The Importance of a Better Way to Bid
March 10, 2022 ● Alexandra Lancelotta
To be frank, handling finances for any entity is a huge responsibility. Cash flows and financial decisions can make or break any venture, and when it is governmental, it affects entire communities. There are of course day-to-day monetary operations, but large scale projects and purchases can have major impacts on business success and financial wellness. So, in the procurement process for these projects, pressure is quite high. Missteps can result in a much more expensive result, oftentimes without even realizing it. Searching through vendor’s proposals and estimates is intense, time consuming, and overall ineffective in finding the best price. With the paper bidding system being the baseline for such an important aspect of finance and development, there is an imminent need to put the power back in your hands.
The adjectives to describe the paper bidding system above were intense, time consuming, and overall ineffective. To address these, a new, updated system is needed. Intensity and time-consumption can be minimized with a streamlined, organized internet-based bid system. Having all vendors be carefully researched, vetted, and ensured to have all backing to handle your project, limits the intensity placed on your entity. And of course for ineffectiveness, a new system would introduce competition between the vendors in the form of a reverse auction. Instead of bidding upwards to purchase something from someone, vendors bid downward against one another to be able to work on a project or fulfill a purchase. Competition drives prices down, and takes out the time-consuming process of searching through estimates. This system guarantees the best price available from the highest quality vendors, in an organized and less time consuming manner.
This new system is Enviro21. And we can do it all with no direct cost to you.
Why would you not utilize this system? Better prices (which have been proven to be a difference between 10-45%), quality vendors, and online organization, at no cost to you? We want to know a reason why not – because we are stumped.
If you have a reason to be wary or to pass on our system, we would greatly appreciate an email explaining your views and situation. Please send all responses to [email protected]
Enviro21’s Internships
December 7, 2021 ● Alexandra Lancelotta
Enviro21 has long emphasized and values our internship program. We make a strong effort to provide a place for students to learn. Interns have been hired from diverse backgrounds and interests, including business, economics, marketing, and environmental sciences, as well as all facets of society. Our CEO Chip Purcell sees working with young people as not only an important piece of his business model, but important in his own life. All interests and inputs are extremely valuable for growing Enviro21, as new and different viewpoints are what drives innovation.
Upon beginning the internship, we speak candidly about what exactly the students want from experience, as well as what they would like to do in the future. Utilizing interns is a tool we value for both our company’s success and the success of the students. Experience is gained in the business world, and since we are a very small company, it is in a hands-on and individualized environment where their voice matters. Enviro21 individualizes their tasks, tailored to their specific interests, so that working in different areas provides the interns an opportunity to find the most success and enjoyment. The teaching aspect may be more work for us, but the creativity of young minds and strong work ethic makes it more than worth it.
With success with Enviro21, inters can be offered company positions both while still in school and upon graduation. Increased pay and hours come with being a valuable asset and working well with the company. This minimizes our risk and allows for personal growth of our interns, as well as incentive to show what can be done, just as if they were beginning as an associate employee. Alexandra Lancelotta, a current Junior at the University of Pittsburgh, began with Enviro21 as in intern in January of 2021, and was given more opportunity and a position as an associate a few months after being brought on. She is an example to all the coming interns that they could also be given more responsibility after proving their abilities.
The Importance of Savings for Auberle Social Services
- The Importance of Savings for Auberle Social Services
November 1st, 2021 ● Alexandra Lancelotta
Auberle Social Services is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to protecting families and children in need. They offer residential services for children and assistance for young adults aging out of child welfare limits, operating as a shelter and outreach center since 1950. Currently, they have three shelter facilities as well as an independent living house and a drop-in center for homeless and LGBTQ youths. Three years ago, they were named Agency of the Year nationally by the governing youth home organization.
Our CEO, Chip Purcell, was on the board of Auberle in the 1990’s, and has been involved since. His “respect and love for Auberle has gone on non-stop since 1990. All you have to do to fall in love with the place is to interact with staff or families that they help. The Auberle Mission of reunification of families and their accomplishments in this effort are to be admired”. Because of his connection and inspiration from the organization’s efforts, he has continuously worked with them from both a business and supporter standpoint.
Auberle was paying $90,000 per year for waste services, and after Enviro21 helped restructure their contract and conducted a reverse auction, they are now paying $30,000 per year. A 200% decrease, with the exact same hauler they were using prior. Enviro21 has sincerely enjoyed working with Auberle and our support and assistance remain ongoing. Saving them money from menial things that could put toward the families they help is something we are very proud of and will continue to do.
Please take a moment to visit Auberle’s website to learn more about their cause, and if you feel so inclined, you can donate directly using the below donations link.
- Enviro 21 in the Media
Enviro 21 was recently featured in one of the largest and most influential waste magazines in the world, Waste Advantage Magazine two months in a row.
First, Enviro 21 was featured in the magazine’s “Breakthroughs and Innovations” section as seen below.
In the subsequent month, Enviro 21 was featured in the magazine again. This time as a case study, on how Enviro 21 was able to save the City of McKeesport between $750,000 and $1.5 Million on a demolition reverse auction of almost 300 houses. If you feel a reverse auction from Enviro 21 could be beneficial to your municipality, school, or private company please reach out at (412) 400 5496, or email [email protected] for more information!
- New York City High School Program
Enviro21 has had a great experience working with Grant Associates to work with three high school interns and speak in a webinar to about 100 NYC high school students. We were very interested when we heard of the internship opportunity, in which the three high school seniors worked on a part-time basis, with our guidance from a distance. Though this work experience may be different from what they will face in the future, being we met only once a week on Zoom, it was a great way for them to understand what may come in a future position. It was also a learning experience for us; learning to communicate virtually with people we had never met, and trying to guide young people through their first business experience was a welcomed challenge. Our month with them was a great experience, and we intend to continue with the program in the future.
The webinar, which took place on June 4, 2021, allowed us to share our stories and advice with high school juniors in the NYC area. The students were very engaged and asked us many questions, which was a great way for us to provide any guidance we could. Olivia, our intern, and Alexandra, our staff member, discussed their journeys getting to college and working while in college. John, our project administrator, spoke on being a recent college graduate and entering the workforce. And of course, our CEO Chip told his stories of his extensive career in business. We greatly enjoyed the experience and hope to continue! If we can do anything to guide the next generation of workers, it is more than worth it!
- Generating Maximum Savings with Reverse Auctions
Generating Maximum Savings with Reverse Auctions
We are here to introduce you to a better way to bid.
This year, two Stanford professors––Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2020 for significantly improving how auctions are conducted. From the beginning, Milgrom and Wilson understood the importance of auctions and knew that designing them in the proper way was absolutely critical. Because of their work, the team at Enviro 21 have the opportunity to provide and conduct better auctions––the reverse auction format.
Let’s elaborate…
Reverse auctions are not a temporary approach for procurement operations but a proven method to dramatically lower your overall procurement costs, which delivers significant cost savings. In a reverse auction setting, a buyer makes vendors (or sellers) aware of their intent to purchase a good or service. Throughout the course of the reverse auction, vendors bid against one another to secure the buyer’s business by continually bidding the price of the good or service downward. The winning bidder is the seller who offers the lowest price.
This leads us to the core benefit of reverse auctions: SAVINGS
With multiple sellers competing against one another to win the bid and secure their next project, pricing is a significant factor in the decision-making process—and typically, this results in the buyer getting a better deal than anticipated. According to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), reverse auctions have become a best practice in the procurement process by producing savings of 10-40%. If you are looking to save on your next hard-good or service contract, you are in the right place.
At Enviro 21, our online marketplace delivers the best available pricing and side-by-side bid comparisons for public and private sectors including municipal solid waste, paving, demolition, hazardous waste removal, fleet vehicles, electronics, and more. Even better? We allow our clients to set the maximum cost they are willing to pay.
Leave the antiquated procurement process behind. Be in control and save with Enviro 21.
- Let’s talk paper bids versus reverse auctions…
Gone are the days of the paper bid—at least in our world!
At Enviro 21, our online procurement process or reverse auction is set up for the success and savings for environmental engineering agencies, municipalities, other governmental organizations, and private industry stakeholders to provide value-added assistance with auctions, consulting, and brokerage services.
While paper bids are typically understood by the general public (can’t you hear the auctioneer in your head?), reverse auctions may be a foreign concept. What is it and how does it work?
As we continue to see a shift in the marketplace, reverse auctions are becoming increasingly popular and well—a better way to bid, generating savings from 10–40%.
Paper Bids
Have you attended an auction or bought something on eBay? If you answered ‘yes’ to either of those, then you most likely know what we’re talking about!
These types of auctions are most commonly performed at the consumer level. Traditional bids or paper bids take place when the seller offers an item for sale at a set-price. From here, the auction starts and bids are received from buyers who secure the price for the seller by bidding upward. This drives the seller to receive payment from the highest bidder.
Reverse Auction
Contrarily, a reverse auction is typically conducted business to business. Buyers set a request for a hard-good or service and the sellers bid against each other to provide the best available price for the buyer’s need.
Think about it like this…
Your car needs new tires. However, you’re new in town so you are not familiar with the businesses in your area, and you spent a bunch of money for your move—saving money where you can is important right now. You decide to head to Facebook and make a post in your new town’s community group asking for recommendations for local auto repair shops.
The comments start lighting up your phone.
Business A charges $100 per tire.
Business B charges $75 per tire.
Business C charges $60 per tire.Congratulations—your decision is made! Business C receives your business and you are saving big!
Sellers compete as they each submit the set amounts that they are willing to be compensated for the desired hard-good or service. At the end of the auction, the seller with the lowest bid or best available price wins.
Summary
The Enviro 21 reverse auction process is set up for business to business sales transactions. The goal? For the buyer to receive the best available price from the seller. Our online procurement process allows businesses and industries to save big on the products or services they need to keep moving forward. Advanced online marketplaces have allowed sellers and buyers to connect across the nation, and our reverse auction process is no different.
If your business is interested in learning more about our upcoming auctions or bidding with Enviro 21, contact our team today.