Page 137 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

Case 4.1: EC Application: Branas Isaf Competes by Using E-Tendering 117

CASE 4.1: EC APPLICATION Sending and receiving messages are embedded in the por-
BRANAS ISAF COMPETES BY USING tal with e-mail alerts. Acceptance notification is done in the
E-TENDERING same manner. Once the bid is accepted by the system, a
“winner” icon is displayed.
Branas Isaf is a small UK company that provides therapeutic
care for children who exhibit harmful behavior. A central
part of the company is its education department, which pro- The Results
vides several types of training.
Since its inception in late 2006, the practice of e-tendering at
Branas has grown rapidly. Branas employees have become
The Problem experts in using the computerized system. While the cost to
Branas declined only slightly, the opportunity for such a
The company has grown rapidly since 2005 and has doubled small company to compete with very large competitors
in size to 25 employees. The company serves both the private increased significantly.
and the public sectors in the UK. Furthermore, since most nonprofit organizations and
Branas Isaf’s major competitive advantages are: (1) com- many for-profit ones mandate e-tendering, bidders have no
petitive fees, (2) provision of customized training, and (3) pro- choice but to use the system. In addition, Branas understands
vision of on-site training. These advantages enable the company that e-tendering is clearly more beneficial for its customers
to compete with large training institutions such as colleges. as well as being a more sustainable way of doing business.
Branas Isaf frequently bids on jobs, especially in the pub- Overall, Branas has been able to maintain its competitive
lic sector where tendering is mandatory. Many of its 1000 advantage and continue to grow rapidly.
customers began using electronic tendering over the Internet. Sources: Based on eProc.org (2010), branas.co.uk, and
Thus, to maintain its competitive advantage, Branas Isaf etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk (both accessed March
decided to participate in e-tendering also. This case describes 2016).
Branas’s experience with its first electronic bid.
Questions
1. Discuss the drivers of e-tendering for Branas.
The Solution 2. Given the small size of the company, was it an advantage
or disadvantage to participate?
The UK government mandated that all bids for government- 3. Is the process of e-tendering simple or complex? Explain.
related jobs must be done via the eTendering (also called 4. Why do buyers choose e-tendering instead of regular
e-tendering) system, including the Government Work Based tendering?
Learning Programme, on which Branas bids on as a supplier. 5. What are the benefits of e-tendering for a small company
Branas followed these steps on the eTendering portal, where such as Branas?
requests for bids are posted:
E-Tendering by Governments
1. Electronically submitted a prequalification questionnaire.
2. Accepted the terms and conditions of BravoSolution Most governments must conduct tendering when they buy or
eTraining System. sell goods and services. Doing this manually is slow and
3. Downloaded online supplier guidance material. expensive. Therefore, many governments are moving to
4. Created a user name; received a password. e-reverse auctions for their purchasing.
5. Found the specific invitation to tender (ITT) on which it
wanted to bid online. Group Reverse Auctions
6. Pressed the “Express Interest” button—moved automat-
ically to “My ITTs.” To increase their bargaining power and get price discounts,
7. Downloaded all the necessary documents for the spe- companies, like individuals, can buy in a group, and the
cific bid. group can use a reverse auction to get an even better deal
8. Made a decision to bid and pressed the “Reply” button. than a quantity discount.
9. Accessed the project’s details; found and filled out a B2B reverse auctions can be done in a private exchange or
questionnaire. at an aggregator’s site for a group of buying companies. Such
10. Submitted the tender electronically and uploaded all group reverse auctions are popular in South Korea and usu-
necessary attachments. (It is possible to update or change ally involve large conglomerates. For example, the LG Group
the documents until the deadline is reached.) operates the LG MRO Auction for its member companies,