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Features

Smart Procurement

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DQI Bureau
New Update

The

Government of Assam carries out its activities and development projects through

departments such as Public Works Division (PWD), Education, Transport, and

Irrigation. The government receives large amount of funds in the form of loans

from Asian Development Bank to carry out these projects. To execute these

projects, the government invites tenders from vendors and suppliers. However,

the inefficiencies attached with the traditional tendering system are hampering

the use of available funds in the allocated time frame.

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In an effort to

standardize the tendering process and achieve a more scientific approach,

Government of Assam decided to implement an online tendering solution. The

implementation was to be phased out. It was decided that PWD of the state

government would first use the electronic tendering process and subsequently the

other departments will adopt the system.

The traditional

approach to tendering posed several problems to the government. This system was

creating cost and time overrun due to which the government was not able to

utilize the available funds from Asian Development Bank within the specified

time frame.

At a Glance

Issue:

e-Procurement



Reason: Inefficient tendering system


Vendor/solution: Wipro with NexTenders; e-Procurement applications


Benefits

  • Electronic

    tendering brought complete transparency, as compared to manual

    tendering process followed previously.

  • It

    was able to reduce collusion among vendors making the process fair and

    competitive.

  • Reduction

    in only reduced the administrative costs, and minimized chances of

    human error during the tender evaluation process.

  • The

    online tendering process ensured the availability of tenders to all

    vendors irrespective of geography and personal preferences.

  • Significant

    reduction in processing time and tender cycle time. The timely

    completion of the tendering process meant better utilization of

    available funds from financial institutions such as World Bank and

    Asian Development Bank and timely completion of the project.
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The Pradhana Mantri

Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) was one such project that had to be implemented. The

challenge was to enable the PWD department to complete the tendering process

comprising 111 tenders and amounting to Rs 350 crore, within a short span of 45

days. Therefore, the goals of the project were standardization of tendering,

introducing transparency, reducing vendor collusion and timely completion of

projects.

The solution was to

transform the traditional tendering process to a transparent online tendering

system. Wipro in alliance with NexTenders implemented a state of the art

e-Procurement application customized to suit the requirements of PWD. The

multi-modal workflow of the product offered a user friendly and easy to operate

system.

The new system enabled

PWD to post and amend tender documents and view and compare bids online, thereby

substantially reducing administrative costs and eliminating the hassles of

paperwork. The vendors could now electronically download and upload tender

documents, track the status of tenders and receive email alerts. The payment

gateway and issuance of digital certificates allowed for secured online payment

options to the vendors. The unique anti collusion security system ensured fair

participation of vendors irrespective of geographies. To ensure a smooth

migration to the new system, the solution was backed by commitment for onsite

service at PWD offices and training their staff.

The electronic

tendering system brought about a new approach to the way business was carried

out and furthered the government's commitment to e-Governance. The

transformation of the existing paper absorbing traditional process to online

electronic tendering process resulted in significant benefits for Government of

Assam.

Bhaswati Chakravorty 



bhaswatic@cybermedia.co.in

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