GeM provides OEMs a unique opportunity of getting high visibility in the government procurement chain leading to quicker and increased sales.
GeM, (Government e-Marketplace) of India facilitates online procurement of Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs thereby, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and speed in public procurement. It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse-e-auction, and demand aggregation to facilitate government users, achieve the best value for their money. A transformative initiative, which has brought all public procurement – of goods and services – onto a single platform that is, at one shot, open, efficient, inclusive, standardised, and transparent.
In other words, it is a GeM of a marketplace that has, in less than four years, ushered in a digital revolution in the process of public procurement by government departments and their autonomous bodies. It has done this by leveraging technology and making the procurement process contactless, paperless, and cashless. For countless entrepreneurs and businesses, who sell products and services to government departments and autonomous bodies, the GeM platform has enabled direct access to sourcing agencies in government, along with transparency and ease of operations.
How GeM works
GeM’s DNA revolves around participation, collaboration and empowerment. Multiple government organisations, industry associations, banks, SME vendors and other stakeholders have partnered to contribute and enrich the offerings on the platform. The smooth offering of products and services on the marketplace hinges on a harmony between demand and supply entities by way of a consultative approach. GeM organises special events for stakeholders’ engagement on a continuous basis.
GeM’s user-friendly online and offline support is equivalent to any modern e-commerce website. Even the audit is done through live video, which saves a lot of time and money. However, some sellers find participation in bids a little challenging on the GeM platform.
Benefits of GeM
Government e-Marketplace has several benefits to the Government, Sellers, Industry, and economy. The procuring agency gets a wide range of products and services, quite similar to any other e-commerce website. GeM only gives more features in the hands of both buyer & seller. A few are listed below -
For Buyer
· Offers rich posting of items for singular classes of Goods/Services
· Makes accessible hunt, think about, select and purchase facility
· Empowers purchasing Goods and Services on the web, as and when required.
· Gives straightforwardness and simplicity of purchasing
· Guarantees ceaseless merchant rating framework
· Progressive easy to understand dashboard for purchasing, checking supplies and payments
· Arrangement of simple merchandise exchange
For Seller
· Accessibility to all Government offices in one go
· One-stop search for showcasing with insignificant endeavours
· One-stop search for offers/reverse auction on items/services
· New Product Suggestion facility accessible to Sellers
· Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions
· Seller cordial dashboard for offering goods, and checking of supplies and payments
· Consistent and uniform purchase procedures
Straightforwardness - GeM discards human interface in merchant selection. Being an open stage, GeM offers no passage boundaries to bonafide providers who wish to work with the Government. At every movement, SMS and email views are sent to the two buyers, his/her leader of the affiliation, paying experts and vendors. On the web, cashless and time-bound portion on GeM is supported through blend with PFMS and State Bank Multi Option System (SBMOPS); web-organizations joining is being loosened up to portion structures of Railways, Defense, major PSUs, and State Governments. Consistent procedures and online time-bound instalment, has offered certainty to the dealers and decreased their 'managerial' cost associated with chasing officials for timely payments.
Efficiency - Coordinated buy on GeM is possible in a matter of minutes. For acquirements of higher value, the offering/RA office on GeM is among the most straightforward and proficient, in contrast with e-acquisition frameworks in vogue inside the Government segment. For making an offer/RA, the purchaser does not have to make his/her particular specialized details as they have been institutionalized on GeM. The offer/RA can be made in a matter of minutes and concluded inside at least 7 days. The offer/RA is advised through email and SMS to all the qualified providers. Diamond offering/RA along these lines guarantees rivalry, reasonable play, speed and effectiveness and prompts appropriate value disclosure. The sensibility of the rates can likewise be affirmed through online correlation with advertising costs on driving internet business entryways.
The sensibility of the cost is additionally fortified by method for incorporation with GSTN and ICEGATE that empower the purchaser to find out the cost of an item when it leaves the plant entryway or when it is imported. These makes GeM a greatly capable device in the hands of Government associations to arrange and obtain.
Safety - GeM is a secure platform and every one of the archives on GeM is e-Signed at different stages by the purchasers and sellers. The predecessors of the providers are confirmed on the web and naturally through MCA21, Aadhar and PAN databases. SEBI empanelled FICO assessment offices are likewise being utilized for directing third party appraisal of providers. This reinforces due diligence about the veracity of providers. For high-value bids/RA on GeM, an e-Bank Guarantee is presented.
GeM is a better framework than the current one which depends more on money related instruments (EMD if there should be an occurrence of tenders for extensive acquirements just) to ensure great lead by the providers. In the current framework, there is zero keep an eye on the predecessors of the providers for little value acquirements (upto Rs 1 lakh) whose total value is huge across the Government organizations. GeM does a 100% online check of all sellers independent of the estimation of procurement.
Make in India - The channels for choosing merchandise which is Preferential Market Access (PMA) consistent and those produced by Small Scale Industries (SSI), empowers the Government purchasers to acquire Make in India and SSI products effectively. Effortlessly available MIS additionally empowers the executives and arrangement creators to effectively and adequately authorize the Government directions on PMA and SSI sourcing.
Savings to the Government - The forthrightness, effectiveness, and convenience of the GeM has brought about a significant diminishment in costs, in contrast with Rate Contract and direct buy rates. The normal costs on GeM are down by at least 15-20%, for the government. Demand Aggregation for common items needed by multiple Central/State Government Departments, Request Aggregation are some of the great tools. Request Conglomeration for the greater part of the basic utilize products and services is evaluated to bring about yearly funds to the tune of Rs 40,000 Crore.
How to Start Business as a Seller on GeM - As per the General Financial Rules, for purchases up to Rs.50,000/-, “Purchaser (s)/Buyer(s)” are authorized to source required items through any of the available sellers on the GeM meeting requisite quality, specifications and delivery period. However, for purchases above Rs 50,000/-, “Purchaser (s)/Buyer(s)” can source required items through the supplier having the lowest price amongst the available suppliers on the GeM meeting requisite quality, specifications and delivery period. Aforesaid, powers have been vested in the Government user departments so that they can meet their requirement of common user goods and services with the flexibility and speed of e-marketplace and relieve them from the repeated mundane activity of bid management. The primary registration to the government users is granted at the level of Deputy Secretary/equivalent officer in respective government departments.
The terms “Sellers” has been defined as the firm(s) or a proprietorship/partnership /Limited Liability Partnership/Private Limited/Limited company/Society registered under Society’s Act that offers its Good(s)/Service(s) on GeM and agrees to accept the contract placed by “Buyer(s)” for the supply of the Good(s)/Service(s) as per the terms and conditions of GeM. The Sellers on GeM will be the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and/or their authorized channel partner(s)/ resellers (having any general authorization/dealership of the OEM to sell their product in the open market) and e- Marketplaces.
The Steps for Starting Selling on GeM Portal are as follows
· Business Registration - The firm willing to sell on the GeM portal or generally starting a legal business model would require to incorporate a new Private Limited Company or LLP if required.
· Tax Registration - Aadhar, PAN, GSTN registration numbers need to be obtained.
· Bank Account Link - A Bank account needs to be opened and registered with the name of the business.
· GeM Registration - GeM Seller or service provider registration to be completed by registering online and providing required information and documents.
· E-Sign Terms and Conditions - After all required forms are filled up, GeM terms and conditions need to be e-signed.
· Knowledge - Learn to sell on GeM portal, usage of GeM Dashboard and procedures.
· Begin Selling
Documents
Now let us look into details of the Seller registration process and documentation required. Documents required for Seller Registration are simple and bare minimum:
· PAN card
· Udyog Adhar or Company/LLP Registration.
· GST / TIN (if applicable)
· Bank Account & Supporting KYC Documents
· Identity Proof documents of Company Directors or Executives
· Address Proof of Company in India
· Cancelled Cheque Copy of any Indian Bank
· Digital Signatures (DSC)
You can easily register your company as a Seller or Service Provider Online at https://gem.gov.in/register/provider/register
After registration, the firm will be issued a user-ID and password from the GeM portal to access the seller account. Afterward, the listing & pricing of the products or services are done which are to be offered.
Seller has freedom of product pricing. But the final price should include the costs like cost of logistics, duties, packing & taxes, etc. along with a reasonable margin to arrive at the selling price on an all-inclusive basis- indicating the percentage of GST, as applicable. Once registration and listing are complete, the products of the seller are visible to the buyer and orders can be placed. If an order is placed the seller will find it in its dashboard and the GeM portal will also send an email alert to sellers registered email id. Buyer shall award the digitally signed/e-signed online Contract(s) in the GeM after due diligence to meet their requirements including the requirement specification and delivery period. The Buyer shall satisfy them that the price of the selected offer is reasonable. In the case of Services, the agreed SLA (Service Level Agreement) would also constitute an integral part of the Contract(s). For an award of Contract(s), the Buyer is at liberty to utilize all the data/information and tools made available in the GeM including e-bidding and reverse e-auction. On award of the Contract(s), it would be construed that the Buyer has obtained all necessary Administrative & Financial sanctions of the competent authority and adequate funds are available indicating the relevant Head of accounts in the awarded contract(s). These Contract(s) in the GeM shall be governed as per terms and conditions specified in the order document.
After order receipt it is the seller’s responsibility to pack and deliver the goods safely to the buyer’s delivery address on time. The payment will be processed directly to the registered bank account of the seller after ten days if the buyer is not availing the return policy.
Also read : Guidelines for Sellers on GeM.
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