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The total number of published procurements through the Centralized Automated Information System Electronic Public Procurement (CAIS EPP) topped 17,830. The platform was developed by Information Services in a consortium with Sirma Solutions JSC, Negometrix Ltd. and Sabev & partners law firm and initiated operations in early 2020. For the January-July 2021 period, the published e-procurements climbed to 9,376, which marks a 11% rise compared with the procurements in the whole 2020.
Total offers submitted since the launch of the platform has expanded to 31,000. Almost 8,000 companies and 1,245 individuals are registered in the system, and the contracting authorities using CAIS EPP is 4,219.
"The platform, built by Information Services, which completely eliminated paper exchange, guarantees detailed and complete traceability of the public procurement process and eliminates the possibility of manipulating offers," said the company's CEO Ivaylo Filipov. The system is built so that participants themselves encrypt their offers with an asymmetric cryptographic key, which allows only them to submit a decryption key, which backs the security of data and submitted offers, Filipov added.
One of the most important functions of the platform is the potential to operate in a 24x7 mode, as the deadline for offers and applications submission related to participation in public procurement is 23:59 hrs. This gives a chance to participants to submit offers at a convenient time and place with no relation to working hours of the administration. More and more participants in the process are taking advantage of this opportunity. Since the launch of the system, the total number of submitted offers in non-working hours is 9,560, which accounts to 31% of all offers in the e-procurement portal. Some of the offers were sent after midnight in the interval between 00.00 and 6.00, from different areas of the country, which proves the convenience and sustainability in the system usage.
The CAIS EPP automatically eliminates the chance to submit or manipulate offers after the expiration of the deadline. Every action in the system is recorded, leaves a trace and all submitted offers are opened automatically when decrypting the offers, which secures transparency, publicity and traceability of each party in the process - contracting authorities and participants. This ensures full protection against the substitution of offers and parts of offers, which further increases confidence in the administration and the procurement process. The system provides a unified systematic approach for participants in public procurement, which significantly reduces the time for developing offers and applications.