Milton Conducts E-Tendering for New Community Center

Prior to issuing this Tender, the Town of Milton reached out to the OGCA to discuss the use of an e-tendering system. We were pleased to see that the system chosen was eSolutions which is the only system endorsed by the OGCA.

At a meeting, we and representatives of eSolutions, met with the Town’s representatives and the head of procurement Leslie Williams. We addressed many questions and possible concerns from the Town, who were supportive of using modern technology to increase efficiency and improve their Tender system.

As an additional topic, we discussed the use of CoR as a qualification for projects. We had Paul Casey attend with us and explain the benefits of CoR and the current buyers who were now successfully using CoR as a prequalification requirement. We stressed that first time out, it was recommended that an owner only require registration in the program.

The Town proceeded to issue the Tender using eSolutions and requiring CoR registration. All the bidders who responded were CoR members. The project closed recently and we received the following message from Ms. Williams:

"Clive, just wanted to thank you again for all your support in our construction e-bid process. The tender for our community centre closed yesterday. All six bids were received with tight pricing and no issues!"

In past issues of this Newsletter, members have seen announcement after announcement of owners adopting the eSolutions system. As we have said many times, for any electronic system to be successful, it must be responsive to all the parties of a Tender.

Further, it must not inflict a financial burden on the proponents, nor should it be difficult to use. It must be able to use industry practices, such as two stage closings and electronic bonds.

With over 200 public owners now using eSolutions, we at the OGCA encourage all owners to review their current systems and take time to review what we and your bidders believe to be the system that will benefit you the most.