5 Easy Ways To Turn Your eAuction Into Success

As technology has improved, things have changed and dramatically shifted to the online platform. Talking about the e-procurement process, you will be searching for the greatest offer that suits your business. 

Besides the just price is an important factor, the calibre of the goods obtained, delivery schedules, and supplier dependability also matter the most.

These are undoubtedly the most important elements of a company as the prosperity of the business depends on finding the correct supply partner.

It would not be wrong to say that technology has helped e-auctions like reverse auctions to get the best deals. However, what could be daunting is making the e-auction a success. So let's discover what an e-auction is and how it can be made successful.

What is an E-Auction?

An e-auction can be understood as a platform where competitive suppliers offer a contract using the electronic procurement system. The e-auctions are of various types including Forward auction, reverse auction and more. Earlier, the use of e-auctions frequently resulted in lower supplier prices.

However, it resulted in most cases causing significant problems as the lowest bids were the most chosen. As a result, this meant that those who awarded the contract to the lowest bidders found themselves paying more in the long run because of the limited possibilities for corporate expansion.

On the other hand, the suppliers who thought their value was not being met ended up being offended because of such e-auctions. This has led to the shifting of the focus of e-auctions from the lowest prices to the comprehensive offers that keep all types of commodities supply under consideration.

Additionally, this makes it difficult for businesses to locate the right type of vendor to which they should handle the contract. Therefore to eliminate the confusion and make the experience simplified, here are a few ways through which you can make the reverse auction a success.

5 Ways on How You Can Make an E-Auction a Success  

 1.   Analyze the Market Place

One of the first things that you can do to make your forward auction successful is to analyze the marketplace. It is important to understand that the type of services and items the buyer wants to purchase or the seller is looking forward to selling through action will depend on the market need.

Apart from that, the audience they want to appeal to also matters a lot. Thus, it is very much recommended for you to study the market. And to do that, you need to make significant transactions currently between the industries.

Also find out if the market is dominated by the buyers or sellers, demand for supplies, services and others. Not to mention, try to come up with a forecast of the demand and supply trend for the future.

2.   Understand The Difference Between Price and Value

Anyone who has been to a shop to buy something knows that there is a difference between the cost of services and the quality it offers. If you only focus on the price, then the quality may be compromised.

This would straightforwardly affect the clients in the company besides leading to receiving negative feedback. Not to mention, your reputation in the market would also be compromised.

So it is important to consider the difference between the price and value in a forward auction. Thus, make sure to ask yourself questions like would buying goods of greater quality from a more expensive source not be a better business choice? 

3. Maintain Transparency During Communication

As communication is the key to success, it is vital to maintain transparency. Therefore, to improve the e-auction, the suppliers and buyers should communicate about all the technical and other terms.

After this, the e-auction should be planned as per the convenience of the participants so that the e-auction can be held efficiently. One should make sure to inform the participants about the benefits of the auction and how reverse bidding is an excellent chance to make business.

This would reduce the time of e-negotiations compared to the traditional methods and also help participants to know the level of competition that should be expected.

On the other hand, this will help in maintaining equality among the participants and assist them in placing fair reverse bidding as per the information offered.

4.   Use Images

When conducting an e-auction, it is pretty easy to assume that most of the bidders would be using their laptops, smartphones or other devices to engage. They would see your products to proceed with the eNegotiation process.

As a result, it is vital to make sure each item has at least three photographers of great quality. Make sure to use relevant and appropriate pictures or logos in the absence of the images to build a strong impression. You should keep in mind that when the participants would see the photos, it would make them want to buy them. 

You can also choose to add a company's logo to a white background as it would help the item to get recognized quickly. In the case of selling autographed items, the picture of the item from all sides or a close-up picture of the autograph.

Also, it is recommended to use high-quality pictures with the right colour settings so that it looks good on devices of all sizes.

5.   Offer Award of Business

Lastly, you should focus on letting the participants know that the awards of business would be offered to them.

When participants would know that the award of business is going to be offered to more than one participant, this would make them interested. An award of business will make them want to be a part of your e-auction and contribute to its success.

It is vital to keep in mind that the host should not hold forward auctions to get the best bids available just to offer the contract to someone who was not even involved in the eNegotiation and E-bidding process.