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GENERAL

1. Why does Biddingo exist?

Biddingo was created in 1993 to meet the purchasing needs of the public sector. It started as a bid publishing and distribution service for public sector buyers to meet the requirement of a fair, open and transparent purchasing process based on the guidelines of the Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). Biddingo has since grown into an online government contract portal for small, medium and large organizations.

Biddingo is the preferred choice for bid distribution by public sector organizations because it acts as an extension of many public sector purchasing departments. Buyers benefit from Vendor Registration, Vendor Management and Directory Services. Biddingo bid consultants will even invite suppliers and vendors by phone, email and fax to bid on opportunities on behalf of the buying organization.

Biddingo also exists to meet the needs of suppliers, offering a daily lead generation tool in addition to helping them get in front of buyers via Directory Services, Vendor Registration and direct communication in an online environment.

Biddingo’s mission is to continue offering the best tools for buyers and suppliers through its online portal.

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2. How does Biddingo differ from other services?

Biddingo is unlike any other bid publishing or bid distribution service. Biddingo is more than a bulletin board for bids. It is an online portal for buyers and suppliers. We go the extra mile by providing purchasing managers with sourcing, management and communication tools. Purchasing managers are using Biddingo.com to post bids, source and manage vendors and more! Biddingo is an ideal venue for suppliers to interact with buyers on a level playing field.

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3. How do government buyers buy?

Public sector organizations must undergo a bidding process for any procurement needs. They are also required to distribute the bid notice to any potential suppliers as mandated by purchasing bylaws.

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4. Does Biddingo meet AIT requirements?

Yes. Biddingo’s online portal provides the necessary tools for public sector purchasing managers to meet the guidelines of a fair, open and transparent purchasing process.

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5. How do public sector buyers differ from private sector buyers?

Public sector buyers need to meet the requirements of a fair, open and transparent purchasing process. With elevated corporate governance issues, the private sector is also being scrutinized under the same purchasing process as the public sector. Biddingo ensures the purchasing and accountability needs of both sectors are met.

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6. How will Biddingo.com help me find new sales opportunities?

There are several ways that you can locate new sales opportunities through Biddingo.com. Once your company profile is setup on the system, you will receive a daily email in the morning listing all open contracts on Biddingo.com that match your profile. This makes your tender search a lot easier as you don't have to log on every day and search manually; the bids are automatically sent to you!

Your second option is to go directly to www.Biddingo.com and search for sales opportunities. You can search by keyword, category, MyProfile, hot bids and advanced search functions.

A third way to promote your company is to get listed in the Directory Service. This is a sourcing tool used by suppliers to locate goods and services. You can also upload your product information, images, catalogs and more!

And last, but not least, suppliers can register on the bidder’s list of public and private sector organizations. When you register on the list, the organization is notified that you want to receive bid invitations from them.The next time the organization has a bid opportunity, your company may be invited. For more information on Vendor Registration, click here.

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7. How does Biddingo obtain bid opportunities?

There are 4 basic methods:

1. Government organizations across Canada post business opportunities directly on Biddingo.com.
   Public sector organizations have chosen Biddingo.com to manage and improve their purchasing department's processes and procedures. Publishing bid notice and documents on Biddingo.com saves them time and money because they don’t have to advertise their bid opportunities or pay hosting fees. They also don’t have to worry about any document taker’s missing amendments, because Biddingo issues immediate email notification to all document takers.
2. Our research department searches government websites, newspapers and other publications for available bid opportunities.
   Our research department conducts daily searches through hundreds of public, municipal, academic, university, college, library, school board, healthcare and other government websites for you. When business opportunities are located, we categorize and post them on Biddingo.com. Our subscribers receive a Bid Alert the following morning, so they don’t have to search for the bids themselves.
3. Business-to-business bid opportunities are posted directly on Biddingo.com.
   Private sector buyers may post single or group bids.
4. Suppliers post surplus bid opportunities directly on Biddingo.com.
   When suppliers have items they need to sell immediately, they can post them on Biddingo.com. This allows other businesses to take advantage of the savings.

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8. Is Biddingo a solution only for large businesses?

No. Small, medium and large businesses can subscribe as buyers to sell goods and services, and bid on opportunities. Because Biddingo publishes bid opportunities from the provincial and municipal sectors, smaller companies have a greater opportunity to compete on government business. Suppliers can also register as buyers for business-to-business buying. With Biddingo’s private sector and group buying services, there are options for businesses of all sizes to participate. Group buy bids are a great solution for small businesses, as they can pool their buying power to negotiate better pricing. For more information or tips on how your business can succeed with government or the MESH sector, call us at 416-756-0955.

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9. Who does business with the public and private sectors and is it for me?

Thousands of companies across Canada are doing businesses with one or both sectors. Biddingo.com offers you the best of both worlds! All subscription pricing includes access to public and private sector bid opportunities, vendor registration and listing in the supplier directory.

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10. What is the public sector buying?

Each year, government agencies in Canada spend $100 billion annually on various products and services - everything from vehicles to staplers to uniforms. They may also post bids to sell surplus assets such as furniture, computers, vehicles and real estate.

The following numbers represent the total percentage of money spent in each business category by the public sector buyers related to the entire marketplace.

Source: Publisher's Data, 2000

Architectural/Engineer/Design	39%	Food Service Equipment	29%	Pharmaceuticals	18%
Audio Visual/Video	56%	Fuel	44%	Public Safety	35%
Building Maintenance	54%	Furniture	59%	Public Works Products	32%
Cars	44%	Geographical Info Systems (GIS)	25%	Safety Protection	44%
Clothing/Uniforms	50%	Hazardous Material Control	34%	Security	36%
Communications	64%	Healthcare Supplies/Services	31%	Social Services	15%
Computers/Peripherals	74%	Highway/Street	30%	Special Vehicles	40%
Software	75%	Information Technology	50%	Tools Equipment/Machinery	51%
Construction Equip./Materials	47%	Insurance	25%	Trucks	44%
Corrections	15%	Lighting Equipment/Supplies	48%	Utility Services	29%
Education	30%	Office Equipment	68%	Vehicles	40%
Financial Services	29%	Paper Products	61%	Waste Management/Recycling	32%
Fleet Maint./Management	46%	Park & Recreation Equip.	31%	Water/Sewer Prod & Services	26%

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11. If I subscribe to MERX, do I need to subscribe to Biddingo?

It really depends on the market you want to address and the size of your business. Let’s start by addressing some basic differences.

MERX is a contractor. Once a buying organization ends its contract with MERX, subscribers no longer have access to these bid opportunities. Also, MERX specializes in the federal and provincial sectors. Often, only large corporations have the means to compete for business of this scope.

Biddingo.com is not a contractor. The bid notices posted on our website are posted by purchasing managers or they are located by our research department from other public websites. Biddingo specializes in the provincial and MESH (Municipal, Education, School Board and Healthcare) sector. This means small, medium and large enterprises can compete for these bids… and win.

So, if you’re interested in provincial and MESH bid opportunities, and you don’t want to miss a potential sales lead, you need to subscribe to Biddingo!

For a complete listing of features and benefits, click here.

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12. Why do I receive a daily email from Biddingo?

Daily bid notification updates are a free service to all registered users of Biddingo (30 day trial users and subscribers). This notification is sent daily and contains information of the bid opportunities that have been posted since the last email was sent out.

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13. Why do suppliers choose Biddingo?

Thousands of suppliers reply on Biddingo.com’s online bid portal to help them locate and bid on business in the governmental sectors. This includes Municipal, Academic, School Board and Healthcare opportunities, plus many more!

Suppliers also choose Biddingo because they can access more than just bid opportunities. Our subscribers have access to buyers! Biddingo offers a wide variety of tools for suppliers to interact with buyers in a fair, open and transparent portal. Subscribers can place their company name directly in front of public sector buyers via the Vendor Registration process, by getting an invitation from a buyer to respond to a bid opportunity, or by posing a question to a buyer through Biddingo's unique message board.

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SERVICES

1. What services are offered?

Biddingo.com services break down into two user types: suppliers and buyers.

Suppliers who register as Biddingo.com subscribers will benefit from access to public and private sector opportunities.

• Access to thousands of business opportunities from public and private sector organizations.
• Efficient Daily email notification. You will receive daily email notifications from Biddingo.com matching your customized profile, including business category(s), provincial target markets, and telephone area code settings.
• Create bids to promote and sell your surplus items.
• Access to all posted documents on Biddingo.com.
• Free Amendments notification, and much more.

Click here for detailed information about our offerings.

Any public or private sector organization can register as a Biddingo.com buyer, and benefit from:

• Posting bids online
• Hosting or joining a Group Bid
• Making bid documents available for download
• Inviting suppliers to view bid opportunities
• Issuing amendments
• Collecting a fee for special documents
• Sourcing suppliers
• Managing suppliers online
• Publishing bid results
• Issuing contracts

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2. When I register as a browser or subscriber, how will I be notified of bid opportunities?

Suppliers registered for the 30 day trial will receive a daily bid notice with opportunities that match the business profile selected during your registration. To view the bid scope you will be required to purchase the bid documents or you can purchase a subscription to access the bid documents at no extra cost.

Subscribers receive a daily bid alert and bid notice and occasionally, a hot bid. To view the complete bid scope, subscribers can simply click the link. When bid documents are posted online, subscribers can download them from Biddingo.com. If amendments are issued, all document takers are notified via email. Biddingo also offers a bid matching and vendor registration service to subscribers to further increase their chances of landing a relevant contract.

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3. How do I use the daily bid notification updates?

Each bid notice in the email contains a direct link into the Biddingo system, to the specific bid. Click on the link and the Biddingo login page will be displayed. Enter your user ID and password, click submit, and the requested bid scope will appear.

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4. Can I customize the email notification so that I only receive bids that are of interest to me?

You can use MyProfile to add or change business categories and location criteria.

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5. How do I view the list of document takers and the bid results?

If the list of document takers is available online, the "Document Takers" link will be activated. Click the link and you will be able to view the list of companies that have taken copies of the bid documents. Follow the same procedure for the bid results.

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