A school district serving 24,000 students in South Carolina recently ran their school food request for proposal (RFP) through eBridge and achieved estimated annual savings of 10% or $500,000. The incumbent food distributor was awarded the contract. This was an extremely complex RFP because there was far more involved with buying food for children than just lowering the cost. The school district took time to identify acceptable brands for every product category in the RFP specifications. eBridge worked closely with the district to build an RFP that took quality standards into account, while building a bidding format that encouraged competition among the vendors. A reverse auction was conducted and the vendors lowered their bids a total of 34 times to compete for the district’s $5,000,000 annual contract.
A private University recently partnered with eBridge on bid number 7. The bid was for all required furnishings for their new dormitory. The supplier list was originally restricted but the University was pleased to include many of the additional companies eBridge brought to the process. The simple response process allowed for a tight turnaround, which was a must since all furniture has to be ordered, manufactured and delivered for an April 2014 install date. Six companies were quickly identified and approved to participate. The bid event was extremely competitive bringing 362 bids with 38 first-place turnovers. The low bid price came in approximately 33% below the anticipated budget. The University is now reviewing the spec responses, bid pricing and furniture samples to determine which company offers the best overall value.
Even though it is their 4th year using eBridge for their Water Treatment Chemicals, the savings are still pouring in for a city in Illinois. This year, the reverse auction process saved them approximately $184,800 on their four chemicals. Nine suppliers placed 136 bids which allowed for true market value to be found with a spread between 1st and 2nd place of 0.76%.
The Department of Transportation for a southern State recently ran its bid for uniform services as a reverse auction. The bid was extremely competitive and the cost to the state was decreased by over $80,000 a year or 16%. Since the contract could potentially run for 5 years, that’s a savings of $400,000 to the taxpayers. eBridge was very involved with developing the specifications, participated in a pre-bid meeting and trained all of the suppliers individually on the process. There were five suppliers approved by the buyer to participate and the two lowest bidders were separated by less than half a percentage point. The reverse auction ran on eBridge’s proprietary online platform. The process not only saved the State money, but eBridge’s fees will be completely paid by the supplier that is awarded the contract.
A corrections management company recently partnered with eBridge to run their first reverse auction. This company approached eBridge to assist in obtaining competitive pricing on drug screening for a large number of correctional facilities throughout the US. The tests needed to meet the requirements of each facility for drug screening of employees and inmates (instant and lab). Due to different laws from state to state regarding drug screening of inmates, it was a little challenging deciding all the different tests and testing methods that would be bid through the reverse auction. Welcoming the challenge, eBridge assisted in each step of the bid process starting with spec research and development to monitoring the live auction.
7 of the 50 originally sourced suppliers met buyer requirements and were approved to participate in the live bid. When the auction ended, 947 lowering bids had been placed resulting in 29 time extensions! First place changed hands 124 times and the spread between 1st &2nd place suppliers was 0.08%. The end result was a happy buyer and a low bid that will provide a 17% savings against current pricing.
A water agency for a southern city ran its second reverse auction with eBridge and it produced some dramatic savings. The bid was for sodium hypochlorite and phosphoric acid. There were at least four bidders in each category and the online bidding was very active for forty minutes as vendors competed for the business.
When the event concluded, the agency calculated that they lowered their annual expenditure on sodium hypochlorite by $80,000 and phosphoric acid by $112,000, representing a savings of 35%. The reverse auction technology is important. However, at eBridge, we believe that the proprietary process that we’ve developed is what differentiates our service and enables the reverse auction to deliver maximum value.
The purchasing manager for the agency said, “eBridge brought a level of expertise to the table that minimizes public expenditures to the greatest extent possible. eBridge expands the database of qualified vendors which provides greater opportunities for offers. Prior to the bid event eBridge provides individual training to each vendor ensuring there is a complete understanding of what is required in order to submit responsible and responsive offers. eBridge also handles all the administrative duties normally assigned to the purchasing agent associated with the dissemination of bid documentation ensuring that consistency, transparency and integrity is achieved throughout the process. I would highly recommend using e-Bridge if the opportunity arose to enhance your organization’s ROI wherever possible.”
A large water and sewer agency in South Carolina recently ran its second annual chemical bid with eBridge and once again lowered its chemical costs. These results were consistent with other water agencies that have run multiple events with eBridge.
There are several reasons why eBridge can deliver savings in successive years on the same commodity. First, we are constantly sourcing to bring additional qualified suppliers to our bids. Second, the suppliers are coming into the bids prepared to lower their prices and compete for the business. Third, we are constantly working to become better at the process of running an effective reverse auction and the results prove that we handle the details exceptionally well.
A well run reverse auction creates real time free market competition that delivers the best market price for a buyer. There are many steps to running a great reverse auction and eBridge has the expertise and experience to deliver value for our clients.
An Indiana county has partnered with eBridge to run reverse auctions for their annual road salt purchases for seven consecutive years. eBridge has continued to find market value for this Indiana county year-after-year and this year was no different. At this point, you could call us both experts when it comes to road salt. This year, 6 of the suppliers sourced by eBridge met the Buyer’s minimum requirements and were approved to participate in the bid. During the 45 minute auction, the 6 competing suppliers placed 187 lowering bids resulting in first place changing hands 68 times. If awarded to the low bidder, the buyer will save $5.77 per ton over last year’s price. We are happy to again report that a great partnership and the reverse auction continue to produce savings.
In a service auction for elevator and escalator maintenance for the Public Works department, eBridge’s customer received 53% savings. Our client’s cumulative savings will be over $400,000 for this contract. It was an exciting bid to watch. Five local suppliers placed a total of 604 lowering bids. First place changed hands 169 times and the spread between 1st & 2nd was 0.14%. The auction captured pricing on rates such as repair per hour, overtime, holidays, and material markups. The buyer chose not to award to the lowest supplier but awarded to the supplier they believed provided the best overall value.
A large school district in Chicago’s northwest suburbs recently saved 47% off budget on a service contract for Parking Lot Paving and Maintenance. The three-year contract will see a reduction in costs of $115,000 and the winning vendor was an incumbent.
eBridge’s Specification Development Team suggested a new approach to capturing the pricing. The auction broke it down into measurable, responsible pieces by square and liner footage that helped minimizing inefficiencies. This recommendation helped them to standardize their pricing for future projects, provided exact measurements of their property (provided by vendors), and solidified their budget for the next 3 years.