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The electronic auctions platform for sale of timber developed by Information Services has increased the revenues of the state forest enterprises by nearly BGN 53 million. The additional funds were realised from the increase in the originally announced price of the timber that was offered for auction through the electronic system. It is used by 2 of the six state forest enterprises that sell wood harvested from the state forest areas. These are the South-Western State Enterprise (SWSE) and the North-Eastern State Enterprise (NESE).
The total revenue of the state forest enterprises from the sale of timber through electronic auctions reached BGN 280 million, and only in the last 9 months the turnover exceeded BGN 10 million. Since the launch of the platform in 2016, nearly 5,100 e-auctions have been held. The average number of bidding steps per auction is 27 and the most contested auction had 609 bidding steps.
"The developed electronic platform for sale of timber from the state forest areas saves time and money for the auction participants, and has significantly increased competition and has prevented the possibility of corruption and price fixing," said Ivaylo Filipov, Chief Executive Officer of Information Services. According to him, equal access is ensured to all registered wood processing companies in the country.
The electronic platform facilitates the registration process of the participants in electronic auctions as well as the work of the auction committees. The system allows registration of both legal and natural persons. Access to it requires only an initial registration and a valid Qualified Electronic Signature (QES). The e-auctions on the platform are open-bid and are conducted in real time via a web browser. Bidders can bid from anywhere on earth and at any time.
The system automatically performs ranking based on the highest bid price, which significantly reduces appeals and ensures the fairness of the auction. The integrated Time and Content Authentication Service - Time Stamp, which has been developed by Information Services, confirms the authenticity of the documents and bids submitted by the bidders on the platform. All documentation is in fully electronic format and the system provides the highest level of protection against replacement and/or loss of bids and documents. It protects both the auction committees and the traders who decide to participate in the bidding procedure.
To maximise the convenience of e-auction participants, the platform offers automatic e-mail notifications of new procedures opened and before the start of the e-auction.