BRCPC Goes High-Tech

The Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee (BRCPC) has traditionally saved the region about $1 million per year on everything from copier paper to office furniture, forensic supplies, light bulbs, police holsters, road salt, tires, paternity testing and even electricity.  Now BRCPC is garnering even more savings through real-time electronic bidding, in a process known as the reverse auction.

In a reverse auction, buyers and sellers swap roles.  Vendors bid against each other online in real time, hoping to make the best offer.  The vendors have reviewed the bid specifications in advance, and have been pre-qualified.  When they log in to the auction website, they’re prepared to be competitive, eventually shaving off tenths and even hundredths of a cent per unit to make the winning offer.  When a large quantity is involved, those tiny increments add up to real savings for the buyers.

The first reverse auction took place in November of 2003 for 1.25 million reams of copier paper in a variety of sizes and colors.  The bidding began at $2.50 per ream for 20 lb. white 8 ½" by 11" paper, and dropped to $1.649 by the time the dust settled.  The Baltimore area school systems saved a total of $142,528 overall.  BRCPC credits about three percent of the savings to the reverse bidding process.

The process was so successful that BRCPC followed up with a reverse auction for fuel oils on July 7.  Bidding was highly competitive and, once again, the savings exceeded expectations.

The BRCPC is planning additional reverse auctions in the coming year.