Centre for e-auctions

How e-auctions work
E-auctions are also referred to as reverse auctions in which suppliers offer progressively lower bids in order to win a contract; these have been used by procurement specialists since 1995.  E-auctions are different from conventional tendering processes as they are conducted online and allow bidders to see the most competitive bid, and to re-bid in response.   Bidders are all pre-qualified and quality scores are typically built into the auction process as bid weightings. Bidding may last a few minutes, or many hours.

OGC has developed e-auction tools and guidance to help manage an e-auction:

• Eight step e-auction process
• Readiness tool
• Frequently asked Questions

OGC and Buying Solutions working closely with central government departments review all opportunities to use e-auctions as part of new procurements or mini-competitions on frameworks.  Future e-auction dates can be found in the Schedule of e-auctions.

Benefits of using e-auctions
When managed well, e-auctions help to deliver very competitive contracts, which are both commercially sustainable and provide high quality goods and services.

Additional benefits from using e-auctions are:

• Transparency to all parties
• It is a legally compliant process
• The process discipline supports high quality procurement execution
• Suppliers have clear visibility of selection criteria and competitive pricing levels
• The potential to condition and shape the marketplace.