Updates from Enporion
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Clark, NJ
(Global Headquarters)
100 Walnut Avenue, Suite 304
Clark, NJ 07066
Phone: 732-382-6565
Email: info@gep.com
Interview with Online Auction Manager Veteran, Mary Zampino, at Enporion, Inc.
An inside look at online auction management from an 8-year veteran.
Karen Price: Good afternoon! Let me start by saying that some people are surprised that online auctions are in fact being used right now. You manage online auctions; how long have you been doing this?
Mary Zampino: “I’ve been part of the Auctions Team since the beginning of 2001, when we held our first international auction for Électricité de France (EDF). Enporion has been hosting B2B electronic auctions since the Fall of 2000. Our customers, both buyers and suppliers, span the globe, and represent various industries.”
KP: What are you seeing this year or trends in who and how auctions are being used?
MZ: “2009 looks a lot like 2003 and 2004 when we hosted several auctions for multiple customers per day because it was a buyer’s market and suppliers were exploring different ways to capture business. However, auctions today are different and much smarter than they were in the early part of the decade. Sophisticated applications allow for more options in auction configuration and sourcing optimization. The trend today is transformational auctions, in which bidders can provide real-time, competitive pricing and options for our buyer customers. For example, in Enporion’s Bid Manager, bidders may provide several different options for pricing a scope of work that result in a long-term contract or a capital improvement project.”
KP: What about online bidding using eRFP, eRFI – what are the trends lately?
MZ: “The trend lately has been to use sealed bids with online questionnaire options so buyers can standardize on responses and evaluations. Again, sophisticated applications like our new Bid Manager eRFx allow customers to utilize an online sourcing project tool to manage communications regarding a sourcing project (both internally and with vendors), set up and manage milestones, and most importantly, request standardized responses using a rich internet-based questionnaire tool. Once vendors have responded to the eRFPs and eRFIs, sourcing experts can review and score answers and collaborate on evaluations.”
"One of the most valuable trends is that our customers are integrating their ERP systems with Enporion Bid Manager eRFx to provide a seamless, totally automated electronic response to request for pricing on material catalog items. This way, a buyer creates an RFQ, sends it to Enporion who then notifies the supplier. The supplier creates their quote totally online and submits it… and then Enporion transmits to the buyer’s system, eliminating the need for redundant data entry and reducing errors.”
KP: What are some aspects of managing auctions that most business professionals don’t know it includes? I mean, what things could get overlooked, if not for the fact that you have a lot of experience?
MZ: “Absolutely the most important aspect of making an auction successful is the up-front work, which is necessary for any sourcing project success, but particularly so for electronic auctions. This work refers to the auction configuration, which can be detailed or simplistic depending on the situation, and the communication with and education of the buyer’s customers and the buyer’s suppliers.”
KP: What are some of the little known areas, but with experience you consider “just part of the job,” that a novice might overlook?
MZ: “There are two things that are often overlooked and undervalued; those are the input and trepidation from the buyers and suppliers. It’s important to normalize your specifications and requirements, but also to really listen to suppliers regarding their value-add and other soft-cost services that can make a major impact over time. It’s also important to educate both buyers and suppliers that an auction is just one method of collecting pricing and it doesn’t alter the sourcing process or objective.”
KP: Has the technology or overall process changed much since you started doing this eight years ago? If so, what’s better that benefits businesses?
MZ: “The process has not changed much, but the technology has changed dramatically. The applications have grown to fit the more sophisticated methods of sourcing, particularly service related projects. As I mentioned previously, best-in-class auction platforms provide the ability to collect more than just pricing… they allow the bidders to place optimal bids for the greatest value to the buyer. This includes multiple line items and pricing components.”
KP: If someone has questions about auction services at Enporion, how can they reach you?
MZ: Send a note referencing this article to marketing@enporion.com and I’ll get it. Thanks.
Learn more about Enporion's Auction Solutions mentioned in this article...
