Instructions of the eProcurement system / Frequently asked questions




How to use the Electronic Procurement System (eProcurement) on Etenders.ge?

Electronic Procurement System of Etenders.ge is designed to help you when you are looking for a business partner, from which you will conduct single or multiple purchases of products, works or services.

Procurement process starts by announcement of respective procurement procedure in the Electronic Procurement System. Upon the publication, Etenders.ge informs companies acting in the relevant field about your advertisement. In response, interested companies offer proposals from which you will be able to select the optimal one and initiate the steps towards contract conclusion.

Your tender documentation should describe what kind of business partner you are looking for or what products/services you wish to procure - the more detailed your specifications are, the greater the probability that the offered proposals come in line with your needs.

In order to place a tender on Etenders.ge, you need to login to the system by providing your e-mail and password, click "Add New Call for Tenders" and follow the standard fields integrated in the system and, if necessary, the short instructions placed next to the text fields. If you are not registered in our system yet, so please sign up free of charge. 

For the correct selection of procurement procedure, please refer to the explanations regarding the tender types below.



Which methods of procurement (procurement procedures) are available on Etenders.ge?

The correct selection of the procurement procedure depends on the object of purchase as well as on the type of agreement to be concluded and the procurement rules established in your company. Therefore, Etenders.ge is maximally flexible, offering to the customers different types and methods of procurement. Based on different needs, we offer electronic as well as paper based procurement processes.

Below is a brief description of our procedures:

• Upon publishing the announcement, your tender application will be placed on Etenders.ge's electronic system, and the proposals will be accepted bypassing Etenders.ge - for example, it is possible that you would like to receive proposals in paper or through e-mail or telephone (the so called paper based process).

Unlike the announcement, the integrated electronic procedures are meant not only to make an announcement on Etenders.ge, but also 
(i) to submit/receive proposals (eSubmission) from your potential business partners by using our eProcurement system, 
(ii) if needed, to conduct further communication with suppliers after submission of their proposals (for example, at the stage of clarifications) and 
(iii) to archive the tender-related documentation uploaded in the Etenders.ge for five years, accessible from anywhere by using PC with internet acess (which, in most cases, is used by the company for the reporting purposes).

In addition to the above, some of the tender features can not be performed without the use of electronic procedures - for example, the electronic bidding between the bidders can not be made in case of announcement, and the so-called reverse auction is required; electronic procedures simplifies participation in a procurement procedure from abroad.

The following types of electronic procedures are integrated into Etenders.ge:

• A reverse auction is a procedure within which electronic trading between the potential suppliers is held - suppliers are required/allowed to reduce initial prices in online mode.

The so called English Type Reverse Auction is built into our system, which functions as follows: The bidders submit their tender proposals and initial prices at the stage of the reverse auction - "submission of proposals commenced" - via Etenders.ge. You have to be registered in the system in order to submit a bid. Proposal submission ends at the pre-determined time, set by the procuring entity, and the reverse auction stage starts - "Bidding commenced" (auction starts as soon as the submission of proposals is finished). The window of the tender details will change to reverse auction window as soon as the submission of bids is finished. 

The initial duration of the reverse auction is 15 minutes (reduced bids are placed during this period). During the last two minutes of the course the remaining time of the auction is extended and returned at two minutes when the price reduction changes the rank between all competitors (this is in order to avoid last second bids).

The number of bid reductions during the auction is not limited, so that, you can submit bids as many times as needed. You cannot submit a bid which is more than maximal value of the procurement or reduce price with a bid which is less than minimal reduction step (these two values can be set by the procuring entity and can be seen in the tender details). Competitors can see each others bids, but cannot see each others identities (names). Bidder are allowed to submit lower or higher prices compared to the competitors.

As a rule, the reverse auction is applied when the procuring entity describes in detail the object of procurement and, therefore, the price bidding is held between potential suppliers within similar/equivalent products/services proposals.

• Open Procedure based on one envelope principle means submitting proposals at once by the suppliers interested in your tender application, in the so-called single “electronic envelope” by uploading files on Etenders.ge. 

Usually this is the usual case, when the representatives of the procuring entity are not obliged to assess technical proposals without knowing the financial proposals (prices). Accordingly, if you announce a “One Envelope” tender, the proposals both – technical (e.g., technical parameters of the proposed object) and financial (e.g., the cost estimate) uploaded on Etenders.ge, becomes available/visible to you in your electronic tender's results field as soon as the time for the proposal submission is over.

• Open Tender based on principle of two envelopes is applied, first of all, when the procuring entity (by internal organizational rules) is obliged to first evaluate technical proposals (without knowing the financial aspects) and then consider financial proposals (prices) for selecting the most profitable proposal.

As a rule, this procedure is used by international organizations (based on the applicable rules within the organization), or when procurement is carried out by the funds of international financial institutions, and when the procuring entity is obliged to follow the rules of procurement procedures of any international financial organization.

• Pre-qualification module allows you to select qualified suppliers for the next stage of the procurement process. The next stage of the pre-qualification stage usually refers to a restricted procedure(s).

As a restricted procedure you can announce a reverse auction, a one Envelope as well as two envelopes Tender. In case of restricted procedure, the proposal submission will be available only for the pre-selected suppliers.

Technically, the announcement of restricted procedures in our system is performed as follows: by announcing any type of electronic tender, you can choose the suppliers who will be granted access to the details of your tender by the system, and will be able to submit the proposals. The only term is that the candidate who is entitled to participate in the restricted procedure must be registered on Etenders.ge.

Like the restricted procedure, one of the options of Etenders.ge is Anonymous Tender, in which the procuring entity (for some reason) does not want to be revealed to the candidates as a procuring entity. The mentioned feature is available upon announcing the respective electronic tender. Please note that your identity will be revealed in the system only for those companies that have participated in the Anonymous Tender announced by you, after the tender process is completed.

What types of contracts/agreements can be concluded by using procurement procedures available on Etenders.ge?

By using procurement procedures integrated on Etenders.ge you have the opportunity to conclude the contracts on single as well as on multiple/periodic delivery of products/works and services.

For example, if you are planning to conduct a one-time procurement of a particular product or service, or intend to select only one company for periodic delivery, then it is enough to announce one procurement procedure on Etenders.ge, through which you will get the proposals from interested companies on one-time delivery.

It is also noteworthy that you may need to select several qualified suppliers in advance and conduct periodic purchases from the company that provides the best conditions (e.g., price) at the moment of purchase (Framework Agreement in procurement language). In this case, you can use the pre-qualification module with the purpose of preliminary selection of qualified and eligible companies. In case of procurement needs, you can announce the so-called “call off” procedure for the pre-qualified suppliers that will reveal the best among the pre-qualified suppliers. Technically, in our system, conducting a call-off procedure means conducting a restricted procedure for any tender type.

For different tender types please check the description above.


Which statuses apply in the course of procurement procedure?

Integrated statuses on Etenders.ge serve to regulate the process in the course of the procurement procedure. The statuses allow/deny particular actions to be performed in the system. Each tender is automatically assigned the relevant status according to the times specified by procuring entity in the tender details.

The status “announced” is assigned to the tender upon its announcement. The suppliers have the opportunity to get acquainted with the tender conditions but the submission of proposals is not possible during this status. At this stage of the tender process, the procuring entity can make changes in the tender announcement and documentation and, if necessary, cancel the tender.
When the status is “announced”, the question-answer module is turned on, that enables the communication between the procuring entity and the potential (registered in the system) suppliers (for example, question-answer regarding the details of the tender application). When using the question-answer module the system provides confidentiality of questioners.

During the status “Submission of the bids is started”, suppliers are given the opportunity to upload their tender proposals in the system. Upon entering this status, the button "Submit Application" appears in the system for registered users. By clicking this button, proposals from the interested companies will be uploaded to the system. Certainly, the supplier can change the proposal until the period for the bid submission ends. It is possible to cancel the proposal as well.

Upon entering the status “Submission of the bids is started”, the changes in tender announcement and documentation become impossible for the procuring entity. During the mentioned status the question-answer module is also turned on in the system.

Status "Bidding commenced" is assigned only in case of a reverse auction. Electronic bidding starts automatically, upon the completion of the tender proposal submission period. The selection of tender proposal ending time, as well as the electronic bidding start time is defined by the procuring entity and indicated in the details of the reverse auction.

Status "Completed" represents the final status of the tender, which is assigned to the tender automatically upon the expiry of the time period set for the proposal acceptance by the procuring entity, and when at least one proposal is submitted in the electronic tender. In case of a reverse auction, the status "Completed" is assigned to the tender upon the completion of the electronic bidding.

Status "No bids received" also refers to the final status. The difference between "completed" and "no bids received" is in the case of latter no bidder has participated in the tender.

The tender is granted the "Cancelled" status if the procuring entity cancels the tender which is only possible at the tender stage “Announced”.


Is it possible to communicate with the bidders once the submission was completed?


Yes, it is possible in case of electronic tenders. 

For that purposes the so called communication module is integrated in the system allowing to chat and/or to send/receive files to/from the bidders. Communication is initiated by the procuring entity. It should be kept in mind that the bidder will not be allowed to communicate, once procuring entity has closed (deactivated) the communication.

Which information is archived in the system, for how long and where can this information be accessed?

In case you have published an announcement, the system archives the tender notice and respective tender documents.
 
In case of any type of electronic tender, besides the tender notice and respective tender documents, the proposals submitted by the suppliers as well as information collected in the communication module will be archived for at least five years period.

The archived information is accessible for respective user at any time by using PC with internet connection in the tender details.


How to participate in the procurement procedure?

The way of submitting of the proposal depends on the type of tender you want to participate in.

If the tender is announced as an announcement, the submission of the proposal is made bypassing Etenders.ge (based on the wish of the procuring entity, e.g. in paper form or via E-Mail). Therefore, in case of announcement, basically, the form of submission is indicated in the tender notice or documentation.

In order to participate in an electronic tender, you must register on Etenders.ge (if you have not yet registered) and log into the system using your email and password. By the tender status “Submission of the bids started”, in tender details, by clicking on the "Participation" button you will be able to pay the tender submission fee, upload and submit your proposal files into the system. Please note that until the deadline your proposal remains visible only for you.

Please note. Time and dates given in the system are set to Georgian time.

You are able to change tender proposal a number of times until the submission is completed in the tender, which does not require additional payment from you. To change the tender proposal, go to the tender details and click "Edit". By clicking the "Cancel Application" button, your tender proposal will be deleted from the system. Please note that in case of cancellation of the application, the proposal submission fee will not be reimbursed.

How to pay announcement/submission Fees?

Tender announcement fees, as well as the tender participation fees can be paid by using bank card via the integrated online payments module, without leaving the office.

If you do not have a bank card, please contact us to enable you to operate the system without using the payment module. In such a case, your payments will be made based on the invoice sent by us.

Which fees apply?

The following fees apply:

Tender announcement - GEL 50.
Participation in an electronic tender - GEL 50.

Also, in order to participate in electronic tenders, users can purchase periodical subscription packages according to the rates given below. During the validity period of the subscription package, customers will be able to participate in any number of electronic tenders.
- three-month subscription - GEL 180
- six-month subscription - GEL 300
- Twelve-month subscription - GEL 500

To purchase a package, please contact us:

Tel: 514 108801
e-mail: info@etenders.ge


User Manual



user manual.pdf