eTendering System, Processes, and Optimizations

Learning an eTendering system can benefit your company by streamlining your procurement processes and saving you time. The name can sometimes be confusing to those who don’t have a full handle on what it refers to, but what it means essentially is moving many of your procurement processes previously manually performed to a digital web-based solution in the cloud. 

While it has become an industry-standard, not everyone has completely begun using procurement software solutions yet, so learning what eTendering is and its process is can be vitally important to your efficiency and productivity. Read on to learn more about what an eTendering system is and how it works. 

An eTendering System: What Is the eTendering Process?

As a buyer, you would choose a portal, or place on the internet, where you would want to find potential quality suppliers. There are many of these, and one of the advantages of eSourcing is you can pick and choose, but it can also be a drawback if the platform you choose isn’t the best. Find out from others which ones they prefer before moving forward. 

Once you’ve selected your platform, the eTendering system and process would look something like this:

  • Pre-qualifying with the platform and being approved on their site
  • Buyer places an advertisement on-site, with specifics about the project and what they’re looking for or invites specific suppliers only
  • Qualified suppliers see an advertisement
  • The tender is submitted for review
  • The buyer evaluates the tender responses
  • There may be requests for more information at this point if needed
  • The tender is accepted or rejected
  • If the tender is accepted, a contract is signed by both parties

Keep in mind, this is all done in a digital format, so unlike the days where there were calls (and even emails) back and forth, this type of communication can go very quickly and be solved within a matter of hours or days, which is one of the benefits of eTendering. It can be generalized and thought of as a simple contract management tool.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of eTendering?

While there are many upsides to the eTendering system, there are a few disadvantages that should be noted. There are severalImage of a machine for an article about eTendering System, Processes, and Optimizations. disadvantages of the eTendering system, such as:

  • Choice of portal. If you’ve chosen a portal that’s not user-friendly, eTendering can be frustrating at first for both buyers and suppliers.
  • Unclear language. Occasionally, a tender can be oddly worded, which means it can go back and forth and be discussed at length until it’s been made clear. 
  • Types of eTendering. There can be different types of eTendering in foreign markets, so be aware of everything involved if you do a lot of overseas business.

However, there are many benefits, such as increased efficiency, increased ROI year after year, getting a deeper data insight and building databases you can return to later, and also finding better suppliers at lower prices with better products. Also, everything is transparent, and there is spend visibility, so anyone from your team or theirs should check-in and see how the project is doing at any stage.

If you would like to hear more about the eTendering system and would like to schedule an eTendering demo, contact us at EC Sourcing Group today at 973-936-9672. We can help you reimagine procurement and streamline your entire process.