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PAPER BASED BIDS - IS ANYONE MOVING BACK TO ACCEPTING BOTH ELECTRONIC AND
PAPER-BASED BIDS?

May 22, 2024 | Submitted by Tanya Gaudet, CSCMP, C. Mgr., Manager, Procurement
and Insurance Services at the Town of New Tecumseth



Twenty-twenty. It is a period in time that will almost certainly always be
synonymous with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic. They say
there is always a silver lining and although there is little positive that comes
to mind when thinking of the pandemic it seems it was a catalyst for many of us
to finally pivot to electronic bid submissions. While many organizations had
already embarked on digitization and electronic record keeping by 2020 some of
us were still very much attached to our hard copy paper records. A mere four
years ago, many of us were still requiring copious amounts of physical paper
each time a bid closed. It was not unusual for a single bid to actually be a
binder of documents and for a copy to be provided for each evaluator who  was to
review the bid. Cue Colleen Selkirk’s Throwback Thursday message about the old
times and “so much paper”, which for some of us is more recent than you might
think!

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Colleen Selkirk, City of Burlington via The Ontario Public Buyers Association
Message Board, Thursday, March 30, 2023:

I’ll start off by saying, public agencies tended to be late to the table when it
comes to new technology; letting others try it out before we dipped our toes in
the water.

Back in the day, we used typewriters and carbon copy to create purchase orders,
we kept track of inventory on 8 ½ x 4” cards, we were used to the sound of the
fax machine, and mechanical calculators.

Filing… omg filing!!  There was SO MUCH PAPER! We were surrounded by filing
cabinets, full of Bids, and Contracts, Purchase Orders, and Invoices!

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Four years on from the onset of the pandemic,  I myself am guilty of only rarely
thinking of paper-based bidding. A recent question on the Ontario Public Buyers
Association Message Board asking about accepting paper bids piqued my interest
(and prompted me to quickly dust off the physical tender box to check if there
was anything in there; thankfully, there was not!). In theory, procedure at the
Town of New Tecumseth allows hard copy bids where a justified case exists for
doing so, but I can’t think of a single instance where we have permitted it in
the last several years. For us, physical bids are not preferred and should only
be permitted in extenuating circumstances.

For me personally, when I think back on paper-based bidding I seem to recall
there being much chaos. I remember some suppliers always seemed to be running
into the building right at bid close, leering at you while you manually stamped
the bid, arguing about the time clock. I remember trying to keep the bids
associated with a particular opportunity from getting mixed in with and lost to
the stockpile of submissions for another bid. I remember searching every nook
and cranny at bid close to ensure a wayward bid had not gone astray, or worse
yet, the occasional bid lost in a drop box, on someone’s desk, or in the
interoffice mail without a time stamp because it wasn’t recognized as a bid.

The Ontario Public Buyers Association Message Board about physical bids did
raise some valid points. For example, are there smaller projects where bidders
would appreciate the opportunity to drop off a physical bid? Are there groups
being marginalized by e-bidding because they are not technology savvy? Did
liaising with suppliers who dropped off paper bids encourage and bolster
supplier relationship management?

I suppose the answer to at least some of the above questions is “maybe”.

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Are there smaller projects where bidders would appreciate the opportunity to
drop off a physical bid?

Personally, the more I consider this question the more my mind turns to fairness
and equity. I suppose suppliers within a reasonable proximity to the buyer’s
office might appreciate such an opportunity, but why? Possibly to spend time
with and make an impression on the person(s) who has the power to grant or deny
them work? Is that equitable for suppliers who are not in close proximity?

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Are there groups being marginalized by e-bidding because they are not technology
savvy?

There are indeed some groups and cultures that choose not to use technology, or
at least not use it widely. Others may not be as progressive in technology use
for one reason or another. Whether or not this puts them at a disadvantage or
marginalizes them is debatable. The simple fact is that technology has permeated
every aspect of our lives, transforming the way we work, communicate, and live.

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Did liaising with suppliers who dropped off paper bids encourage and bolster
supplier relationship management?

Statistics show that outside sales reps typically have a higher close rate than
inside sales, so in theory, interpersonal connections likely correlate to better
relationships. I think a robust supplier outreach program can be just as
beneficial, and it can be undertaken in such a way that it benefits suppliers
near and far.

Despite there being some potential drawbacks to eliminating or reducing physical
bids, I have to think the disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages of
e-bidding. And after all, paper-based bidding also presents its own share of
drawbacks. The floor space required to store physical records is enormous
compared to digital, and costly, particularly when you consider the long
retention time of bid records. The cost of the paper and ink itself, not to
mention trucking all that paper around, is significantly more than digital
transmission and storage. Have you ‘snail mailed’ a contract award notice and
contract out to someone lately and waited for the executed copy, insurance and
other post award submittals to come back to you in physical format? Even when
sent by courier, this exercise can delay a project’s start for weeks. Physical
records do not have the luxury of rapid search tools or artificial intelligence
to help you locate and search within a bid.

Perhaps more importantly, going paperless is a corporate goal for many
organizations and the procurement function simply must keep pace. Government
agencies, businesses, and individuals are increasingly conducting business
online. Additionally, trade agreements are shifting us towards electronic
processes and global bidding.

So, how do we accommodate those circumstances where paper-based bidding is
desirable? Firstly, I would encourage you to consider whether there is truly a
case for physical bids or if the request stems from a client or supplier
struggling with ‘old think’. Remember, people tend to resist change (I am
reminded of post transition to e-bidding at the Town of New Tecumseth, so many
departments asked procurement to print and compile hard copy bids for them, from
the e-bid we had received). Secondly, I would encourage you to consider whether
there is a middle ground. Perhaps a full-blown e-bid via your online electronic
tendering portal could be substituted with an emailed bid. This would provide
some level of protection in terms of the electronic timestamp record (although
it does introduce the risk of a bid being delayed or lost to the spam filter).
Perhaps it is reasonable to direct potential bidders who lack the technology to
community resources like a public library that makes computers and Wi-Fi
available to members. If the issue stems from suppliers who are not tech savvy,
rely on your third-party electronic tendering host, if you have one, to bridge
that knowledge gap and assist bidders with bid submission.

Finally, if there is a case for a paper-based bid, consider a hybrid approach
and also accept e-bids. Ensure you have robust procedures and practices to
safeguard the paper bids, including timestamp, secure storage, and rules about
when a bid can be opened (after the bid close deadline). Non-standard practices
are more susceptible to errors so exercise caution if paper-based bidding is not
your standard practice.



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