E-tendering System in the Construction Industry: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits from the Developers’ Perspective

Abstract

The value of innovation in the construction industry has grown substantially. Thus, embracing innovative approaches such as the E-tendering system can overcome many challenges in tendering process and promote cost savings, reduce waste, and improve efficiency. Etendering system refers to an advanced technology that combines the idea of entering and conducting the construction tendering process electronically. Currently, the electronic business has shifted in the current Malaysian scenario coupled with the impacts of the pandemic situation. Thus, this paper explores the acknowledgement of the E-tendering system among developers in the Malaysian construction industry. This paper aims to identify the challenges and benefits of E-tendering, focusing on developers' perspectives. A quantitative approach was adopted by distributing a questionnaire survey to developers in the Klang Valley. A total of 135 respondents participated in this study. Data gathered from the survey was analysed using descriptive analysis via the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 software. The results summarised that the E-tendering system provides significant resource savings to a substantial portion of the construction supply chain. The primary advantages of this method are improved communication and considerable cost and time savings. However, a sizeable segment of the sector continues to be sceptical of this new technology adoption, with reluctance to change seen as the main obstacle. The findings from this study are beneficial for private-sector construction practitioners to understand the benefits of increasing the usage of E-tendering to ease the construction tendering process. This study has highlighted the significance of E-tendering to become generally accepted in the Malaysian construction industry, enabling it to transform into one of the most technologically advanced industries.