FedBid reverse auctions are coming under some scrutiny, according to an article in today’s New York Times.
In FY 2013, federal agencies used FedBid to award about $1.8 billion in contracts, and a recent government study found that about 1/3 of all FedBid auctions involved a single bidder.
While FedBid could be a way for a small business to get a ‘foot in the door’ at agencies, some are wary of a system that favors price over experience.
Government agencies use reverse auctions to save money, but could the practice be encouraging businesses to submit unrealistically low bids, to ‘win’ at any price?
Not all contracts are suitable for FedBid, and the problem may be that agencies are using reverse auctions inappropriately