Some auction work on price only. In fact, most consumer oriented auctions work that way. Businesses normally don’t operate that way though. They care about many dimensions including non-price or “soft” factors. High end B2B software allows non-price factors and manages to create a very rich auction environment in which participants can respond via price but also other dimensions (i.e. payment terms). Other examples are volume preferences, species, grades, freight components…..even loyalty. The interesting part is that – as opposed to traditional auctioning – great quality or superior service suddenly have a dollar value! This in turn means that the supplier is incentivised to invest in those dimensions.

Very much so. Anything that creates value to buyers or sellers should be recognized in a good auction design. The reason is simple: if I can express exactly what I want, in the right quantity, the right timing etc. I am more willing to pay a higher price (think: tailored suit). Technically, the auction system checks in real time, whether there is a bundle that would create greater revenue for the seller than selling individually. If that is the case, competitors need to bid high enough of the individual items to “break” the bundle.

This format is called a combinatorial auction . You create bundles (or combinations) and tell the system what it is worth to you to get the whole bundle together.

B2B auction technology is extremely versatile. Tradeslot has been operating across a number of industries including timber, carbon, freight and port capacity. Other areas are land release, ores and minerals, agricultural products.

Tradeslot offers both the technology and the services required to run successful B2B auctions. This spans upfront design, participant training, auction operation, help desk and post event analysis and reporting. In terms of technology, Tradeslot offers a range of pre-configured auction formats and industry templates.

All of Tradeslot’s auction platforms are web based so no software needs to be installed. While some customers prefer dedicated hardware, Tradeslot also works with Microsoft Windows AZURE cloud computing to offer maximum scalability and reliability.

No. All systems are securely hosted and data is transmitted securely using SSL encryption and Microsoft products and frameworks.

Just call us and we will set up an online demonstration - no strings attached.

One of Tradeslot’s flagship platforms is run by the Victorian Government to sell native timber. The auction events achieved initial revenue uplift of 40% and of 16% over the longer term. At the core of this success lies the ability of buyers and sellers to express exact preferences (which creates a high degree of fit and willingness to pay) while participants are subjected to the forces of market competition. This combination has proven enormously powerful.

Some B2B auctions are. Tradeslot though typically creates “private markets” with pre-qualified participants. The value transacted in these auctions is measured in millions of dollars and the credibility of all participants is paramount. Equally important, bidder specific factors (e.g. quality scores or pre-negotiated discounts) require market participants to be known upfront.

Auctions are just one part of an Emission Trading Scheme (or ETS). Most ETS are cap-and-trade systems. These were developed to marry the ideas of governments regulating the amount of overall carbon emissions their country can emit (the cap) and industry having a real incentive to reduce their emissions (the trade).

This is where auctions come in. They create a a price for emissions – expressed as the price per tonne of C02 emitted. Carbon permit auctions are fairly specific auction formats. Tradeslot assisted the Australian Federal Department of Climate Change in the design of the its carbon permit auction system which is widely regarded as global best practice. The chosen format is called a simultaneous ascending clock auction.