expertise.
results.
success.
Let us help you navigate the waters of procurement.
Our full-service reverse auction solution, supported by experienced professionals in the field, is the single best way to get the best price from the most qualified vendors.
What is a Reverse Auction?
The reverse auction is simply another way - and, as seasoned reverse auction experts, we’d argue the No. 1 way - to get the best price from your qualified vendors.
As with any RFP process, you define your requirements and apply weight based on what’s most important to you - price, level of service, location, minority and women-owned business and other factors. But with a reverse auction, you are virtually guaranteed to secure the best price from each of the best vendors before you make your decision.
We bring 20 years of reverse auction experience to the table - expertise that has saved clients millions of dollars. Our professionals will help you refine your RFP specifications to ensure that only qualified vendors are invited to participate in the web-based auction. During the event, we do the heavy lifting for you. You just sit back and watch the savings roll in as vendors drop their price with each bid.
Learn more or contact us to explore what’s possible.
What Can I Buy?
Just about anything. Electricity, supercomputers, security guard services, school buses, recycling bins, towels for prisons. You name it. Over our many years in the field, we’ve probably run a reverse auction for it – or something very similar.
How much can I save?
Here are some examples of how we've saved millions for our customers
- AVERAGE SAVINGS 18%
- Propane Buses 18%
- Supercomputers 30%
- Fuels 52%
How Can I Start?
Our
Full Service
Approach
Procurex is your partner for savings in reverse auctions. With Procurex, you get a full-service approach that we’ve fine-tuned during our more than 20 years of experience running money-saving reverse auctions. In fact, working with us is like adding extra people to your staff – new team members who just happen to be experts in all things related to reverse auctions. We do almost all of the work for you. As an extension of your team, we will:
1. Evaluate
your opportunities for reverse auctions
3. Clarify
and normalize your specification to make it auction-ready.
2. Find qualified vendors
train them and bring them to the table for the reverse auction.
4. Host
the auction event itself
our customers.
our success.
We’re honored to call some of the world’s leading organizations Procurex’ customers. Whether we are helping to keep more dollars in the classroom in K-12 districts, getting better equipment, services, and prices in higher education, getting more bang for the taxpayers’ buck in government, or advancing the cause for non-profits, we are their partner for savings through reverse auctions.
“The current fiscal environment, where we have to do more with less, forces DLA and a lot of other folks to be very careful with how we spend public funds. A big chunk of the savings we’re expecting to achieve in the next five years will come from reverse auctions, and Procurex is our reverse auction partner of choice to make this happen.”
Charles Howerton
Program Director
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
%
Saved on Landscape Services
“We’ve used Procurex for multiple fuel auctions over time. It’s not just their software that makes it work, it is their hands-on approach that allows us to do some fairly complex auctions covering multiple products, multiple geographies, and multiple bidders."
Jennifer Doherty
Chief Procurement Officer
State of Pennsylvania.
"Procurex has partnered with us to make reverse auctions work. Helping us get some quick wins with small purchases, cleared the way for larger transactions and more significant savings.”
Trevor Day
Procurement Commissioner
City of Philadelphia
Savings on laptop computers
“The savings were so significant working with Procurex, that we were able to accelerate our purchase of buses that the schools needed.”
Gary Appenfelder
Director of Purchasing
Nashville Public Schools
“Working with Procurex is like getting extra staff members. They become your agent to do the heavy lifting to build the RFP.”
Stephen Mack
Associate Vice President
Procurement Services
Drexel University
- amount the State of Pennsylvania saved on fuels 52%
"I love using Procurex, and the guys over there have been great! They take what we would do for a normal RFP and get it ready for a reverse auction for us. I keep looking for new ways to use them."
Debra Flugum
Director of Purchasing
California State University
Managed Print/Copier Services Savings
“They help us with the RFP process – getting things ready for a reverse auction. And then they bring all the vendors to the table. It is a huge help.”
“Procurex knows how to best position it so that you can make a decision that is not based solely on price, but on other things in the bid.”
Ron Moraski
Director of Procurement Services
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
%
Saved on Towels for a Prison
Still Have Questions?
We love questions! Look over some of the more common ones or please contact us with any additional questions and concerns.
Is it true that reverse auctions are only relevant for commodity items?
No. Reverse auctions can be used for a wide range of goods and services. A reverse auction with Procurex includes a process of normalizing the requirements for vendors – whether that be performance metrics of a supercomputer, or the service levels for waste hauling or guard services, we help you define a common set of non-price items on which vendors will compete.
How do we get our vendors to participate?
We take care of that for you. Your organization can provide a preferred vendor list. Procurex can manage the outbound communication to inform vendors of a reverse auction event, educate them on the process and train them in the use of the reverse auction platform. Additionally, Procurex can solicit additional vendors for your review, approval in inclusion in the event.
Is it true that reverse auctions force competition on price-only?
No. Reverse Actions are actually just a step in a normal sourcing/procurement process. Just like a traditional RFP process, you define your requirements in different sections of sourcing document, you apply weights to different things such as service levels, location, MWBE, and Pricing. You are also provided with real time pricing information that can be invaluable in understanding your market position.
If we do a reverse auction, is my organization required to accept the lowest bid?
No, the buying entity would evaluate the online bids against their own criteria for value, price and vendor qualifications – just as they would in a normal RFP process. You will award to the best fit vendor at the best possible price.
Do reverse auctions have a negative impact on vendor relationships?
No. In fact, for most of your vendors, reverse auctions have become a fact of life. You are not forcing them to compete solely on price. You still evaluate them on various non-price factors, but you are ensuring that each vendor is giving you their best price. In fact, as long as vendors know that those non-price factors have been structured in such a way as to keep the playing field level, they appreciate the transparency of the transaction. They are also provided with real time pricing information that can be invaluable for them in understanding their market position.
How much does the service cost?
Typically, the service costs are built into the pricing that Procurex generates via our reverse auction platform in a ‘supplier pay’ model. The winning supplier pays a small fee (built into their pricing) that covers the cost of the event, and you would never see an invoice from Procurex for this service. There is never any cost for suppliers to register and participate in a reverse auction event. Procurex can also customize a pricing model that works best for you, including a per event fee model, annual seat licensing or multiple event packages.
Let’s start a conversation
We're ready to start today with an Opportunity Assessment. We’ll help you find your best bet for savings.
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