About Client
A state agency of the Indian government
Industry
Government
Service
e-Auction
Business Need
The client’s complicated, manual auction process that supported 5,000 users and 2,50,000 transactions a day was tedious, time-consuming, error prone, and lacked transparency. Hence, the client wanted an automated bidding system with a settlement process and a system to issue certificates for the import and export of the produce.
Business Challenge
The impact of digital transformation on the procurement departments has been huge, improving its performance and widening its scope. Electronic auctions (e-Auctions) are a major performance lever for procurement departments across the globe. e-Auction has had a transformative effect on procurement, leveling the playing field for all stakeholders (manufacturers, warehouses, auctioneers, and buyers), removing human biases from the equation, and making the process transparent, fair, and efficient. The client, a state agency of the Indian government, promotes the cultivation, processing, and trade (domestic and international) of specific Indian produce and also acts as the marketplace where all key stakeholders engage and collaborate for a transparent and fair Farm-to-Market auction process. The client’s existing manual auction process managing more than 5,000 users and 2,50,000 transactions a day, had the following shortcomings:
- Manual, lengthy, and time-consuming auction process
- Non-transparent system and price discovery, and lack of anonymous bidding led to rampant malpractices
- Delayed invoicing and settlement
- To address these challenges, the client wanted an automated bidding system with an integrated settlement process and import or export certificate issuance of the produce
Business Solution
NSEIT brought the immense force of digitalization to revolutionize the client’s auction process through India’s first fully automated e-Auction platform. Our end-to-end services included the application portfolio assessment, development, implementation, integration, modification, and maintenance of the software applications for the e-Auction solution and its allied services.
In the context of our application portfolio rationalization assessment, we analyzed the client’s business needs and identified opportunities for optimizing their application portfolio to deliver greater value and efficiency. One of the key areas we focused on was the development of an automated bidding system with a settlement process and a system for issuing certificates for import and export of produce. Our solution aimed at enhancing the overall user experience while ensuring the system’s scalability and performance. To achieve this, we carefully evaluated the existing applications and their functionality, taking into consideration their business value, technical debt, and maintenance costs. The e-Auction solution we proposed aligned with the client’s objectives and ensured compatibility with their IT landscape and future plans, delivering a streamlined and efficient platform. The agile, integrated, and robust e-Auction platform has the following features:
One-stop automated solution:
The solution automated the
complete auction cycle,
including pre-auction, auction,
and post-auction facilities,
including the final delivery of the
produce and its invoicing
Location agnostic:
The solution enabled the stakeholders (manufacturers, warehouses, auctioneers, buyers, and auction admins) to operate anytime, from anywhere. This improved auction’s efficiency and participation even from small size buyers
Fully automated feature-rich
system:
Online availability of auction catalog with a planner, offline bidding, and My Catalog feature and faster settlement process via electronic movement of contract notes
and delivery orders. The system provides the provision to configure rules, auction types, etc. to automate the bidding process
Transparent, free, and fair
process:
The e-Auction
solution ensures fair price
discovery through buyer
anonymity. It has also
established visibility and
transparency across all
stakeholders. Further, the
solution identifies demand and
pricing trends using various
marks compared to similar
comparable marks via
post-auction information
User-friendly interface:
A web interface for the manufacturers and warehouses to key in the invoices and arrival and weighment reports (AWRs) from their respective offices. The auctioneers and buyers
login into a Windows-based application to create the catalog and bid in the auctions
Fully automated feature-rich
system:
The application is hosted on the cloud enabling high availability, security, and cost savings. The cloud has also been instrumental in delivering a seamless user experience, while making the system highly scalable
Digital payments:
By removing
cash transactions and implementing digital payments, we have been instrumental in supporting the government’s vision of digital payments
Certificate interface:
An interface for importers and exporters to upload their produce and warehouse details and instantly generate import or export clearance certificates
The system enables:
- 250,000 auction transactions daily
- <10 millisecond latency
- >100GB data handling daily
