PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Kenney’s commitment to making government more efficient and effective continues with a Request for Proposals to develop a “reverse auction” tool for sellers who are bidding on city purchases.

Reverse auction procurement is an approach in which vendors bid and then re-bid until the lowest price is reached.  This is expected to reap huge savings for taxpayers compared to the current system, in which companies bid only once.

“Awarding contracts with this new tool means the city will pay the lowest possible price for supplies,” said Mayor Kenney.  “It could mean millions of dollars in savings each year that can go for other vital purposes – like education programs and tax cuts.”

Establishment of a reverse auction procedure is a key component of the mayor’s plan to modernize back-office functions of government, an effort overseen by Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Rhynhart.  “I look forward to partnering with a firm to achieve significant savings for the City through the reverse auction process,” said Rhynhart. “This is one of the more exciting components of a well-developed sourcing strategy.  And the savings realized could fund important initiatives to help move all of Philadelphia forward.”

The reverse auction tool will be web-based.  “It is essentially the flip-side of a site like eBay,” said Acting Procurement Commissioner Trevor Day.  “Instead of one seller and multiple buyers specifying the highest price they’d pay for a product, this will involve one buyer – the city – with multiple sellers competing to offer the lowest price they’re willing to accept for their products.”

The RFP for the reverse auction system is open until April 1, 2016.  Details can be found at https://secure.phila.gov/eContract/