Use of eProcurement Grows During Pandemic

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Use of eProcurement Grows During Pandemic

Over the past year, procurement teams have moved toward a virtual environment in record numbers.  Faced with the challenges of working from home or an emergency operations center, the need to move the procurement processes online became a top priority.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, commonly referred to as CapMetro, is a public transportation provider operating bus services and a commuter rail system in Austin and several suburbs in Travis and Williamson Counties, Texas.  Maintaining 2,300 bus stops across 83 routes;  17 Park & Rides/transit centers, 9 commuter rail stations, diesel trains, hundreds of paratransit vehicles and MetroBuses, as well as administrative offices, there is an ever demanding workload to keep all operations in constant motion.

In 2018, the agency began to automate its procurement process by bringing in a new eProcurement system. At the end of the competitive process, the ultimate contract went to PlanetBids, a nationally recognized eProcurement company that tailors its services to government procurement. Prior to the automation effort, all bid opportunities were published, followed by a hybrid paper and electronic submission process.  Questions and interactions were conducted via email exchanges followed by electronic publication.  “The amount of paper used in the process was not supportive of our sustainability goals, something that is very important to our organization,” states Muhammad Abdullah, Senior Director of Procurement.

Fast forward to 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Abdullah estimates that 70%-80% of the process was automated at the beginning of the calendar year. The remaining unautomated portion suddenly became a high priority, as CapMetro’s team members moved to remote working locations. He notes, “When the workforce transferred to off-site environments, our process needed to move to 100% electronic quickly. We examined the remaining components to question how they could be automated.” Working with the PlanetBids team, they addressed additional needs with new features and modules and updated existing policies to reflect the new online procedures. Abdullah further adds, “Our philosophy is that policies and procedures should be a living document, reviewed and updated to always reflect new requirements.”

In reviewing your procurement processes, is there any portion that is not currently automated?  Whether it was moving bid and RFP processes to an online platform or accompanying functions such as contract management, insurance certificate renewals, and increasing diversity contracting, PlanetBids helps many agencies across the country convert quickly.

As a certified woman-owned business and Gold sponsor of CAPPO, the Planetbids team is exhibiting and presenting during the CAPPO conference.  Please join us at the Cooperative Procurement Best Practices presentation on Monday afternoon (Jan 4^th) or Managing bidding, including construction bidding (prequal and bonds), while working in a remote workforce environment on Thursday afternoon (Jan 7).  Our team – Alan, Arpie, Ria, Tim, and Doreen – will be at the PlanetBids booth during the Wednesday exhibitor hall from noon to 4 pm to answer your questions!