Category: Commodities
A Kentucky city partnered with eBridge to purchase their road salt in preparation for the winter months. eBridge ran this same bid last year and the city knew the reverse auction process was necessary for their city to purchase the salt at a competitive price point.
eBridge’s team of purchasing professionals sourced suppliers for this bid, with four being chosen by the city to participate.
During the bidding event, a total of 160 bids were placed among the four suppliers, resulting in 80 first place turnovers and 59 extension of the clock, indicating the suppliers were ready to compete for this business.
At the conclusion of the bid, the city had realized a 10% savings versus last year’s pricing, indicating that while they purchased competitively last year through the reverse auction, they achieved true market value for their purchase for both this year and last.
In 2009, The City of Fort Smith Arkansas partnered with eBridge on the purchase of their water treatment chemicals, achieving significant savings and efficiencies in their purchasing process. Because of the success, Fort Smith immediately turned to eBridge to again provide expertise and leadership through this year’s chemical purchase. (Click here to read about last year’s event!)
For the 2010 bid, our team of purchasing professionals assisted the city in sourcing 17 suppliers to participate in the event. During the bidding event, 293 bids were placed by the 17 suppliers. In a paper bid process, the City of Fort Smith would have only received 14 bids rather than the 293 subsequent lowering bids that were placed by the 17 suppliers.
Throughout the bid process, eBridge provided consistent communication to the Fort Smith purchasing department about the status of the suppliers, bid documents and confirmation of communication to participating suppliers. The final deliverable was the reverse auction event that proved to be a huge success, yet again.
A mid-western city partnered with eBridge yet again to establish a road salt bid with one year extensions for the next four years. eBridge established the city’s road salt contract 5 years prior and with the contract up for renewal, the city looked to our team of purchasing professionals to deliver for them, yet again.
As purchasing professionals know, establishing road salt contracts early in the year helps your organization get a competitive market price for your purchasing jurisdiction.
The city anticipated a specific price per ton, however, at the conclusion of the reverse auction event, the auction yielded a low bid 15.38% lower.
Saves 5% off budget price on six new vehicles in preparation for 2010 school year
A school district needed to purchase a variety of vehicles prior to the start of the 2010-2011 school year. With tighter operating budgets, the school was looking for ways to save on cost, but not cut safety or necessity when providing a quality education and supporting programs to its students.
The school district sought to purchase six different vehicles, including maintenance trucks and driver’s education vehicles. They enlisted the expertise of eBridge, to provide purchasing consulting and the reverse auction platform.
Six car dealerships participated in the event, placing a total of 38 bids on the six vehicles included on the reverse auction. The clock extended 32 times indicating that the dealerships were excited to win the business for the new vehicles and that the school district was closer to achieving true market value for the purchase.
At the conclusion of the event, the price was five percent lower than their budgeted value and the school district was able to purchase all six vehicles and still meet budget.
As our economic future remains uncertain, it is important to maintain quality education for our young citizens. By incorporating purchasing efficiencies in to our routine purchases in education facilities, like the reverse auction, maintaining quality education becomes a reality.
Columbia, SC, August 3, 2010–With reports of budget crises in nearly every state, the state government of South Carolina is taking action by incorporating cutting edge technology and industry best practices to increase efficiencies in its purchasing process. One major addition to its purchasing techniques is the reverse auction.
A reverse auction is a secure, real-time electronic sealed bid platform that allows suppliers to place multiple bids, rather than the one price per supplier response traditionally used in the paper bid process.
In July 2009, the State of South Carolina engaged eBridge Business Solutions, a proven eProcurement services provider, through a state contract. Since the inception of the contract, the State has utilized the reverse auction process for purchases budgeted at $5,344,000, resulting in over $1 million or 20.8% savings versus budget.
This savings was achieved over the course of 11 events between the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Information Technology Management Office (ITMO) on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Coastal Carolina University, Trident Tech, Midlands Tech, and Department of Natural Resources. A total of seven state organizations have utilized the reverse auction process.
“The State of South Carolina serves as a model for other states by incorporating best practices in purchasing through the reverse auction process”, said Jim Headlee, CEO of eBridge, “We commend State leadership for leveraging technology to be responsible stewards of tax payer dollars.”
The State is scheduled to run several more items this year as well as other city and local government organizations.
About eBridge
Founded in 2002, Louisville-based eBridge provides fully managed business solutions creating efficiencies and streamlining business operations. Leveraging years of experience in purchasing, sourcing and budget management, eBridge Business Solutions’ full suite of services includes purchasing, merchant card management, web based payroll and corporate purchasing cards. For more information, visit: www.ebridgeglobal.com.
Press Contact:
Whitney Headlee
Director of Sales and Marketing
whitney.headlee@ebridgeglobal.com
‘Tis the season to be merry! Even though summer is here, now is the time to be purchasing for the upcoming winter season.
eBridge recently ran an event for deicing chemicals for a state transportation department.
True market value is our the main goal in each auction that we do here at eBridge and it was achieved on this chemical bid with a margin of 0.29% between first and second place. There were several suppliers competing for the top spot and first place changed hands thirteen times.
It doesn’t have to be raining out to buy a rain jacket and it doesn’t have to be cold to buy deicing chemicals so remember eBridge year-round for all of your purchasing needs.
BidBridge assisted a Kentucky city with the purchase of 11 chemicals for water treatment. Chemicals are a volatile commodity, with pricing for each varying throughout the year.
Twelve suppliers participated in the bid, placing 373 total bids throughout the 2 hour, 20 minute bid. First place changed hands 111 times and the clock extended 215 times, allowing suppliers to continue to compete for the business.
At the conclusion of the bid, the city saved 23% versus budget.
A Midwestern state’s water district engaged BidBridge for the purchase of two water treatment chemicals. The bid was comprised of four line items, with pricing segmented out for a 6 month and 1 year contracts for each. The chemicals included ferric sulfate and hydrofluorosilicic acid.
Seven suppliers placed a total of 31 lowering bids over the course of the one hour, 58 minute event. The final overall pricing for the event yielded a 21% savings versus budget.
The buying organization was thrilled with the pricing and is slated to run several more events through BidBridge reverse auction process in the near future.
Logs Less than Two Percent Separation between First and Second Place Bids on All Line Items
DANVILLE, KY (December 9th, 2009) – In October, the City of Danville, KY set out to acquire new contracts on eight water and sewer treatment chemicals. City officials recognized the need to use innovative techniques in procurement to attain the pricing they were hoping to achieve. As a result, the city looked into leveraging an electronic reverse auction platform for the bid.
Earl Coffey, Chief Engineer for the City of Danville partnered with Louisville-based BidBridge, a proven e-auction services provider for the public and private sectors. While the public sector’s traditional one price per supplier response has lasted over the years, BidBridge offers an alternative for public organizations that recognize the need for better competition in the bid process. By using a secure, real-time electronic sealed bid platform that allows suppliers to place multiple bids, the purchaser gains visibility and creates a more dynamic and competitive purchasing environment.
With BidBridge’s help, the city was able to attain the following line items with a mere two percent separation or less between first and second place suppliers:
– Hydrofluosilicic Acid
– Potassium Permanganate
– Liquid Alum
– Alum
– Mississippi Rotary Lime
– Powdered Activated Carbon
– Bulk Powder Activated Carbon
– Sodium Aluminate Solution
Fifty-five bids were placed for the bulk powder activated carbon line item, resulting in 29 first place turnovers and 89 time extensions. The event lasted two hours and three minutes.
While all of the elements produced heavy competition, the most competitive element was bulk powder activated carbon. With only .10 percent separation between first and second place suppliers, the City of Danville was able to attain true market value for its purchase.
“The City of Danville represents yet another example of the public sector’s renewed focus on efficiency through cutting-edge technologies and strategies,” said BidBridge CEO Jim Headlee.
BidBridge also hosted another Danville bid event for a rescue pumper fire apparatus on November 24.
In Northern Kentucky Water District’s first event with BidBridge, eight suppliers competed for the purchase of the following three chemicals:
copper sulfate
potassium permanganate
sodium hypochlorite
The suppliers had the opportunity to place bids for each chemical on a 6 month and one year contract. Due to the fluid price of chemicals, the flexibility of the BidBridge platform allowed the buyer to receive pricing from suppliers on separate line items.
The bid lasted one hour, four minutes. The most competitive line item was the sodium hypochlorite on a 6 month contract. 110 bids were placed for the chemical, yielding 35 first-place-turn-overs, with on .047% separating first and second place.
The buyer was pleased with the event and is already looking to run additional chemicals with BidBridge.