Director and Founding father of Compliance Chain, Robbie Blackhurst, shares his ideas on the pitfalls of eTendering platforms
The drawbacks of present eTendering platforms
If you happen to’ve submitted a building tender just lately, you’ve probably used an eTendering portal. These platforms have grow to be the norm within the building trade, promising enhanced effectivity, information entry, and improved competitors. Nonetheless, there are clear drawbacks to present eTendering platforms. The disconnect between tender administration and compliance checking has led to elevated prices, heightened dangers, and important procurement delays. The heavy administrative burden required to handle all features of the procurement course of solely exacerbates these points.
A digital lag in procurement processes
Whereas digital developments like Synthetic Intelligence (AI) are revolutionising building challenge supply, different features of the procurement course of are being left within the mud. Environment friendly planning on the tender stage is essential for profitable challenge outcomes. Nonetheless, with out streamlining this important section and bettering the usability of outdated platforms, tasks are confronted with delays, compliance points, and elevated prices.
Public sector customers and suppliers regularly encounter usability points with historic platforms. Though these portals function digital automobiles for issuing and receiving data, many lack the mandatory instruments to intently monitor a provider’s progress throughout a bid. Consequently, patrons spend extreme time chasing updates from suppliers all through the tender interval. The absence of primary automation in lots of eTendering platforms results in comprehensible frustrations for each shopper customers and suppliers and, in some instances, delays in the course of the procurement course of.
The place many eTendering portals miss the mark
Poor usability makes the tendering course of extraordinarily time-consuming, particularly when managing a number of tenders. Purchasers are sometimes compelled to juggle varied project-management and compliance-checking platforms, leading to costly subscription charges and elevated confusion for stakeholders. The necessity to change between completely different platforms creates additional inefficiencies, making an already complicated course of much more tedious.
Furthermore, many eTendering portals fail to facilitate straightforward suggestions from patrons to suppliers in the course of the bidding course of. This suggestions is essential for suppliers, because it helps them make vital enhancements for future tenders. The lack to offer suggestions simply may be extremely irritating for suppliers and infrequently leaves them questioning precisely the place they went fallacious. That is now extra essential than ever, with the stringent suggestions necessities outlined inside the Procurement Act (2023).
Regulatory and compliance challenges
Compliance in the course of the procurement course of is important, but no eTendering platform provides complete performance for sourcing and managing compliant suppliers. This typically forces patrons to make use of a number of platforms to handle compliance checking, rising time and prices whereas complicating the seek for compliant subcontractors. This carries important dangers. As an example, if a provider lacks the present insurances, well being and security accreditations, or lack monetary convenance, patrons could possibly be held answerable for any incidents, resulting in authorized motion, provide chain insolvencies, and reputational harm.
The answer: a holistic platform for the long run
To drive effectivity and enhance compliance requirements throughout the trade, the method of figuring out and procuring accountable suppliers should be simplified.
Undertaking stakeholders at present face heavy administrative burdens as a result of they will’t intently monitor a provider’s progress throughout a bid, present vital suggestions, or verify provider compliance. Moreover, efficiency administration, a vital facet of procurement, is neglected in present eTendering platforms. Monitoring a provider’s previous efficiency would assist purchasers create higher tender lists for future tasks.
The way forward for eTendering calls for a platform that mixes tendering, compliance checking, and efficiency administration in a single central hub. Such a digital instrument would act as a single supply of reality, drastically lowering administrative duties for all challenge stakeholders, chopping prices related to a number of platforms, and upholding compliance requirements required in public sector building tasks.
The digital revolution in tender administration and compliance assurance isn’t just a chance — it’s a necessity. To stay aggressive and compliant, contractors and purchasers ought to hunt down clever, holistic platforms that streamline and automate the procurement course of, guaranteeing effectivity, transparency and compliance at each stage.
Compliance Chain
is a unified building platform that homes Compliance Checking, Provide Chain Administration, Undertaking Administration and Social Worth Administration underneath one roof.
