DAPHNE, Ala. — The city of Daphne recently saved around $61,000 by modifying its traditional project bidding process to an electronic bidding platform, using BidBridge, which allows for reverse auctions and claims true-market values.

The city budgeted $235,000 for the purchase of new trash bins, according to the city’s senior accountant, Suzanne Henson; the awarded bid came in at $174,000.

The reverse auction process allows suppliers to place multiple competitive bids, a change from the traditional “one price per vendor” scenario.

“Using the reverse auction, we were able to get more participation from bidders,” Henson said.

“The cornerstone of our business is competition,” BidBridge operations manager Guy Ramsey said.

Using the reverse auction, sellers compete against each other in a virtual bidding landscape; the process is timed and all bids are sealed.

Ramsey said BidBridge’s process allows for transparency during the bidding process, an attractive feature for a city in the process of formulating next year’s budget.

Henson expects the city to continue using the reverse auction for future project bids.

She added that the city council has the authority to reject a bid if it feels the offer’s not in the city’s best interests.

Founded in 2005, the Louisville, Ky.-based company provides an online procurement system used to secure public and private bids.