The Pros and Cons of Using E-Tendering in Singapore

THE PROS AND CONS OF USING E-TENDERING IN SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY head start names YAP Last name YEE THARM Abstract E- cutting tooling is a relatively new and modern technique of tending strategy. The transaction washbasin be finished with(p) from business-to-business, business-to-consumer or Business-to- g e genuinelyplacenment legal action buy and sale of beneficials, flora and operate d unitary the Internet or former(a)(a) networking strategys. This paper examines the pros and cons of apply E- painfuling in the detonator of capital of capital of capital of Singapore look Industry and the future trend of E- inviteing in Singapore.Although E- tendering has been usanced by the various Singapore politics de surgical incisionments for m each years on their procurement of materials and services for local and global with great success, however the undercover celestial sphere in Singapore is steady slow in using it as a tendering agreement. As e-tendering is recognized as a state-of-the-art for procurement which is proven to be efficient by the local Government and other advanced countries (eg. US, UK, china, Hong Kong, flowerpotada etc. ), however the low usage by the head-to-head section in Singapore shows that there must be somewhat limitation or disadvantages in using it.May be there ar some problems on trim backyw be and the social occasionr not competent to purpose it for this purpose. Or whitethornbe in Singapore there is a study for the government or a private comp whatsoever(prenominal) to lead and cater a national wide scale of centralizes e-tendering brass to cater for each(prenominal) the private tenders in Singapore reflection Industry. Whatever it is, the advantages of E-tendering ar off the beaten track(predicate) exceeding the disadvantages and it has shown greater potential in the improvement of efficiency to renew the handed-down tendering system.Therefore a study to look into the pros and cons of this tendering system is worth the effect. As eventually E-tendering has great potential in increasing efficiency in braid sector in Singapore-tendering by cutting down the-tendering court and succession and reduce the bureaucratic branches in the handed-down tendering process. Keywords E-tender, Singapores GeBIZ, E Submission, Information frames, Pros and cons, taint computer science device, construction. 1. 0 Introduction The use of calculating machine techno recordies in the world today has revolutionized the processes in the construction pains.The construction diligence in Singapore has overly faced the same radical and sprightly changes in the use of Information engineering (IT) in almost all part of the process of the construction (from pre-tender estimating, tendering, and construction to post tender analysis). procurance and tendering ar an important function for e very(prenominal) organisation including construction industry. It is a vital and important activity for a company to gain return and continue to survive. Especially in Construction Industry, every ancestry is on contract tolerate, construction company study to secure jobs done tender in order to continue its business.The traditional tendering practices apply by Construction Company be largely traditional and involve managing papers or using email to send and receive documents, addenda, correspondence, weightlift submissions and award light upons. With the asylum of submission of tender electronically, cartridge holder and effort has been shorten tremendously. Other part of the world however electronic tendering has been getting popular over the other(prenominal) few years and is now being commonly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New S verbotenh Wales, India, Hong Kong, United States and in China. (The PRC China has been using e-tender for to a greater extent than 10 years.This year China is celebrating the 10th anniversary of E- procurement rule, the ir sack upsite is www. ccgp. gov. cn). Singapore is a developed country with very undecomposed coverage of wireless network and fibre optic cable. The use of computer is very oftentimes the common practice of government department and private company. However the use of e-tendering so far in Singapore has been special to government department procurement. For private construction industry the usage of e-tendering is smooth limited. This paper explore into the pros and cons of using e-tendering in Singapore construction industry and its future phylogeny. . 0E- peckishing in the Singapore Construction Industry E- Tendering in Singapore hugger-mugger construction The government department of Singapore has been using E-tendering for to a greater extent than 10 years, the Singapore Economy Development has also been giving inducing to encourage developers and asserters who ar keen in using IT for their business. However up to today the private construction sector in Singapore i s still limited in usage of E-tendering. Many Developers and Contractors in Singapore atomic number 18 still finding it more comfortable to use traditional tendering system. E- Tendering in Singapore GovernmentThe e-tendering used by the government of Singapore is called GeBiz, which shine from the word Government program line. The GeBIZ, or the Government E tendering, was set up in June 2000. The main objective of this system is to simplify government procurement and tender activities. It was part of the programme for businesses under the e-Government Action Plan (20002003) in Singapore. GeBIZ is a one-stop centre for suppliers to carry access to all procurement opportunities in the humankind sector and to trade electronically with the government departments. The Singapore government E-tender website address is at http//www. ebiz. gov. sg/. Now 100% of the Singapore government Tenders or references are using GeBIZ as a platform for procurement for good and services. As of t oday, Infocomm Technology (ICT) has become a study part of the Singapore public sectors DNA for public authorities and service delivery. Due to the event of Singapore e-government efforts, Singapore has been consistently recognised as a draw in major international benchmarking studies. Our Singapore Governments progressive efforts in using ICT ease up also gained local and worldwide information and awards.More importantly, the citizens and businesses have embraced in e-government service. In 2010, almost 9 break through of 10 of Singapore citizens and businesses expressed satisfaction with the overall quality of government e-services. (http//www. egov. gov. sg/about-egov-introduction) The process of using Singapores GeBIZ Company who wishes to tender for government job gather up first to apply as a member of Singapores GeBIZ. Upon approved as a member, a password for log in to GeBIZ is given to the company. There are two categories of E-tendering in the GeBIZ. Tender Goods or services estimated to be valued above $7,000 Singapore dollar. Quotation Goods or service estimated be valued below $7,000 Singapore dollar. once a member log on the GeBIZ, the intrusive for specific notice poop be done by indicating the search condition as shown below by heeling on the GO button. pic embark 1 searching for a tender (source from http//www. gebiz. gov. sg/. ) For masking of the details of the-tender and quotation notice, simply click on the GO button of the screen below. pic framing 2 viewing of affix tender or quotation. source from http//www. gebiz. gov. sg/. ) The constractor provoke download or view directly the drawings and specifications posted in the GeBIZ to estimate the-tender determine. Tender price ignore then be submitted to the website electronically. Once the-tender is closed, the-tender allow be evaluated by the relevant governmant authority (who post the tender) and the result of the-tender ordain be proclaimed on the GeBIZ for p ublic information. Hardware and Software requirement for GeBIZ tendering in Singapore. The succeeding(a) are the required demandingware and software for a contractor to use the Singapore GeBIZ.In order to use the Singapore Government e-tendering GeBiz, A contractor needs to have a computer meet the followers recommended system requirement. The computers which do not meet these requirements might not be congruous and unable to use the system for tender. Hardware Computer must have a tokenish 500MHz processor or higher with a hard disc at least 64 MB RAM, the internet alliance to be minimum 256kbps or higher. Software Computer with a Windows operating(a) System 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 will be enough. 2. 1How E-Tendering works E-tendering is an electronic tendering solution to facilitate the complete-tendering process from the advertising of the requirement through to the signi ng of the contract. This includes the exchange of all relevant documents (drawing, specifications etc) in electronic soft copy format. In other words E-tendering is a process of carrying out entire-tendering Cycle Online including submission of Price romp in such(prenominal) that Efficiency, Economy, upper of Internet substructure be reach outd without the use of paper form of hardcopy.It also eliminates the need to transfer of documents between the Client and bidders. E-tendering Cycle foot 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 liken to E-tendering System can be summarised as below Traditional Tendering System long-range Procurement Cycle More time needed to mark tender documents for all the contractors requesting for tendering. A normal construction tender using traditional tendering system can take up to 2 to 4 months for a cycle. More Expensiv eThe printing of tender documents such as drawings and specifications are pricey and a lot of money is spent for plants and labour for transportation of the documents. motif hindquartersd Procurement Traditional tendering basically is paper based procurement, documents such as drawings, specifications and forms are printed on paper, which is not environmentally friendly. Restricted Mobility cover based tender document is not mobile and inconvenient to supply it along for reading and estimation. These documents also require large storage place and it is labour intensive to handle. Cant do work on HolidaysThe-tender documents are usually placed at the office and the working arcminute for office 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 knaves or printing errors. besmirch print due to low sign or no ink for some pages can happen. case not sharable Tendering documents such as specifications are usually A4 size and can only viewed by a mortal alone, unlike e-tender document which can be roveed to a gargantuan screen and shared by as many people as possible for separate discussion and meeting. Physical SecurityTender documents stored in the office specially those documents which have sensitive speak to information, e. g. Filled up Bill of Quantity. These documents can pose a business security threats as they are important to the competitive contractors. Wastage of space 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 compare to traditional tendering system. one and only(a) major thriftiness of time comes from the cutting down of transporting of documents. Economical Due to the fact that hard copies of the documents are pricey , it is very much economical to store and use the soft copies in the computer and website. The follow of using the computer and software are quite fixed. Environmentally lucky As compare to traditional tendering system, E-tender consumes almost no paper. Hence it is very environmentally friendly. Anytime Anywhere Bidding 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 possible even during weekend or public Holiday, as long as before the tender is closed. Automated & stainless process As e-tender is mechanically carried out by the computer, thereof it decrease the human. The process will be accurate and almost instantly done. Shareable Content The content for E-tender documents is easily shareable among the company ply, as long as they have a computer or laptop and a given a password. The content also easily shared in a group meeti ng with a projector, which is a conducive environment for group discussion. Fool-proof SecuritySecurity for the documents is fool-proofed as only let people with the password can access to the uprightness documents. Lifelong storage on CD Document stored in the CD or hardisk for e-tender can hold water for eternity (provided that the CD and hardisk will kick the bucket as long) as compare to paper documents. It is also easy retrievable. One click access to bids When all the calculation for the-tender sum is done, it is only one click away from bidding. 2. 3Pros and cons to call for e-tenders. Pros to the Suppliers/Contractors Anytime & Anywhere Bidding Due to the development of wireless communication, E-tendering is globalized.Everywhere in the world as long as you are connected in the website, bidding is possible. Fair, Free and Fearless participation for vendors. As all vendors registered are inured as equal, the competition is fair, free and no barrier. No dependence o n Newspaper, Courier. All posting is website base, hence the forwarding 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 phone can do the job. Economical Saving on traveling cost is tremendous. As the link between the Client and contractor is through internet, it minimizes the physical travelling. Reduces efforts & cost of bidding The efforts for each individual module and the manpower required for prep of tender is reduced, hence the over cost of bidding is less. No tenders can be missed because of distance The bosses of the lymph node or contractor may be travelling overseas, but they can access to the E-tender website anytime anywhere in the world. Miss viewing of the tender has become the past. Can submit bid at last minut e 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 clip the submit on the last minute/second. Pros to the-tendering Authorities/Clients Completely Automated Process The E-tender process in clients computers are all automated, the list of bidding contractors is sorted out in the ascending order from lowest price to the highest. Shortens Procurement Cycle just about of the clients hope that the procurement cycle be short, the E-tendering is best able to achieve this requirement. Economical 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 once it is used. Greater Transparency The E-tendering website is open to all the authorized and registered members hence all of them are able to mark the data posted in the web site with great transparency. Improvement in work nicety in the departments It create a more friendly and conducive working culture in the departments, as less miscommunication between staff occur. System aid Evaluation 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 Most of the process is carry out in the computer, hence minimize human errors. Minimal 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 knowledge The perception of a company will be changed as E-tendering is utilise for a Client. It will become a more progressive and proactive organization. Lesser hassle of communication and administration Communication between client and contractor, among staff will be much easier through computer and administration will have lesser hassle. The cons or disa dvantages of using e tender Cost The initial cost to set up the computer system can be quite costly. As E-tender required the purchase of expensive hardware and the necessary software. Staff The company need to employ staff competence in the use of e-tendering system or train up their alert staff to use the e-tendering system.Security of the e-tendering system An effective and secure e-tendering system needs to make sure that any communication that passes through the system is secure and safe. As all the data are passing through the open networks such as the internet. Care must be taken to find that all the information passed between tenderers and the Client be treated as confidential. The major risk of infections are that confidential information transmitted over opened networks may be exposed to or altered 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 Company can get a loan from bank to purchase the e-tendering system, through the saving of the e-tendering process soon the cost would be recovered. Staff Company can directly employ e-tender system competence staff to from the employment mart utility(a)ly can send their staff to be trained to use the system. Security One of the major problems of e-tendering is to prevent the unauthorised usage of the e-tender account. The following are a few new computer technologies in the mart which are capable of overcoming these problems. BiometricsBiometric verification of two authorized users can be used in for tender opening process. This method is using figure print of any two authorized individual the web page will not be able to open if two fingers print doesnt match. This appliance also helps to establish that user remains physically present when Tender opens. pic Figure 4. Biometrics appliance Role Base memory access This will o nly allow access to website on the basis of rights allocated to an authorised user or Group of Users. This ensure that Tampering by unauthorized person become not possible. The existing Organization pecking order also can be mapped into the system. pic Figure 5. Role Base portal appliance term Based Access The system ensures that no activity can be carried out before due date & Time for e. g. Tender cannot be opened even by authorized User before due date. Server Time cannot be tampered as it is mapped to topic Standard Time Server. pic Figure 6 Time Based Access Security System With all these security tools in place to ensure security of the website, the usage of e-tendering is getting more and more secure nowadays. 5. reaching of future of e-tendering Cloud compute The future e-tender is by using Cloud deliberation. Just what is slandering computer?It is not sitting among the demoralize to do the job, it is instead of using our own deal outr to store data, pervert figuring is using taint 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 scale up as much as one can instantly and once work done it is released back to the cloud. The working dogma is like using the computer power from the cloud instead of using the companys own computer hardware. It is just like fee for redeeming for electricity and gas 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. Instant 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), computer programme as a process (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), it has his advantages and disadvantages. SAAS-Software as a server Each beseechs a different level of user flexibility and control. Saas allows users to run existing online applications. 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 accessible 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 progress to and host we b application on the same system, which no need to worry about hardware. Micro soft has a Window cerulean Platform. Salesfore has a website called Force. com which can build up and host for free. The system can be rapidly 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 interrelationship 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 make available 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 infra structure and offer access only via Internet. Other means of direct connection is not possible. Community cloud Community cloud shares infrastructure between some(prenominal) organizations from a specific community with common concerns for example security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc. , whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. The costs are 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. hybrid 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 bound together, offering the usefulnesss of multiple deployment models. By utilizing hybrid cloud architecture, companies and individuals are able to obtain some horizontal surfaces of fault tolerance combined with locally immediate usability without dependency on internet connectivity. Hybrid Cloud a rchitecture requires both 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- mark 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 cloud 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 significant level and degree of operatement to practical(prenominal)ize 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 stay off serious vulnerabilities. The major disadvantage is because users st ill have to buy, build, and manage them and hence do not benefit from less hands-on management fundamentally 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 disadvantages. With the breakthrough in computer technology and the addition 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 parsimony, 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 bulge out and these need to be overcome continuously to bring about advancement of the system.Eventuall y 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 begin and set up an e-tendering system similar to the current GeBIZ system to serve the Singapore private Construction sector. The Singapore government has more than 10 years experience in the e-tendering system, they should have no problem in setting up an equal if not better 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 specify and make changes to their company itself to equip with the necessary skills and r esources 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 better 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 legal e-tendering. Journal of Information and Technology in Construction, XI. 89-102 Bourn J. (2002). Better Public Services Through e-Government. London, matter Audit Office (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. Au tomation in Construction. 8(6). 651-662 CRC Construction Innovation, 2006. e Tendering Security and Legal Issues Tindsley G. & Stephenson P,. 2008 E-Tendering Process with Construction UK emplacement Tsinghua Science & Technology, Bol. 13, 273-278 B. Kumar and J. C. P. Cheng (2010), Cloud Computing and its Implications for Construction IT, Computing in elegant and Building Engineering, Proceedings of International Conference. W. TIZANI (Editor). 30June 2 July, Nottingham, UK, Nottingham University Press, Paper 158. P. 31Akintola,A. A. (2011). A mass 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/. underlying Government Autumn 2001 Paper free-tendering a 21st Century alternative Public S ervice. Website http//ww. publicservice. co. uk/article. asp? publication=Central%20Government (Accessed 25/06/2012) Building and Construction Authority Singapore http//www. bca. ov. sg/ 12. Tender Audit & Storage 11. Vender fitting & Rating 1. Tender Notice 10. Tender Award 2. Tender forward motion E-Tendering Cycle 9. Negotiation 3. Tender Document 8. Tender Evaluation 4. Pre Bid Meeting 5. Bid Submission 7. Tender storage & Opening 6. pay 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 Virtual machines, servers, storage, load balancers, network, Figure 9. The cloud computer models (Source from Google cloud computing image)