With the governor’s blessing, Connecticut’s purchasing arm and a regional municipal cooperative are teaming up on a pilot program to save state taxpayers millions on the goods they buy to keep their government running, authorities say.
The state Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) announced a partnership Friday in which the state will conduct reverse auctions to procure such things as motor fuel and equipment, officials say.
CRCOG has offered the state access to its newly established online reverse auction network linked to BidSync of Utah.
Based on DAS’s annual procurement of $2.4 billion in goods and services, the reverse auction could save taxpayers an estimated $10 million the first year, plus generate an unspecified volume of revenue, officials said Friday.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy hailed it as “the type of creative partnering that all state agencies and municipalities should be exploring.”
In contrast to sealed bidding, bidders in a reverse auction openly vie against one another electronically in an allotted time frame. The suppliers are allowed to see each other’s bids. Vendors’ prices are open and adjusted in real-time in order to increase competition and subsequently drive down prices.
The winning bidder pays an administrative fee to BidSync based on a percentage of the contract award. One percent of that administrative fee will go to CRCOG, who through the agreement, shares half with DAS.
DAS spokeswoman Donna Micklus says the agency used a reverse auction about two years ago to buy motor fuel.
This time around, the agency will again use it on a limited basis it to buy fuel, a new boat for the reconstituted Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and some other unspecified purchases, Micklus said.
Utah and Nebraska are among other states that contract with BidSync for reverse-auction savings, authorities said.
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