Tender Platform Development
A tender platform is an electronic system for conducting competitive procurements: customer publishes requirements, suppliers submit applications and proposals, winner determined automatically or by committee. Security and transparency requirements here are significantly higher than a typical marketplace.
Types of tender procedures
| Procedure | Description |
|---|---|
| Open bidding | All submit applications openly |
| Closed bidding | Only invited suppliers |
| Request for quotation | Single-stage with price proposals |
| Electronic auction | Suppliers reduce price in real time |
| Two-stage bidding | Technical proposals first, then price |
Tender lifecycle
Draft → Published → Accepting bids (deadline)
→ Evaluation → Award → Contract
→ Execution → Closed
Each status transition is logged with timestamp and user. Status change after deadline impossible.
Documentation and specifications
Tender documentation — package of documents customer publishes:
- Technical specification (TZ / TOR)
- Draft contract
- Evaluation criteria (price weight, technical weight)
- Application instructions
Supplier submits application: technical documents + price proposal. Important: price proposal must be sealed — invisible to other suppliers until deadline.
Sealed Bid — sealed proposals
Price proposals encrypted on submission and decrypted only after deadline:
from cryptography.fernet import Fernet
# On submission
key = Fernet.generate_key() # key stored encrypted
f = Fernet(key)
encrypted_price = f.encrypt(str(price).encode())
# Save encrypted_price, key revealed after deadline
# After deadline - automatic unsealing
decrypted_price = f.decrypt(encrypted_price)
Alternative: envelope encryption via AWS KMS or HashiCorp Vault — key activation on schedule.
Application evaluation
After deadline committee evaluates applications:
- Automatic (price only): winner — minimum price
- Weighted evaluation: price × price_weight + technical_score × technical_weight
- Manual (complex procurements): committee members independently score, aggregate result
Rating table of applications formed automatically after evaluation.
Appeals
Non-winning supplier can appeal. Process:
- Applicant describes violation
- Operator reviews within N days
- Decision: reject / acknowledge violation / revise results
Appeal suspends contract signing until review.
Electronic signature integration
Contract, final protocol, applications — signed with e-signature:
- CryptoPro for Russian platforms
- Qualified e-signature for legally significant procurements
- Integration with government services portal for verification
Integration with EIS (goszakupki.gov.ru)
For government procurements under 44-FZ/223-FZ — mandatory integration with Unified Information System via EIS API. Published procurements duplicated on goszakupki.gov.ru.
Timeline
MVP (tender publication, application submission, basic evaluation, audit log): 3–4 months. Full-featured platform with sealed bids, e-signature, multiple procedures, EIS integration: 6–10 months.