Electronic Bidding Core System

Electronic Bidding Core System
Development ConsortiumObjective
Our objective is the development of a highly flexible electronic bidding system that canbe used by multiple public purchasers and therefore smoothly introduced to thesepurchases in accordance with the aims of the "CALS/EC Local Promotion Action
Program (nationwide)" established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism.
◆Avoidance of Confusion for Bid Participants
When various electronic bidding systems co-exist, the bid participants must beable to handle each system. This results in an increase in labor and cost.
Using a common tool called the "core system" greatly lightens the burden on
bid participants.

◆Reduction of System Development Cost
If each public purchaser developed its own electronic bidding system, the total
development cost would be an extraordinary amount. By using the core system,
public purchasers will be able to avoid redundant investments in systemdevelopment.

Electronic BiddingCore System

Core System
This system is called the "core system" because it provides the "core" for the highly flexible electronic bidding system that can be used by multiple
public purchasers. Although it is called the "core system," all functions necessary for bidding-related work such as procedural flows of bidding methods
and management functions have been implemented in this system. The Core System is an electronic bidding system with advanced information
security functions such as public key cryptography technology.

System Features
The Core System is a highly
reliable system since it hasbbeen
developeddl
d basedbd on
the proven electronic
bidding system of theMinistry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transportand Tourism. The electronic
bidding system is also
hi hl flexible.
highlyfl ibl ThisThi isibecause the results of asurvey on bidding-related
business and opinions(business needs) from
special members of theconsortium were reflectedwhenh theth systemtspecifications wereestablished.

Electronic Bidding System(Ministry of Land,
Land Infrastructure Transportand Tourism)
System developed based on
this Ministry's proven electronic
bidding system.

Versatility Sophistication

Security Technology

Reliability

Security

Electronic BiddingCore System

Requests from Public Purchasers(Special members of the consortium)
Needs are listed by publicpurchasers who are membersof the consortium.

Advanced securitytechnologies are used.

SimplicityInternet Technology

Innovation

Impartiality

Knowledge of Vendors(Full members of the consortium)
Leading Japanese IT vendors
review the systemspecifications.

Internet technology that areavailable to all are used.
User-friendly design allows useof standard browsers.

Qualification Examination System,
Contract/Finance Systems, etc.

Configuration

Procurement Information
SystemRelated Systems

Public purchasers are provided
System Linkage
with the core area
area, center of theElectronic Bidding System
Core System, and a customizable
Information Output
Provided by the Contracting
area, for public purchasers toLinkage Function
FunctionVendors
customize.
Customized Portion
Public purchasers can easily
construct a work-linked electronic
bidding system by customizing thecustomizable area as necessary
Provided by JACIC andCore Area
and adding linkage functions toSCOPE
related systems.
Electronic Bidding Core System

Customizable
Area

Bid form management
The electronic bidding system requires highly advanced security
measures due to the importance and anonymity of information
the system handles. The Electronic Bidding Core System isdeveloped
p based on CALSE/EC verification test results and theperformance of the electronic bidding system used by theMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; this ensuresthat a well-tested system is provided.
The Electronic Bidding Core System resembles a system in which
sealed bid forms are kept
p in a safe. The keyy to the safe is strictlyy
managed with a public key and a private key that are specific toeach bid (see the figure on the right). Suppliers take out theprivate key from the key management server when it is time toopen bidding and sequentially remove the seals on the bid forms.

Suppliers

Bid CenterPurchasers
Private Key Specific to
Each Bidding Item

Public Key Specific to
Each Bidding Item

Common Key forBidding

Key Management Server

Seale

Seale

Bid form¥123,456

Seale

Seale

Encryption
Seale

Seale

Encryption
Seale

Seale

Bid form¥123,456

Promotion Policies
Promotion of Domestic Standardization
A large number of local government agencies including the central government offices, 47 prefectures, and 12
government-designatedtd it d cities
iti participate
ti i t iin th
the CCore SSystemt
DDevelopment
ltC
Consortium.
tiThiThis C
Consortium
tihhas bbeen
reviewing system specifications while taking into consideration the needs of public purchasers. The Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and numerous public purchasers (central government offices, public corporations,and local governments) already have plans to establish an electronic bidding system using the Core System.

Conformity with the International Standardized Specifications
The project of UN/CEFACT※1 was started from 2002. Japan will beresponsible for the Core System and JACIC played the leading role inpromotion of the project. This system will conform to the international
standardized specifications of electronic bidding to be established bythe UN/CEFACT.

Expansion of Core System Functions
Including support for new public key infrastructures such as
LGPKI and computerization of the contracting process between a
successful bidder and a public purchaser, functions of the Core
System will continued to expand.
※1 UN/CEFACT: United Nations Center for Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport.

Applicable works
Bidding method
This system supports various bidding systems, from public works to material procurement.

R l t d Construction
Related
Ctti WorkW k

R l t d Operation
RelatedOti WorkW k

Open competitive bidding ※2

Designated competitive bidding ※2

Publicly-invited, designatedcompetitive bidding ※2

Publicly-invited competitive bidding ※2

Designated competitive bidding ※2

Publicly-invited proposal

Work-specified designatedcompetitive bidding ※2

Standard proposal

Optional contract

Optional
pcontract

R l t d Goods
RelatedG dOpen competitive bidding

Designatedes g a ed competitive
co pe e bbidding
dd g

Optional contract(Related goods conform to the standard specification of the Material Procurement System established by Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunications.)※2 comprehensive evaluation successful bidApplicable worksWork range
The Core System supports a series of procedures from registration of bidding projects to disclosure of bidding results.
Supplier

Purchaser
Qualification Examination

PriorPi A
Applicantlit
Registration

U Registration
User
R i t ti

User
Database

Staff Registration

Registration ofProcurement Project

Project Search/
Reference

Registration of
Estimated price

Issuing
N ti
NoticeChecking
NoticeInternet
Receiving Bid Form,
etc.

Sending BidForm, etc.

Bid Opening
Execution

System L
Linkage

Receiving
Application Form, etc.

Sending ofApplication Form,
etc

Registration of
Bid Opening Result
Checking the Notice ofRe-bidding

Issuing Notice ofRe-bidding

Checking the Successful
Biddingg Result

Issuing Notice of
Successful Bidding
R ltResult

Qualification
Qlifi tiExamination
Information

Procurement
information

Contract/Financial
Information

LegendCore System
Work Range

Bidding Result
Disclosure

Contract

Schematic Diagram for Open Competitive Bidding Process

Core System Function
yFunction,,
Related System
Manual Labor

Screen Examples
Screen for Purchasers◆Easy-to-understand Screen
An easy-to-understand screen layout allowspurchasers to understand bidding progress at aglance.

Example of a Purchaser's Screen

The menu display iseasy to understand.

Example of a Purchaser's Customized Screen◆Customizable Screens
In addition to being able to make the obvious
changes to symbols and designs, publicpurchasers can customize screen layouts
through linking with related systems andchanging or adding item names and making
other modifications.

Bidding progress canbe understood at aglance and traced fromleft to right.

Screen Examples
Screen for Suppliers◆Easy-to-use Design

Example of a Screen for Suppliers

The basic screen
layout for suppliers is
standardized by GUIGuidelines.

Mistaken bid prices cause serious consequences. To avoid
such problems, theamount inputted will be displayed in Chinesecharacters so that it can be understood intuitively.

◆Standardized Screen Layout
The basic screen layout for suppliers is
standardized in accordance with GUI Guidelines.
This allows bid participants to use any publicpurchaser's electronic bidding systems without
confusion.
Japanese counting
units will be used
to display the bidprice.
In GUI Guidelines, a system layout is divided
into a part that would cause confusion if designs
areae cchangeda ged anda d a pa
partt tthat
at would
ou d notot cause
any confusion (symbols, colors, etc.). The latterpart can be customized freely.

Screens now under development. The actual screens may vary.

Innovation
Support for Multiplatform
Customization and expansion of core system
functions are simple. This is because thesystem is layered into two parts: a customizable
area and a core area. In the customizable area,screen and account book designs can becustomized. In the core area, bidding-specificprogram components and a public key
infrastructure are included. And since thesystem is developed with Java, program codes
can be unified and efficiency in development
andad maintenancea te a ce managementa age e t ca
can beimproved. By operating the system in a Java
execution environment which is implemented ona number of OSs such as UNIX, Windows, andLinux, it is possible to construct a system that isindependent of configurations. This system also
supports a variety of DBMSs such as Oracle
Oracle.

Linkage to Related Systems
By using the API system, the Core System canobtain
bt i or pass on sharedh d iinformation
fti ththatt iis relatedl t dto bidding. Systems can work together seamlesslyby editing each other's information. If there are notenough information items to pass on to a relatedsystem, it is possible to use a separate user
database and link this database to the system.
yRelated Systems
Qualification Examination System,
Contract/Finance Systems, etc.

System Linkage
FunctionsElectronic Bidding System

A P I ※3
C AreaCoreA
Common Bid Functions
A●Bidding-specific Program Components
P● Security Functions(Key Management, Public KeyIInfrastructures,fetc.))

Customizable Area
Each local government can customize●Flow of Bidding Work● Screen Design● Forms Design

Framework※4(e.g. Communication Control)
Java Execution Environment
OS: Operating Systems(UNIX, Windows, and Linux)
Multiplatform Support※3 API (Application Program Interface): API refers to software resources already provided to platforms such as the OS to facilitate development of applications.
※4 Framework: A framework refers to a software system or architecture that constitutes the base of particular services.

InnovationI
Support for Multiple Certification
Authorities

A Public Purchaser's
Electronic Bidding System

A certificate authority can be selected among
multiple certificate authorities to authenticate thesupplier. One IC card can be used for multiple
public purchasers. The system will support thecommercial registration electronic authenticationof the Ministry of Justice.

Multiple Certificate Authorities

Internet

Bid Verification of

Support for GPKI/LGPKI
Authentication of purchaser is handled by
GPKI*5 promoted by the Administrative
Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Post andTelecommunications, and by LGPKI*6promoted
t dbby ththe LLocall GGovernmentt Wid
Wide A
AreaNetwork Council.

Verification ofValidityValidity

IC Card((ElectronicCertificate))

ICSupplier

Z Public Purchaser's
Electronic Bidding System

Bid

Support for Multiple Certificate Authorities※5 GPKI (Government Public Key Infrastructure): GPKI refers to a public key infrastructure in the central government to use authentication technologies in electronic
information exchanges between the government and private sector.
※6 LGPKI (Local Government Public Key Infrastructure): LGPKI refers to a public key infrastructure for organizations such as local government agencies.

Electronic Bidding Core System Development Consortium◆ Development System
Know-how,
Personnel,
Operating fundsIT Vendors
Know-how,
Personnel,
Operating funds

MLIT※Customization■The Japan Construction Information
Center (JACIC) and the Service Center ofPort Engineering (SCOPE) established
the Consortium in order to support thesmooth introduction of the electronic
bidding system to a wide range of publicpurchasers including
pg local ggovernment
agencies.
■Through the Consortium, specifications
and provision conditions for a flexible
electronic bidding system will beconsidered based on the electronic
bidding system of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
according to the needs of public purchasers
and know-how of IT vendors.
■B■Basedd on thi
this specification,ifi ti
JACIC andd
SCOPE will develop and provide theElectronic Bidding Core System.

JACIC and SCOPE
Consortium
ElectronicBidding
System byMLIT

Electronic BiddingCore System

System specifications
Free of charge

Electronic BiddingCore System
Service Center

Development
Provision conditions

Sell

Maintenance

Needs

Public purchasers, including ministries, prefectural authorities, local
government offices, public corporations, etc.

Activity Flow of Consortium※ MLIT: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Electronic Bidding Core System Development Consortium◆ Maintenance System
JACIC and SCOPE have set up the "Electronic Bidding Core System Service Center" to support public purchasersthat install the Electronic Bidding Core System and the development vendors that are contracted to construct systems
using the Electronic Bidding Core System.

Inquiry Service
Information Service

This service is for answering inquiries about installation, functions and operationof the Core System, and how to avoid problems.
This service allows the user to freely view questions and answers about theCore System at any time.

◆ Members of the Consortium
Full Members

Companies that are willing to use the Core System either to develop the ability to create electronic bidding systems
or to develop
p electronic biddingg systems
yfor ppublic ppurchasers.

SupportingMembers

Companies that require information regarding development of the Electronic Bidding Core System.

Special Members

Public purchasers of public works that are willing to install the electronic bidding system.

Electronic Bidding Core System Development Consortium

For Further Information, Contact:
Electronic Bidding Core System Development
Consortium Secretariat
Research and Development Department
Japan Construction Information Center (JACIC)
URL: http://www.cals.jacic.or.jp/coreconso/E-mail: core@jacic.or.jp

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As of March. 2013