OpenNexus: a secure and intuitive procurement platform for tenders
OpenNexus has been operating in the procurement platform market since 2009. It serves business customers and the public sector. The main product is the platformazakupowa.pl platform, where users carry out procurement processes. The company serves more than 3,500 customers. More than 32,700 active contracting authorities are registered on the platform, and more than 149,300 contractors have already submitted more than 948,600 bids.
Optimization of procurement processes and verification of qualified signatures
Users of the OpenNexus procurement platform have often struggled with the issue of how to verify qualified signatures properly. Initially, the OpenNexus company did not plan to introduce such a capability on the platform at all. On the other hand, cyclical training courses on such topics as verification of qualified signatures were organized for users and were very popular. However, a systemic solution was needed. A tool that will answer the question of whether a signature is valid or not without any doubt. Verification of signatures is a critical moment in the path of the bid evaluation process. Contracting authorities (but also contractors) need to be assured of the validity of a qualified signature within several hours to a maximum of a few days. OpenNexus decided to improve this step in the process together with Asseco Data System and launch the <a href="https://paperless.asseco.com/en/offer/webnotarius" style="color: #5ec1b0">WebNotarius</a> service on its platform.
Adding the WebNotarius module to the functionality of the purchasing platform
The project aimed to extend the functionality of the Internet Procurement Platform (<a href="http://www.platformazakupowa.pl/" style="color: #5ec1b0" target="blank">platformazakupowa.pl</a>) with the possibility of confirming bidding documents by participants in bidding procedures using a qualified validation service. <a href="https://paperless.asseco.com/en/offer/webnotarius" style="color: #5ec1b0">WebNotarius</a> checks certificates issued by all qualified certification authorities in the European Union (EU) and leading non-qualified ones worldwide. It allows the validation process and verification of the validity of a qualified electronic signature based on a qualified certificate issued by any EU qualified entity at a specified time in the past. The implementation was carried out within just one month of signing the contract.
The OpenNexus solution is the first procurement platform in Poland to provide Contracting Authorities with the ability to perform free qualified validation of electronically signed documents in bidding processes directly on the platform. Thanks to this procedure, Contracting Authorities using the portal can obtain proof of validation of documents they receive from Contractors in bidding processes signed with qualified e-signatures. This action aligns with OpenNexus' professed philosophy – to understand customers and meet their needs.
It has become a tremendous value for customers to remove the responsibility from them when evaluating bids and recognizing, or not recognizing, a given document as adequately signed.
Secure, automatic, and convenient verification of signatures.
- OpenNexus saw a 38% increase in sales in 2021 compared to 2020.
- Increasing the competitiveness of the procurement platform compared to competitors.
- Relieving users of responsibility in the evaluation of bids and documents.
- Determining the validity of signatures on documents in a risk-free manner.
- Saving time and convenience for customers when verifying signatures.
- Improving the security of customer data during the online procurement process.
- Automating signature verification by integrating WebNotarius with the OpenNexus platform.
