualified and competitively priced. A tendering system that is electronic is paperless, saves procurement time, has clearly defined steps to complete, and incorporates an online repository of procurement documents.
An electronic tendering system allows potential suppliers to respond to bid requests in a secure manner. An e-Procurement platform is their means of obtaining new business.
It may be possible for entities to meet ESG (environmental, social, governance) goals through e-tendering.
E-Tendering ensures that important contracts have formal purchase requirements, allowing for a competitive bidding process with wider participation from potential vendors.
Additional Resources To Consider
