Submittal of Bid Proposals in Electronic Format

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 256: Submittal of Bid Proposals in Electronic Format will be of interest to state Department of Transportation (DOT) contract officers, program managers, and construction engineers. It will also be of interest to computer specialists and construction contractors interfacing with the state DOTs using electronic media processes. It describes the current state of the practice for submittal of bid proposals in electronic format. This report of the Transportation Research Board presents a brief introduction to the history of electronic data interchange (EDI), its relation to electronic bidding, and current applications in the transportation construction industry. The results of a literature review, surveys of state DOTs and highway contractors, and interviews with industry experts and government agencies on the use of electronic bidding for highway projects are presented. Potential benefits and concerns, plus other issues related to the full implementation of electronic bidding in DOTs, are also presented. In addition, reported common plans for near future implementation of EDI technology to electronic bidding system processes for transportation construction projects are included.