Logistics managers being offered enhanced “auction” software

Supply chain mangers seeking to leverage price “compression” in their forecasts are being offered a new product this week.

CombineNet, Inc. has released new capabilities to help procurement and sourcing teams address enterprise-wide E-Sourcing event needs in a single platform. According to spokesmen, the addition of next-generation E-Auctions is powered by robust optimization technology.

“CombineNet ASAP delivers optimization-enabled E-Auctions, which, together with CombineNet’s iExpressive Bidding, results in a scalable E-Sourcing application for online sourcing events,” said Greg Holt, the company’s director of product marketing.

In an interview, he added that supply chain managers should be able to use the new enhancement to locate and measure price points in various trade lanes as ways of containing cost.

“The cloud-based software now provides customers with the ability to manage E-Sourcing events for their entire range of addressable spend, from the simple and routine to the largest and most complex of spend categories,” said Rich Wilson, CEO of CombineNet.

The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group is one of the first major users, added Wilson.

CombineNet ASAP is used by Global 2000 companies to source everything from office supplies to transportation and complex services.  With the latest release of CombineNet ASAP, users may choose from multiple event types when creating a new sourcing event: Request for Information (RFI); Sealed-bid Request for Proposal/Tender (RFP); or Reverse E-Auction, with options for Standard, Japanese and Dutch Reverse Auctions. No specialized training is required to use CombineNet’s E-Auctions.

Additional features of this new E-Sourcing software release also include the following:

• Supplier-Item Visibility: enables users to limit a supplier’s visibility to specific items within a sourcing event, providing buyers with greater flexibility to control how suppliers participate in CombineNet sourcing events.
• Event Reset: provides the ability to reset an event back to its original state, as if the first bid round had not started. This feature will greatly simplify the event creation-through-launch process.
• More Features for Microsoft Excel Integration: enables rapid upload processing of Excel-based bid sheets to streamline supplier bidding.