Information on e-Tendering
Bundeswehr invitations to tender on the German government portal for awarding contracts
The e-tendering platform of the German government was developed within the framework of the initiative "Bund Online 2005".
Agencies of the Federal Administration have published invitations to tender on this platform since 2003.
e-Tendering and Central Procurement
First, e-tendering is to be used for BWB (Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement) central procurement. Its use is to be spread gradually with the introduction of the SAP R/3 system. Currently, investigations are carried out to find out how the variety of procurement activities of the territorial defense administration can be handled via the internet, that is, if and how the local IT procedures can be connected to the e-tendering platform of the German government.
Until then, information on contract awarding can still be found under the entry "Contract Award" in the navigation bar.
BWB: e-Vergabe Tendering due to SAP R/3
The BWB, as one of the largest customers in Europe, had undertaken first steps towards the implementation of e-tendering solutions at an early stage by introducing the SAP standard software SAP R/3 because of the vast potential of e-tendering to expedite and optimize procurement processes. Thus, the only thing to be implemented for the integration into the awarding platform of the German government was the connection to the Bundeswehr SAP R/3 system.How to Use the e-Tendering Platform
Any company with a modern PC and access to the internet only needs a digital signature smart card and a card reader on the computer.
Currently, the cost for this amounts to approximately 170 Euro. Furthermore, an annual user fee of approximately 50 Euro for the digital signature smart card has to be paid.
The software required can be downloaded from the internet and is obtainable from the contracting agency. Further technical details are available under "Technical Prerequisites". The BWB has introduced a hotline
(phone number +49 (0) 261 400 2940)for e-tendering issues.
A pertinent learning program can be found on the right hand side under "Further Links". It offers a step-by-step introduction into the subject. The use of the awarding platform and of the software provided are explained in detail.
Advantages of the e-Tendering Procedure
The Bundeswehr offers small and medium-sized enterprises in particular an interesting and mutually beneficial alternative by using internet technology to support business processes such as invitations to tender and procurement of goods (e-procurement). Like this, any company with a modern PC and access to the internet can exchange data related to business and offers with the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement faster and without media discontinuities.
This way, there is not only less manual effort. All the companies share the advantage that there is more transparency in public contracts and that uniform information on contract awarding is available for anyone anywhere.
