2 MIN READ
How can you streamline processes, reduce risk, and do more with less?
Manual procurement processes are no longer sustainable – especially for public agencies facing tighter budgets, leaner teams, and growing compliance demands. If you're still managing bids with spreadsheets, PDFs, or email chains, you’re not just wasting time. You’re also increasing your risk exposure.
PlanetBids’ modern, digital procurement platform built for the public sector helps automate, streamline, and future-proof your procurement operations.
Tell me quick:
Manual procurement causes friction, inefficiency, and frustration and sets you up for increased risk and higher costs. PlanetBids has tools for bid creation and release, vendor outreach and communication, contract management, document creation and control, compliance, and data reporting to help you speed up bid cycles, save time, reduce costs, and eliminate errors and bid protests by standardizing and automating your procurement lifecycle.
The Hidden Costs of Manual Procurement
Even if your current process works, it’s likely creating friction, inefficiency, and risk across your agency. Manual processes often lead to:
- Slower procurement cycles
- Missed vendor communications or deadlines
- Inconsistent documentation and poor version control
- Increased risk of compliance violations, cost overruns, or project delays
- Repetitive tasks that drain staff resources
These issues compound over time and can result in costly rework, bid protests, exhausted budgets, and loss of public trust. And with many agencies dealing with staff reductions, frozen headcount, and shrinking budgets, inefficiency is no longer an option.
What Is eProcurement, and Why Does It Matter?
eProcurement is the use of digital tools to manage every stage of the procurement process, including solicitation creation, vendor communication, bid submission, evaluation, and award, all in one system.
A purpose-built eProcurement platform like PlanetBids empowers agencies to:
- Automate time-consuming tasks
- Centralize bid management and vendor tracking
- Improve internal collaboration and document approvals
- Ensure compliance with audit trails and system controls
- Save time, reduce errors, and cut administrative costs
How PlanetBids Drives Procurement Efficiency
PlanetBids offers a comprehensive, procurement-focused platform designed specifically for cities, counties, schools, airports, utilities, and other public sector agencies. Unlike ERPs or other tools that just include a purchasing module, PlanetBids was designed by procurement experts for public procurement teams to address the unique challenges facing their jobs.
Our tools improve your procurement operations from start to finish:
01
Automated Bid Management
Create, publish, and manage solicitations in one place. Reusable templates, bid specification libraries, piggy-back deals and cooperatives, deadline tracking, and real-time vendor updates eliminate bottlenecks and minimize delays to help you go from requisition to tender faster.
02
Vendor Outreach and Communication
An easy-to-use vendor portal automates notifications and communications while making registration, prequalification, and bid response simpler. PlanetBids helps expand your vendor pool while ensuring compliance and responsiveness so you get more competitive bid submissions.
03
Document Collaboration and Version Control
Work collaboratively across departments with shared document creation and management, comment threads and approvals, and version history. AI-assisted editing helps improve clarity and consistency in scope and legal language.
04
Audit-Ready Compliance and Reporting
Ensure your projects are up to date and compliant with federal, state, and local regulations as well as insurance requirements to stay audit-ready at all times. PlanetBids automatically tracks key actions, maintains documentation, and provides built-in reports for transparency and oversight, all in a user-friendly dashboard.
05
Centralized Procurement Data
No more hunting for files. Access all procurement records, including bids, specifications, evaluation results, contract documents, awards, and more, in one searchable system with a user-friendly dashboard and role-based access.
Results that Speak for Themselves
Manual processes carry too much risk and waste too much time. Whether you're looking to improve efficiency, meet compliance demands, or simply do more with a leaner team, PlanetBids can help. Agencies that use PlanetBids report:
- Up to 50% faster bid cycles
- Significant cost savings from reduced manual work and rework
- Fewer errors and bid protests due to standardization and automation
Ready to future-proof your procurement? Explore how our tools can transform your procurement processes to help you save time and money. Schedule a demo today.
Want to see how your process stacks up? Download our Procurement Efficiency Checklist. Or check out the full Procurement Efficiency resource center for downloadable white papers, infographics, and related articles on how to become more efficient.