E-Auction – H-educate

The electronic auction (E-Auction) is an e-business between auctioneers and bidders, which takes place on an electronic marketplace. It is an electronic commerce which occurs business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), or consumer-to-consumer (C2C).

The auctioneer offers his goods, commodities or services on an auction side on the internet. Interested parties can submit their bid for the product to be auctioned in certain specified periods. The auction is transparent so all interested parties are allowed to participate the auction in a timely manner.

Types of E-Auction

The two major types of the electronic auction are forward auction in which several buyers bid for one seller’s goods and reverse auction in which several sellers bid for one buyer’s order.

Forward e-Auction:

Forward auctions take the form of a single seller offering an item for sale, with buyers competing to secure the item by bidding the price upward. These are far-better understood by the public at large than reverse auctions as to how they operate, due primarily to the fact that they are widely used at the consumer level. In fact, forward auctions underlie everything from eBay and other online auction sites to auctions of art, wine, and other collectibles.

They are also widely used for auctioning everything from autos, real estate, machinery, etc., where the goal is for the seller to receive the most money possible for the item being offered at auction. Thus, a forward auction should be utilized for sales of goods and services of all types, whether conducted online, offline, or a hybrid of the two.

Reverse e-Auction:

Reverse auctions are the other major form of auctions. In a reverse auction, a single buyer makes potential sellers aware of their intent to buy a specified good or service. During the course of the actual reverse auction event, the sellers bid against one another to secure the buyer’s business, driving the price to be paid for the item downward. So the winning bidder is the seller who offers the lowest price. Reverse auctions are most typically used for procurement by private companies, public sector agencies, and non-profit organizations.

There are several types of auctions possible, example:

Dutch Auction
English Auction
Japanese Auction

Context of e-Auction

The auction itself follows clearly defined rules, obeyed by all market participants. This is similar to any usual auction as the basic principle remains the same.
When we look at B2B markets, the heterogeneity and complexity of goods in the industrial sector at first require a detailed, published description from the purchaser before suppliers can respond.
After this tender process, there is a negotiation that allows flexible pricing and intensification of competition among suppliers. Mostly E-Auctions are Reverse Auctions, where the sellers compete to obtain business from the buyer and prices will typically decrease as the sellers undercut each other.
But before the E-Auction takes place you have to define factors that directly act on the bidding.
The specific bid amount, the historical price, the target price. The step size for the variation of the bidding and the extension of the auction period through the waiting period.
The historical price marks the price threshold, which should not exceed.
The target price relevant for the contractually fixed surplus. It is the price threshold that bound the purchaser to order within the appointed dead line.
Both thresholds should be realistic otherwise the dynamic of the E-Auction and the interest of suppliers are ebbing.
At the end of the auction the waiting period is the time the auction will go on if there is a new bid. The duration of the waiting period has fundamental influence on the dynamic of E-Auction. In this period suppliers fear to lose the order, because of lower prices from competitors. Thus a rapid sequence of offers set up.

Seven Steps to e-auction success

There are many components to an e-Auction success including good strategies, best practices, and inscrutable ethics. However, this overview shows another set of good process that one can follow to make sure that an auction runs smoothly, efficiently, and delivers on its expected benefits.

1. Define Requirements and Goals:

As with every other step of the sourcing process, good requirements, along with clear goals, are key. Be sure to understand what the strategy is for lowering or controlling costs, for optimizing the supply base, and for process improvements.

2. Invite all Potential Suppliers to an Open RFI:

Do not limit the organization’s supply base to current suppliers as sometimes the best process and cost savings can come from new suppliers with streamlined processes, innovative production technologies, and lower production costs.

3. Pre-Qualify Capable Suppliers:

It is critical not to invite suppliers to an auction that are not capable of meeting the organization’s needs. This will only garner resentment from other suppliers and possibly cause significant production delays of it is only discover after the award that the supplier cannot deliver.

4. Clearly Document All Requirements:

Good documentation is the key to a successful sourcing project in general. With a global supply base, staffed by individuals of distinct cultures, each with their own internal understanding of what a (foreign) term or requirement could mean, there are really no common terms or definitions avert potentially costly misunderstandings. but detailed documentation can avoid this problem and avert potentially costly misunderstandings.

5. Hold a Q&A Training Session:

Don’t assume the auction tool is easy or natural for your supplier. Whereas your buyers have probably trained on it, used it, and accustomed to using it as part of the process,. It might be a new tool, concept, or even business paradigm for one or more of your suppliers.

6. Monitor the Auction:

It’s important to make sure that things run smoothly. If one or more suppliers fail to bid relatively promptly or the refresh rate is sluggish or non-existent, either the buying organization or one or more supplying organizations might be experiencing problems. A buyer should be ready to step in and offer both help or remedy the situation at an instant.

7. Follow Through and Award Promptly:

It’s important to prepare to allocate of awards and follow through on negotiations promptly and within the promised timeframe.

Limitations of E-Auctions

Possibility of fraud
Limited participation
Security
Auction software
Long cycle time
Monitoring time
Equipment for buyers
Order fulfillment costs

Examples: Examples for the different types of e-auction

B2B: Product exchange and wholesale quotation.

B2C: B2C reaches from Online-Shopping, tourism and the booking of a trip; reservations of tickets, to services in finance and insurance and to auctions.

C2C: Typical C2C-transactions are auctions and file sharing services. Some examples are ciao.de and e-bay.