How a Globally Acclaimed e-Procurement Company Accelerated Their Growth & Augmented Their Product
by Hiring a Dedicated Team from Digicorp
Project Scope
To build an e-tendering application for bidding on Government & other projects through cutting-edge procurement technology & a secure back-end.
Scale
Processed Over 350,000 Tenders, Procured Goods and Services Worth USD 15 billion and Registered 110,000 Suppliers on Their Systems.
Inception:
Duration:
Current Status:
Project closed with 100% client satisfaction.
Team:
Initially and At End:
1 Product Manager,
4 Developers,
1 Quality Analyst
In Between:
1 Product Manager,
18 Developers
3 Quality Analyst,
3 Support Providers
The Inspiring Journey of Nextenders -
Leading India & the World to Next-Gen Procurement
Procurement has traditionally been a complex and document-heavy process with several gaps and bottlenecks. With the advent of technology, e-procurement has eased some of these pain-points. However, businesses and government departments often have procurement staff who are not necessarily tech-savvy, causing paperless procurement to be challenging and inefficient as well.
The Nextenders Group seeks to address this gap with its user-friendly, intuitive and end-to-end digital procurement management platform. Currently, Nextenders is the only company that offers a secure, efficient and highly scalable e-procurement system in the country. Founded in 2002 by Tapan Mehta and Sumeet Bhatt, both of whom had a strong footing in the industry even before starting up, the company commenced operations from Mumbai as a typical garage start-up. Today, it is a global success story serving clients across three continents.
Need Mapping – Security, Scalability & Customizations – The Holy Trinity of eProcurement:
Nextenders reached out to us to hire a dedicated team with a view to transform their current product line so as to cater to diverse tendering processes globally. These developments were geared to give its users and stakeholders the ease of customization by developing a fully configurable product.
At the time of our initial discussions, the client’s existing product which was developed in classic ASP was a big challenge in expanding their business in other geographies. Moreover, they were struggling to be cost effective as compared to competing vendors. Further, the need for complex and frequent customizations for each client led to an inefficient, error-prone and unmanageable code. The system was not fully configurable either, leading to severe limitations.
At the same time, Nextenders was getting a lot of inquiries for other periphery systems like Pre-Tendering, Post-Tendering, e-Auction and Catalogue Management system. However, they had no technical expertise to develop these products.
Our Approach – Solving Complex Problems Through Divide & Conquer Strategy:
We first studied the wide range of solutions under e-Procurement such as Enterprise eProcurement, On-demand Procurements, and Catalogue Management. We realized that what makes Nextenders stand out is their comprehensive approach towards the solutions they offer. To factor this in, and with a view to replace traditional tendering with smart eProcurement by Nextenders, we helped them build a product with a robust back-end, elegant front-end and powerful platform security. Their product Secure Bid Process™ is an internationally patented solution which is the most secure solution available for e-tendering globally. It protects the process from Hacking, unauthorized access, collusion between vendors, or buyer irregularities. The features that we built into Nextenders’ solutions include:
Customization:
Digicorp designed a core dynamic transactional framework with systematic workflow and template engine. The configuration allowed the end-user to design the system as per his need basis with minimal intervention from the developers.
Independence:
Database independence was achieved by use of Hibernate, thus reducing the need to modify the code as per the database. Through the use of GWT, browser independence was achieved. With Java as the programming language, the deployments could run on both Linux and Windows, thus achieving OS independence.
Security:
Nextenders pride on their patented tamper-proof security, and secure product development is wired into the very DNA of Digicorp. This made the partnership highly compatible and win-win. They are currently the only procurement solutions provider that is fully compliant with the EU directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC, and EU bid data security regulations.
Business Consulting:
Digicorp designed an Auction Engine product to help increase
Nextenders’ offerings. We also collaborated with Nextenders’ marketing team to help them deliver successful sales demonstrations. We regularly advised their management to streamline their product plan.
Concluding Note: Onwards and Upwards for Nextenders
Nextenders has been appointed as Project Manager for UN/CEFACT and they are in charge of establishing eProcurement security standards within the frameworks of UN/CEFACT. The Nextenders group has an impressive portfolio with high authority customers and a strong security model. Some of their customers are ISRO, the Republic of Botswana, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Government of Chhattisgarh. They have been working for close to two decades to offer best-in-class procurement solutions globally. To date, they have processed over 350,000 tenders, procured goods and services worth USD 15 billion and registered 110,000 suppliers on their systems.
The Nextenders group currently employs 120 people and is expected to expand over the next few years. With its unique strengths and unflinching market leadership, Nextenders has been featured in the media a few times over the last few years like The Economic Times & Inc42 magazine. The Nextenders project demonstrates Digicorp’s end-to-end understanding of product scope, system architecture, complex markets & technology implementation & throws spotlight on the indispensable role we play in mobilizing global innovation.