Electronic tenders
...help you and your suppliers
too often electronic tendering is just seen as transmitting a Word document. Apet goes far beyond this.
Many organisations distribute tenders electronically. But how many organisations receive electronic submissions and automatically populate their evaluation systems to undertake value-for-money analysis?
Traditionally, vendor response documents are returned in different forms such as word processing documents, spreadsheets and hardcopy. This poses a significant drawback to the evaluation process and forces evaluators to carry out tedious administrative jobs. The great advantage of the electronic tender approach, using XML (or even Excel), is that data is presented and managed in a structured way by other consumer applications.
Lange Consulting & Software (LC&S) are setting the pace for innovation in tendering processes.
The term “eBusiness” is being used to describe the automation of business processes. This philosophy is embedded within LC&S product planning.
The use of technology by LC&S to improve the tendering process is delivering an efficiency outcome for its clients, and an efficiency outcome for its clients’ stakeholders (including suppliers).
Using Apetâ an organisation issuing a tender can now provide vendors with an application, Apet eResponse, to develop their tender response. Apet eResponse allows tenderers to rapidly and concurrently prepare tenders, manage their response progress and print hard copy tenders as required.
Apet eResponse even allows tenderers to provide sections of the tender to sub-contractors if required. Subcontractors can also use Apet eResponse to complete those sections and return them electronically. The prime tenderer can easily merge sub-contractor's responses to complete their tender.
Tenderers, having developed their tender using Apet eResponse can then lodge their submission electronically. Lodgement could be via CD, disk, email, or an electronic tender box on a website (for example, Apet files are compatible with AusTender).
When tenders are received, they are uploaded into Apet ready for the evaluation to begin. The evaluators will see criteria text, the vendor response, the evaluation team’s score, and the evaluation team’s comment on one screen.
eResponse is a standard feature of Apet and is distributed ‘free’ to prospective tenderers.
Using Apet, electronic tender capabilities, evaluation criteria, vendor responses and compliance statements are consolidated in one application.
Given the vendor’s response and compliance statements are kept electronically, it sets a sound foundation for the next stage of the evaluation process, i.e. assessment.