Found at: http://www.hkfemc.org/article/articleprint/3/-1/7/

The Trend - Electronic Tendering 時代洪流 – 電子投標

Publishing date: 28.01.2002 17:35

The first stage - dissemination of tender documents in soft copies - has been in place for quite some time now, both in the public and private sector. Members have been getting such soft copies on CD-ROM's from our trade associations for tenders from Works departments. The next stage - internet dissemination - will be ready soon.

FEMC will be one of the service providers in this regard for tenders from Works departments. What next ? Electronic tender submission, of course. Now, this is much more complicated, both technically and commercially. Submission in soft copy on CD-ROM will be an interim measure. Works departments will implement in 2002, allowing hard copy submission in parallel in the beginning. As it gets more mature with ripples gradually ironed out, soft copy submission will be expected to become the norm. Internet submission will then be seriously considered. File format standardisation will be a key issue for soft copy submission. The current pain of having a handful of software vendors practically monopolising the market has been a deep concern. As far as possible, the industry would like to see a more open standard for data exchange to avoid being locked into proprietary softwares again. When it comes to internet tender submission, the issue of standardisation will go beyond file format. Platform, process, data structure and management will all have to be addressed. There are quite a few commercial setups offering such service to the construction industry in Hong Kong currently. Most of them are related financially to major developers or consultants. At this moment, none has a significant market share. Of course, the service is not free, though not grossly expensive. If the public sector leaves the choice of platform open, tenderers may have to subscribe to many of them just to have the chance to bid. If it settles on one, well, we cannot imagine what the cost will be. Bear in mind that cost is not limited to subscription but on softwares, training and continuous upgrading. Neither seems to be for the welfare of the downstream players including contractors. The I.T. revolution is irreversible. We can't and shouldn't try to stop it but we don't want to be victimised neither for the joy of others. FEMC will continue to monitor closely on this matter, voice our concern, propose reasonable and balanced solution and participate in the process as needed for the interest of members.

首階段的“軟本標書分發”經已在公、私營二方面實行有時。聯會的各屬會亦一直參予工務部門的標書分發，令會員能盡早取得投標所需資料。次階段的“萬維網標書分發”亦已準備就緒。聯會將統一向所有屬會會員提供此項服務。再進一步如何？電子投標自然上馬。無論在技術或商務安排上，電子投標所涉及的困難就多了！過渡的手段將會是以CD光盤為媒體的軟本投標。工務部門將會在2002年試行，初期軟、硬本標書並行。逐步成熟後當然期望以軟本為主，令效益增進。屆時“萬維網投標”將會是最終目標。軟本投標其中一項技術關口就是檔案格式的統一化。目前軟件市場由極少數公司壟斷的情況實令人引以為鑑。行業希望資料格式盡量開放，免重蹈覆轍。 “萬維網投標”所涉及的統一化更遠超檔案層面平台。流程、數據架構及管理等等都必需解決。目前已有多所商業機構力爭為本港的建造業提供此項統一平台服務。大部份都在財務上與主要的發展商或顧問公司有聯繫。規模暫時尚小，賒悒摩鄖刦o主導地位。服務當然收費，但目前尚不算高昂。公營部門如最終採用多平台，投標者可能要成為眾多平台商會員才能有起碼的投標資格，如採用單一平台，經營商自然成為市場壟斷者，將來的成本實不可預測。會費、交易佣金、軟件、培訓及不停的升級將會是天文數字。唉，兩者俱非下游用家﹝包括承建商﹞之福！資訊科技洪流不可逆抗。作為科技使用者，我們亦應支持其發展。但將他人之樂建於我方之苦，則當然不是味兒。聯會將密切留意其發展，表達行業的憂慮，提出合理及平衡的方案及按需要積極參予，以維護行業的利益。

Attached files

Electronic Tendering.doc	( FEMC Short Take 051.doc 41.00 KB )

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