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The revolution brought about by the internet and the World Wide Web has led to the development of numerous e-Tendering systems for public sector tendering that have automated various aspects of the manual tendering processes that are known to experience numerous problems. However, one key area that has not been fully addressed is the automation of the evaluation of public tenders based on group decision-making. This paper presents part of the development of a Web-based e-tendering system called Nigerian Public Sector eTender (NPS-eTender) that automate the evaluation of public sector tenders based on group decision-making.

The system was developed using object-oriented methodologies. Specifically, Ripple and unified process methodologies were adopted.

The results of the system validation showed that NPS-eTender has an average rating of 74% with respect to correct and accurate modelling of the existing tendering domain and an average rating of 67.6% with respect to its potential to enhance the proficiency of public sector tendering in Nigeria. Based on the results of the validation, it can be concluded that the automation of the tender evaluation process can lead to a more proficient tendering process.

This research has contributed to the development of an e-Tendering system for the public sector that supports the whole tendering lifecycle including the automation of evaluation of public tenders based on group decision-making.

Award systems play the central role in public procurement, since they determine what is considered by the contracting authority as ‘the most economically advantageous tender.’ Many award systems that are used in practice have serious shortcomings, which are caused by the use of relative scores. In this article, the consequences of those shortcomings are demonstrated, using examples from real procurement procedures and case law. The examples are analyzed with methods from econometrics, social choice theory and game theory.

This guide was commissioned by the British Library Research and Development Department, on the advice of the Group for Research into Public Libraries. It was produced as the result of a research project, the first stage of which was a survey of automated issue systems in public libraries in the United Kingdom. The survey was published as a special issue of VINE (No. 52, December 1983), and showed a clear trend towards the provision of online, stand‐alone systems, often including functions other than circulation control, and usually provided on a turnkey basis. For the second stage of study, it was decided to concentrate on these systems, and to compile a guide and checklist on their selection and installation, which could be used by librarians considering automation, or in the process of replacing a system. The study was carried out over the period December 1983 — February 1984.

Tendering is a process undertaken to obtain offers from interested contractors to carry out specific packages of construction work. Presently, most construction stakeholders in developing countries use a paper-based tendering method, which is time-consuming, costly and labour-intensive. It may be argued that considering increased calls towards efficiency improvements in the construction industry, adopting e-tendering can bring about several benefits by allowing electronic exchange of information and avoiding the errors of traditional tendering. However, the question of readiness of construction stakeholders to embrace this change remains. The aim of this study is to investigate the readiness of Sri Lankan construction contractors and consultants (who are the two key parties involved in the tendering process) to adopt e-tendering.

A mixed-methods research approach was used to achieve the aim. Initially, a literature review was used to compare typical conventional and e-tendering processes. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the current level of usage of e-tendering and to investigate the readiness levels of consultants and contractors to implement e-tendering. Finally, seven expert interviews were conducted to propose suitable solutions to achieve a successful e-tendering implementation.

The analysed data revealed that both consultants and contractors used electronic media in the tendering process but they were still not ready for complete e-tendering implementation. However, consultants were more hesitant than contractors. The main barrier that limited e-tendering implementation was the lack of legal rules to cover e-tendering.

E-tendering implementation should be initiated from the government sector. Therefore, it is recommended to update the procurement guideline and required legal policies to enrich the current usage level of e-tendering among construction stakeholders.

Searching the tender notices that publish every day in open tendering websites is a common way for finding business opportunity in public procurement. The heterogeneity of tender notices from various tendering marketplaces is a challenge for exploiting semantic technologies in the tender search.

Most of the semantic matching approaches require the data to be structured and integrated according to a data model. But the integration process can be expensive and time-consuming especially for multi-source data integration.

In this paper, a product search mechanism that had been developed in an e-procurement platform for matching product e-catalogues is applied to the tender search problem. The search performance has been compared using two procurement vocabularies on searching tender notices from two major tender resources.

The test results show that the matching mechanism is able to find tender notices from heterogeneous resources and different classification systems without transforming the tenders to a uniform data model.

Government e-Procurement systems are generating tender-level process event data which are not being analyzed much. The purpose of this paper is to present a data visualization tool to benchmark the government tendering process. This tool collects, collates and presents e-Procurement process data in a meaningful way that enables comparisons and benchmarking leading to insights for process improvements and identification of the best practices. This tool is accessible on the website of South Asia’s first public procurement observatory (www.procurementobservatoryup.com) founded by the authors.

The authors started with an initial set of key performance indicators (KPIs) based on extant literature and existing practices. The authors got them verified by various relevant stakeholders through a series of formal and informal discussions. Some of them were dropped due to observed variations or their inability to offer insights to arrive at the final set of KPIs. In this paper, the authors use actual process-level data. Government of India’s National Informatics Center has implemented e-Procurement portals in various states and public enterprises (PEs) in India which provide tender-wise detailed e-tendering process data. The authors designed a web crawler that collects these data in a tabular format, which allows an easy analysis and comparison to measure and compare government tendering process performance for the last five years for the two large PEs. The authors also engaged in discussions with the procurement executives of the two PSEs to derive meaningful managerial insights from the results obtained.

Using the public procurement data visualization tool, the authors compare the procurement process of two of the largest Indian PEs, Coal India Limited and Indian Oil Corporation on the developed KPIs and draw insights. The results show significant difference in their procurement process performance due to different practices followed by them. Through interaction with the procurement managers of these two organizations, the authors identify few good procurement practices that can be applied to improve public procurement process.

This paper uses actual process-level data which can be used not just to identify improvement opportunities but also to gauge the impact of any process-level change. It presents a data visualization tool to generate insights from data generated by a procurement/tendering system. Such visualization and benchmarking can uncover better procurement practices and provide an impetus toward data-driven policy formulation. Apart from the two PEs as reported in this paper, this tool has also been applied on the public procurement data of eight Indian states.

The KPIs presented in this paper are aligned with the various dimensions of public procurement’s objectives. The visualization tool presented in this paper is based on the Open Contract Data Standard and has a universal application.

The use of technology and open data sharing as the enablers of benchmarking and process improvements help in establishing a dynamic competitive environment leading to financial savings, better services to citizens and proper use of taxpayers’ money.

This paper presents an original work carried out under the aegis of South Asia’s first procurement observatory at IIM Lucknow. The benchmarking tool presented in this paper uses open contract data standard and can be applied in most of the public procurement processes. This paper takes the discussions on e-Procurement to the next level, where the concern is no longer restricted to only adoption and assimilation issues, but also on how to make use of the data that these e-Procurement systems generate.

The purpose of this paper is to varied a conceptual model for e-Tendering readiness in any construction organisation prior of implementing e-Tendering system.

Based on conceptual model called e-Tendering readiness model (e-TRM), this paper empirically examines the e-TRM’s interactions and causal relationships between e-Tendering constructs and e-Tendering readiness. The paper uses the structural equation modelling technique to test the hypothesised positive inter-relationships. A questionnaire survey is conducted for respondents of construction organisations in Saudi Arabia to understand their current e-Tendering readiness and importance of e-Tendering variables.

Supported by empirical evidence, this paper recognised that three out of nine constructs have direct influences on the e-Tendering readiness. However, one of the constructs, which is for the first time hypothesised and tested has the most effect.

Ultimately, the empirical test for the e-TRM is conducted in certain case (Saudi Arabia); however, the e-TRM needs to be tested in other case area for more verification.

The study findings update previous information technology/information system models in construction by adding this tested model to the research literature on traditional and electronic tendering and the body of knowledge in the construction industry.

The service providers construct is proposed and tested for the first time, which is necessary to support the successful e-Tendering implementation.

The selection of the contractor, as a main participant of a construction project, is the most important and challenging decision process for a client. The purpose of this paper is to propose a multi-agent systems (MAS)-based contractor pre-qualification (CP) model for the construction sector in the frame of the tender management system.

The meta-classification and analysis study of the existing literature on CP, contractor selection and criteria weighting issues, which examines the current and important CP criteria, other than price, is introduced structurally. A quantitative survey, which is carried out to estimate initial weightings of the identified criteria, is overviewed. MAS are used to model the pre-qualification process and workflows are shown in Petri nets formalism. A user-friendly prototype program is created in order to simulate the tendering process. In addition, a real case regarding the construction work in Turkey is analyzed.

There is a lack of non-human-driven solutions and automation in CP and in the selection problem. The proposed model simulates the pre-qualification process and provides consistent results.

The meta-classification study consists of only peer-reviewed papers between 1992 and 2013 and the quantitative survey initiates the perspectives of the actors of Turkish construction sector. Only the traditional project delivery method is selected for the proposed model, that is other delivery methods such as design/build, project management, etc., are not considered. Open, selective limited and negotiated tendering processes are examined in the study and the direct supply is not considered in the scope.

The implications will help to provide an objective CP and selection process and to prevent the delays, costs and other troubles, which are caused by the false selection of a contractor.

Automation and simulation in the pre-qualification and the selection of the contractor with a non-human-driven intelligent solution ease the decision processes of clients in terms of cost, time and quality.

This paper aims to provide useful information and suggestions for future improvement in relation to China's construction industry and market. With China's rapid economical development and its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), much attention has been paid to the China construction business opportunities. However, not much information is available on the history, practices and business cultures of the Chinese construction industry.

Through literature review and interviews with industry professionals, this paper discusses the Chinese construction industry in terms of its market and management practice with a focus on tendering processes, contract management, project on‐site supervision and occupational health and safety (OHS) issues. It also discusses the challenges that face the Chinese construction industry.

China has gone over a long way in construction tendering, contract management and OHS. Its current practice is in the right direction. However, further development and improvements are necessary.

This paper provides useful information to Chinese construction personnel for future improvement. This paper also provides useful information to overseas companies who are planning to enter China's construction market in the near future.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach based on an additive value function (AVF) to select the most economically advantageous tender under European Union public procurement regulations.

A case study in which the AVF tender evaluation model is constructed by the procurement personnel and the results of the original, real-life public procurement evaluation model are compared to those discovered by the MCDA approach.

The AVF model captures the preferences of the procurement authority in a more reliable and transparent manner than commonly used evaluation models based on scoring formulas.

While commonly used in public procurement, relative scoring formulas can neither present the preferences of a procurement unit accurately nor do they enable bidders to draft bids according to these preferences. The proposed MCDA approach can achieve both.

The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, the successful construction of the AVF model with procurement personnel is introduced. Second, the model is used in an actual, real-life case. Third, a thoughtful comparison of features, structures and results of the AVF model and the evaluation model using scoring formulas is presented.