Software frameworks for advanced procurement auction markets

Abstract

A number of new auction formats have been developed which support more general negotiation and resource allocation tasks, while specifying demand and supply. Information systems supporting these types of auctions allow high economic efficiency even in case of complex preferences but require special design considerations. The typical bidding process implemented by the sourcing auction software consists of bid submission, bid evaluation, and the calculation of settlement prices, followed by some feedback to the bidders in an iterative or open-cry auction. It is suggested that the design of the software platforms to support respective auctions must address many economic and computational issues in addition to the ones found in traditional information systems design or auction software. Algorithmic approaches to solve computational problems of this sort with realistic problem sizes are fundamental for applications in the field.