The Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority (MBTA) has announced its partnership with FairMarkIT, a new public e-bidding forum, in order to modernise its procurement processes from a combination of electronic and paper systems to an easy-to-monitor, transparent, web-based operation. This partnership is projected to increase procurement efficiencies by 15 percent, resulting in millions of dollars in anticipated savings over the coming years for the MBTA.
The MBTA’s “Small Purchasing Processes” for the procurements under USD 50,000 have historically been difficult to manage as quotes for purchases were not electronically stored and vendor information was not shared across buyers. Additionally, the process to invite new vendors was time consuming, and was set up such that new vendors could potentially be put at a disadvantage.
Noting these inefficiencies, the MBTA brought its procurement process into the twenty-first century through a year-long pilot with FairMarkIT, a tech company that stores quotes and vendor purchasing history in an electronic, centralized location that are easily retrievable, open to the general public, and make inviting multiple vendors to bid much easier. This transparent marketplace allows more vendors and businesses the opportunity to compete fairly for MBTA contracts while giving the MBTA’s buyers the tools they need to make more informed decisions.
“FairMarkIT brings our bidding for purchases under USD 35,000 into a new era that includes massive enhancements to transparency and efficiency. Expect prices to go down and competition to increase, all done through a new system that dramatically simplifies the process and opens the door for new vendors to do business with the T,” said MBTA General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez.
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