Skip to main content
New Free whitepaper: the Kraljic Matrix applied to 20 real EPC procurement categories - get the PDF.
Procurement glossary

What is Multi-Attribute Auction?

An e-Auction format where suppliers compete on multiple criteria beyond price, such as quality, delivery, and service terms.

Definition

A multi-attribute auction lets suppliers compete on more than price - lead time, warranty, payment terms, service levels - with each attribute weighted so that offers can be compared on a single normalised score rather than a single number.

How it works in practice

A buyer weights price at 60%, lead time at 25% and warranty at 15%. A supplier who is marginally more expensive but two weeks faster can win on total score, and every participant can see the weighting before bidding.

Why it matters

It is the format that most closely matches how strategic categories are actually decided, and it removes the distortion of awarding on unit price alone. It requires the buyer to define and publish weightings honestly before the event opens.

Source-to-Contract · Back to the full glossary

Run this on procurEngine.

Book a demo scoped to the categories and event formats you actually run.