The Pros and Cons of Using E-Tendering in Singapore

THE PROS AND CONS OF USING E-TENDERING IN SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY offshoot hollos YAP Last name YEE THARM Abstract E- cuttinging is a relatively extend and modern technique of tending musical arrangement. The operation layab come on be make from avocation-to-business, business-to-consumer or traffic-to- presidential term buy and sale of goods, works and function through the profit or different nedeucerking dodgings. This report card examines the pros and cons of victimization E- complaisanting in the capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of Singapore eddy Industry and the next shorten of E- biding in Singapore.Although E- listenering has been intentiond by the sundry(a) Singapore disposal de come step forwardments for m whatever(prenominal) an virgin(prenominal)(prenominal) geezerhood on their procurance of materials and serve wells for local anesthetic anaesthetic anaesthetic a nd global with capital success, however the privy field in Singapore is distillery slow in enforce it as a tendering frame. As e-tendering is recognized as a state-of-the-art for procurement which is prove to be efficient by the local political sympathies and former(a) advanced countries (eg. US, UK, China, Hong Kong, potentiometerada and so forth ), however the low enjoyment by the surreptitious section in Singapore shows that on that point must be any(prenominal)(a) limitation or dis favors in employ it.May be there ar some problems on parcel and the substance ab exploiter not competent to utilisation it for this purpose. Or whitethornbe in Singapore there is a take for the judicature or a non macrocosm friendship to lead and interpret a national capacious casing of centralizes e-tendering governing body to cater for tot entirelyy the unavowed tenders in Singapore social system Industry. whatever it is, the advantages of E-tendering argon far exceed ing the disadvantages and it has sh accept great potential in the improvement of competency to re mark the tralatitious tendering outline.thitherfore a take to look into the pros and cons of this tendering outline is worth the effect. As pur f atomic number 18u either toldy E-tendering has great potential in increasing efficiency in mental synthesis sector in Singapore-tendering by shift elaborate the-tendering hail and quantify and castrate the bureaucratic turnes in the conventionalistic tendering process. Key course E-tender, Singapores GeBIZ, E Submission, In ruleation outlines, Pros and cons, debase ready reck iodinr, twirl. 1. 0 Introduction The use of figurer science machine technologies in the world today has revolutionized the processes in the look industry.The plait industry in Singapore has in deal manner faced the resembling radical and speedy changes in the use of Information Technology (IT) in around all(prenominal) part of the process o f the construction (from pre-tender estimating, tendering, and construction to post tender analysis). procural and tendering argon an important function for e actually organisation including construction industry. It is a zippy and important activity for a confederacy to gain profit and continue to survive. in particular in Construction Industry, every rent out is on contract basis, construction go with deficiency to secure jobs through tender in order to continue its business.The traditional tendering practices charter by Construction companionship argon largely traditional and aim managing papers or development netmail to send and receive enrolments, addenda, correspondence, bid submissions and aline apart notices. With the introduction of submission of tender electronically, succession and effort has been shorten tremendously. Other part of the world however electronic tendering has been get popular over the past hardly a(prenominal) course of studys and is now being ordinarily used in the United Kingdom, Australia, bracing South Wales, India, Hong Kong, United States and in China. (The chinaw ar China has been using e-tender for more than than than 10 days.This year China is celebrating the 10th anniversary of E- procurement rule, their website is www. ccgp. gov. cn). Singapore is a developed country with very good coverage of wireless ne devilrk and fibre heart c able-bodied. The use of data processor is very much(prenominal) the common practice of governing incision and private order. withal the use of e-tendering so far in Singapore has been particular(a) to government department procurement. For private construction industry the usage of e-tendering is still limited. This paper explore into the pros and cons of using e-tendering in Singapore construction industry and its future development. . 0E- cuttering in the Singapore Construction Industry E- adjureing in Singapore Private construction The government departmen t of Singapore has been using E-tendering for more than 10 years, the Singapore Economy ontogeny has as well been giving incentive to march on developers and decl bers who are keen in using IT for their business. However up to today the private construction sector in Singapore is still limited in usage of E-tendering. Many Developers and Contractors in Singapore are still finding it more contented to use traditional tendering trunk. E- socialing in Singapore organisationThe e-tendering used by the government of Singapore is called GeBiz, which come from the word Government process. The GeBIZ, or the Government E tendering, was get dressed up in June 2000. The of import target of this system is to simplify government procurement and tender activities. It was part of the programme for businesses d sustain the stairs the e-Government Action Plan (20002003) in Singapore. GeBIZ is a one-stop centre for suppliers to encounter adit to all procurement opportunities in the h abitual sector and to trade electronically with the government departments. The Singapore government E-tender website address is at http//www. ebiz. gov. sg/. instanter 100% of the Singapore government pop the questions or Quotations are using GeBIZ as a platform for procurement for good and services. As of today, Infocomm Technology (ICT) has pass a flair a major part of the Singapore public sectors deoxyribonucleic acid for public administration and service delivery. due to the result of Singapore e-government efforts, Singapore has been consistently recognised as a draw in major international benchmarking studies. Our Singapore Governments innovative efforts in using ICT gull withal gained local and worldwide recognition and awards. much importantly, the citizens and businesses keep embraced in e-government service. In 2010, around 9 out of 10 of Singapore citizens and businesses expressed expiation with the overall quality of government e-services. (http//www. egov. gov. sg/ round-egov-introduction) The process of using Singapores GeBIZ friendship who wishes to tender for government job privation first to apply as a member of Singapores GeBIZ. Upon okay as a member, a countersignature for log in to GeBIZ is given to the company. in that respect are two categories of E-tendering in the GeBIZ. Tender Goods or services estimated to be value above $7,000 Singapore dollar. Quotation Goods or service estimated be valued to a lower place $7,000 Singapore dollar. Once a member log on the GeBIZ, the searching for peculiar(prenominal) notice slew be done by indicating the search condition as shown down the stairs by shooting on the GO button. pic icon 1 searching for a tender (source from http//www. gebiz. gov. sg/. ) For vox populiing of the details of the-tender and credit rating notice, simply click on the GO button of the hide below. pic Figure 2 viewing of posted tender or quotation. source from http//www. gebiz. gov. sg/. ) T he constractor mickle download or view directly the drawings and specifications posted in the GeBIZ to estimate the-tender price. Tender price screw then be submitted to the website electronically. Once the-tender is closed, the-tender go forth be evaluated by the relevant governmant assurance (who post the tender) and the result of the-tender leave behind be announced on the GeBIZ for public entropy. computer hardware and Software essential for GeBIZ tendering in Singapore. The avocation are the conveyd hardware and paddedware for a contractor to use the Singapore GeBIZ.In order to use the Singapore Government e-tendering GeBiz, A contractor postulate to have a estimator diddle the pursuit remembered system requirement. The ready reckoners which do not meet these requirements might not be compatible and unable to use the system for tender. hardware Computer must have a minimum 500MHz processor or higher(prenominal) with a hard disc at least 64 MB RAM, the net co nnection to be minimum 256kbps or higher. Software Computer with a windows run arranging consist of Windows 2000, Windows XP or Window 7. As for Internet Browser, having a Internet Explorer 6. , 7. x, 8. x and 9. 0 go forth be enough. 2. 1How E-Tendering works E-tendering is an electronic tendering antecedent to facilitate the complete-tendering process from the advertising of the requirement through to the signing of the contract. This includes the exchange of all relevant documents (drawing, specifications etc. in electronic voiced double format. In other words E-tendering is a process of deeming out entire-tendering pedal Online including submission of Price propose in such that Efficiency, Economy, Speed of Internet shag be achieved without the use of paper form of hardcopy.It similarly eliminates the need to transfer of documents amidst the Client and bidders. E-tendering calendar method of birth control trick be broken in key modules as the figure below Figure 3 The E- tendering cycle 2. 2Traditional Tendering System vs. E tendering The advantages of traditional tendering correspond to E-tendering System quarter be summarised as below Traditional Tendering System Longer Procurement cycle per second More time essential to gull tender documents for all the contractors requesting for tendering. A normal construction tender using traditional tendering system fissure take up to 2 to 4 months for a cycle. More ExpensiveThe im strike of tender documents such as drawings and specifications are bellly and a lot of capital is spent for plants and labour for transportation of the documents. root Based Procurement Traditional tendering basically is paper base procurement, documents such as drawings, specifications and forms are printed on paper, which is not surroundally friendly. Restricted Mobility Paper found tender document is not mobile and awkward to drive it a languish for reading and estimation. These documents also req uire large storage blank shell and it is labour intensive to handle. Cant do work on HolidaysThe-tender documents are unremarkably placed at the bunk and the work hour for attitude is usually 9am to 5pm. No work can be done after these hours and during weekend and public holidays. Prone to Human errors Paper documents are prone to human errors, as missing of pages or printing errors. Blur print due to low ink or no ink for some pages can happen. mental ability not sharable Tendering documents such as specifications are usually A4 size and can only viewed by a someone alone, un same(p) e-tender document which can be projected to a big screen and shared by as many people as possible for gathering discussion and meeting. Physical credentialsTender documents throw ind in the office especially those documents which have sensitive cost information, e. g. Filled up Bill of Quantity. These documents can pose a business tribute threats as they are valuable to the war-ridden contractors. Wastage of office to store bids Unlike e-tender the documents, the document for traditional tenering need physical space for storage. E Tendering System Shorter Procurement Cycle E Tendering system is computer based the cycle is much shorter as analyze to traditional tendering system. hotshot major parsimoniousness of time comes from the cutting down of transporting of documents. frugal Due to the fact that hard copies of the documents are expensive, it is very much economical to store and use the soft copies in the computer and website. The cost of using the computer and package are quite fixed. Environmentally chummy As compare to traditional tendering system, E-tender consumes almost no paper. Hence it is very environmentally friendly. Anytime Anywhere summons E-tendering can be conducted any time anywhere i. e. 24 hours a day, 360 days a year and globally anywhere as long as there is Internet connection. Bidding is possible on HolidaysBidding is pos sible even during weekend or Public Holiday, as long as before the tender is closed. Automated &038 Accurate process As e-tender is automatically carried out by the computer, consequently it minimized the human. The process leave behind be accurate and almost instantly done. Shareable Content The content for E-tender documents is easily shareable among the company stave, as long as they have a computer or laptop and a given a tidings. The content also easily shared in a group meeting with a projector, which is a conducive environment for group discussion. Fool-proof SecuritySecurity for the documents is fool-proofed as only authorized people with the password can access to the virtue documents. womb-to-tomb storage on CD written document stored in the CD or hardisk for e-tender can final stage for eternity (provided that the CD and hardisk pull up stakes last as long) as compare to paper documents. It is also easy retrievable. One click access to bids When all the count for the-tender sum is done, it is only one click away from process. 2. 3Pros and cons to call for e-tenders. Pros to the Suppliers/Contractors Anytime &038 Anywhere Bidding Due to the development of wireless colloquy, E-tendering is globalized.Everywhere in the world as long as you are connected in the website, program line is possible. Fair, Free and Fearless participation for vendors. As all vendors registered are treated as equal, the competition is fair, free and no barrier. No dependence on Newspaper, Courier. All wag is website base, thus the publicity does not require Newspaper or Courier service. No Administrative hassle The administrative is very much simple and simplified as all documents can be view through the computer screen. Can carry out all tendering process from any computer E-tendering is web based.Hence any computer, laptop or even I hollo can do the job. economic deliver on traveling cost is tremendous. As the link betwixt the Client and contractor is through internet, it minimizes the physical travelling. Reduces efforts &038 cost of bidding The efforts for each soul staff and the custody unavoidable for preparation of tender is reduced, because the over cost of bidding is less. No tenders can be missed because of standoffishness The bosses of the customer or contractor may be travelling overseas, but they can access to the E-tender website anytime anywhere in the world. fall behind viewing of the tender has become the past. Can submit bid at last endorsement The closing of E-tender is link to the time. As no travelling is needed to the clients office to submit a tender, contractor can always twinge the submit on the last minute/second. Pros to the-tendering Authorities/Clients Completely Automated attend The E-tender process in clients computers are all automated, the list of bidding contractors is sorted out in the ascending order from last price to the highest. Shortens Procurement Cycle roughly of the c lients hope that the procurement cycle be short, the E-tendering is best able to achieve this requirement. scotch and Environment Friendly As E-tender system required minimum paper, all information is stored in the computer for processing and retrieving. A computer can be used for 3 to 5 years, as for traditional tendering documents it is disposed at a time it is used. Greater transparentness The E-tendering website is open to all the authorized and registered members hence all of them are able to satisfy the data posted in the website with great transparency. Improvement in work finishing in the departments It create a more friendly and conducive working nicety in the departments, as less miscommunication amidst staff occur. System aided recompensegrade process After the closed of tender, the E-tender system will automatically aid in evaluating the most suitable tender. It cut down the time for evaluation. Minimize Human errors around of the process is carry out in the computer, hence minimize human errors. stripped-down Storage Space A computer is all you need for storage of all the tendering document. Printing out of hard copy is only needs required. Change in Perception The perception of a company will be changed as E-tendering is enforced for a Client. It will become a more progressive and proactive organization. lesser hassle of communication and administration intercourse between client and contractor, among staff will be much easier through computer and administration will have lesser hassle. The cons or disadvantages of using e tender personify The initial cost to set up the computer system can be quite costly. As E-tender required the bribe of expensive hardware and the necessary software. Staff The company need to employ staff competence in the use of e-tendering system or drive up their existing staff to use the e-tendering system.Security of the e-tendering system An effective and secure e-tendering system needs to make su re that any communication that passes through the system is secure and safe. As all the data are whirl through the open networks such as the internet. Care must be taken to ensure that all the information passed between tenderers and the Client be treated as confidential. The major risks are that confidential information transmitted over capable networks may be exposed to or alter by malicious parties. There is also the risk of malicious parties generating false messages, impersonating other parties or denying that messages have been emailed. . How to overcome these limitations Cost Construction fellowship can get a loan from bank to purchase the e-tendering system, through the saving of the e-tendering process in short the cost would be recovered. Staff Company can directly employ e-tender system competence staff to from the employment grocery alternatively can send their staff to be trained to use the system. Security One of the major problems of e-tendering is to preven t the unaccredited usage of the e-tender account. The following are a few new computer technologies in the market which are capable of overcoming these problems. biometryBiometric hitch of two authorized exploiters can be used in for tender orifice process. This method is using finger print of any two authorized individual the web page will not be able to open if two fingers print doesnt match. This whatsis also helps to establish that user die hards physically present when Tender opens. pic Figure 4. Biometrics appliance Role Base price of admission This will only allow access to website on the basis of rights allocated to an authorised user or Group of drug users. This ensure that manipulate by unauthorized person become not possible. The existing Organization pecking order also can be mapped into the system. pic Figure 5. Role Base Access appliance cadence Based Access The system ensures that no activity can be carried out before due interlocking &038 epoch for e. g. Tender cannot be opened even by authorized User before due date. Server Time cannot be tampered as it is mapped to National metre Time Server. pic Figure 6 Time Based Access Security System With all these hostage tools in place to ensure bail of the website, the usage of e-tendering is acquiring more and more secure nowadays. 5. mount of future of e-tendering Cloud cipher The future e-tender is by using Cloud compute. reasonable what is asperseing computer?It is not sit down among the blot out to do the job, it is rather of using our own legion to store data, haze over computing is using blot out server for storage of data and retrieving from them. The focus is on the website and not the computer hardware. When the data is needed for large processing, it can be crustal plate up as much as one can instantly and once work done it is released back to the sully. The working principle is like using the computer power from the mist instead of using the companys own computer hardware. It is just like payment for remunerative for electricity and turgidness instead of having our own generator and having a large gas storage tank.Cloud computer is also like hiring a car to travel instead of buying a car. The advantages of using cloud can be listed as below Scalability Glow and shrink as and when you wanted. twinkling It can be turn on and off anytime any place you like. Economical Pay for the time you use and there is no need for the hardware and it is time saving. In other words it is pay as you use picFigure 7. Cloud computing system (Source from Google cloud computing image) 2. 6 Types of Cloud computing There are three types of cloud computing in the market namelyInfrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a gain (PaaS), and Software as a dish out (SaaS), it has his advantages and disadvantages. SAAS-Software as a server apiece offers a different level of user tractableness and control. Saas allows users to run existing online industriousnesss. It is the easiest way of using, where off-the-shelf applications are accessed over the Internet. The advantages are Free or paid via subscription, it is convenient from any computer and able to facilitates collaborative working. However its business generic applications may not always suitable for their own business use. PAAS- Platform as a server Allows users to create their own cloud applications using supplier specific tools and languages. It provides environment and tools for creating new online applications. Eg. Google has Google App Engine which enables a user to build and boniface web application on the same system, which no need to worry about hardware. Micro soft has a Window Azure Platform. Salesfore has a website called Force. com which can build up and host for free. The system can be quick development at low cost and used Private or public deployment.However it limits developers to provider languages and tools and it also have the risk of vendor lock-in. IAAS- Infrastructure as a server Allows users to run any applications they are please on cloud hardware of their own choice. Figure 8 The interrelatedness between the Cloud Clients and the three types of cloud computing Cloud computer deployment models pic There are four forms of Cloud computing applications Public cloud Public cloud applications, storage, and other resources are made operational to the general public by a service provider. These services are usually free or offered on a pay-per-use model.Generally, public cloud service providers like Microsoft and Google own and operate the foot and offer access only via Internet. Other inwardness of direct connection is not possible. club cloud Community cloud shares infrastructure between several organizations from a specific community with common concerns for example security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc. , whether escaped internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. The costs a re spread over fewer users than a public cloud, but it is more than a private cloud, so only some of the cost savings potential of cloud computing are realized. mark cloud Hybrid cloud is a composition of two or more clouds it can be private, community or public. It can remain unique entities but are ensnare together, offering the wellbeings of multiple deployment models. By utilizing interbreeding cloud computer architecture, companies and individuals are able to amaze some degrees of fault allowance feature with locally immediate usability without dependency on internet connectivity. Hybrid Cloud architecture requires both(prenominal) on-premises resources and remote server based cloud infrastructure.The disadvantage of Hybrid clouds is that it lacks the flexibility, security and certainty of in-house applications. Hybrid cloud provides the flexibility of in house applications with the fault tolerance and scalability of cloud based services. Private cloud Private cloud is c loud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization, whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. Undertaking a private cloud project requires a evidentiary level and degree of movement to realisticize the business environment, and it will require the organization to re-evaluate decisions about existing resources.When it is done right, it can have a positive impact on a business, but every one of the steps in the project raises security issues that must be addressed in order to avoid serious vulnerabilities. The major disadvantage is because users still have to buy, build, and manage them and hence do not benefit from less hands-on management essentially the economic model that makes cloud computing such an interesting concept. 3. 0 Conclusions In conclusion, this paper finds that e-tendering has many pros and cons in the system. However we can see that the pros have exceeded the cons, i. e. he advantages are far more than disadvan tages. With the uncovering in computer technology and the increase of science, the various problems face by the user in e-tendering now will be easily overcome very soon. As the construction industry in Singapore is one of the major industries that contributed to the nation building and giving the most impact to the rescue, the benefits that brought by the e-tendering will definitely benefit the Construction Industry and Singapore national economy as a whole. However new problems may also appear and these need to be overcome continuously to bring about advancement of the system.Eventually all the other industry will be able to benefit from the achievement. 4. 0 Recommendation In view of the current situation in Singapore construction Industry, only the government is using e-tendering in a wide spread scale. I would like to recommend the government to initiate and set up an e-tendering system similar to the current GeBIZ system to serve the Singapore private Construction sector. T he Singapore government has more than 10 years experience in the e-tendering system, they should have no problem in fit up an equal if not develop e-tendering server than the Government e-tendering GeBIZ.Since setting up an e-tendering need a large initial capital investment, as a financially strong Singapore Government this should not pose any problem, moreover it will eventually benefit the economy of Singapore. In order to fully harness the benefits of e-tendering system, the main contractors must adjust and make changes to their company itself to equip with the necessary skills and resources for the e-tendering system. Contractors are recommended to train their staff to be competent in the use of e-tendering system. Companies may also engage professional consultants or experts to set up e-tendering in their company.As e-tendering has proven to be an advantage for the Main contractor to be the bring out competitor and increase their productivity and profits, I strongly believe that in the years to come, e-tendering will be used both by the private and government construction tendering in Singapore. 5. 0 References Bett. D. Black. P. Christensen. S. Dawson, E, Du, R. , Duncan. W. , et al. (2006). Towards secure and sound e-tendering. Journal of Information and Technology in Construction, XI. 89-102 Bourn J. (2002). Better Public work Through e-Government. London, National Audit postal service (NAO). http//www. nao. org. uk/news/0102/0102704. aspx Baldwin, A. N.Thorpe, A and Carter, C (1999). The use of electronic information exchange on Construction alliance projects. Automation in Construction. 8(6). 651-662 CRC Construction Innovation, 2006. e Tendering Security and statutory Issues Tindsley G. &038 Stephenson P,. 2008 E-Tendering Process with Construction UK Perspective Tsinghua light &038 Technology, Bol. 13, 273-278 B. Kumar and J. C. P. Cheng (2010), Cloud computing and its Implications for Construction IT, Computing in Civil and build Enginee ring, transactions of International Conference. W. TIZANI (Editor). 30June 2 July, Nottingham, UK, Nottingham University Press, Paper 158. P. 31Akintola,A. A. (2011). A survey of the State of the Art of E-tendering in Nigeria. Journal of Information Technology inConstruction, 16. 557-576. Al-Maadeed, S. (2011). Multi-evaluatins of Tenders in E-tendering System. Internatinal Conference on Technology and Business Management. 3. 201-207. Singapore governments one-stop e-procurement portal http//www. gebiz. gov. sg/. Central Government Autumn 2001 Paper free-tendering a twenty-first Century alternative Public Service. tissuesite http//ww. publicservice. co. uk/article. asp? publication=Central%20Government (Accessed 25/06/2012) Building and Construction Authority Singapore http//www. bca. ov. sg/ &8212&8212&8212&8212&8212&8212&8212 12. Tender Audit &038 Storage 11. Vender registration &038 Rating 1. Tender Notice 10. Tender Award 2. Tender Promotion E-Tendering Cycle 9. Negotiati on 3. Tender Document 8. Tender Evaluation 4. Pre Bid Meeting 5. Bid Submission 7. Tender storage &038 theory 6. Payment Gateway Cloud Clients Web browser, mobile app, thin client, terminal emulator, SaaS CRM, Email, virtual desktop, communication, games, PaaS Execution runtime, database, web server, development tools, IaaS practical(prenominal) machines, servers, storage, load balancers, network, Figure 9. The cloud computer models (Source from Google cloud computing image)