PETALING JAYA: The Government is saving millions of ringgit annually through the use of an e-procurement system, according to the company that developed the electronic process.
Commerce Dot Com Sdn Bhd said the Government is benefitting from a 10% to 30% reduction in the prices it pays for goods and services each year, since it started using the ePerolehan system in 2006.
“The savings can run into millions of ringgit. The amount varies according to the Government’s annual budget,” said Muzafar Kamal Shahaluddin, senior vice-president of Commerce Dot Com.
According to Commerce Dot Com, 166 transactions have been done through the ePerolehan system since its introduction, with a total transaction value of RM230mil.
The company developed ePerolehan and the accompanying bidding system, called eBidding.
“Suppliers are able to enjoy savings on paper costs, as well as travelling expenses and time because (ePerolehan) reduces (the need for) face-to-face meetings,” said Muzafar. “These cost savings enable the suppliers to offer reduced prices to the Government.”
Muzafar said eBidding offers a procurement method that’s competitive, has a faster processing time and ensures a more transparent supplier-selection process.
“With eBidding, the procurement process only takes 20 to 30 days, compared to six months with the conventional tender system,” Muzafar said.
Going up
It is now mandatory for the 100,000 suppliers to the Government in the country to bid online for all government contracts via ePerolehan.
With eBidding, Muzafar predicted, the amount of online bids for government contracts will increase to one million this year, compared to the 805,046 recorded last year.
The ringgit value of the online transactions that will be made this year is also projected to increase — to more than RM11bil, compared to last year’s RM9bil.
The bidding sessions usually last about two to three hours each, and can see up to 10 pre-selected bidders competing for each government contract. The bids can be conducted monthly or quarterly, depending on the regularity of the tender announcements.
The bidding process can be done multiple times. A ranking is done throughout the process — the highest-ranked bidder will be the company that offers the lowest price.
After the bidding process is over, an evaluation will be carried out by the specified government agency.
Muzafar explained that eBidding is suitable for commodities, products and services that have a standard specification and/or a high value or quantity. An example would be black chairs of a certain height.
The largest bid to date on ePerolehan was for a RM31mil contract from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, for the supply and installation of ICT (information and communications technology) systems for the police.
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