Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
Transnet has been recognised for its role in setting a new national benchmark for public sector procurement through a fully digital, efficient and inclusive system that actively drives economic transformation. About four years ago, the e-Tender platform replaced the physical tender boxes and paper submissions with a cloud-based, secure and transparent digital environment.
This enhanced efficiency is matched by improved governance. The system includes an embedded audit trail, real-time reporting, and automated business rules that have driven a verified 40% reduction in irregular expenditure. Since its implementation, the portal has processed over one million documents and enabled the strategic redeployment of resources that previously were responsible for administrative tasks associated with processing of tender documents, such as stamping, signing and filing to other value-adding areas of the business.
Furthermore, the efficiency gains have directly contributed to substantial financial value, including R1.8 billion value delivery in the 2024/2025 financial year alone. “We have not had physical tender boxes at Transnet since October 2021. This innovation has fundamentally changed the speed and integrity of Transnet’s supply chain management,” Transnet Group Chief Procurement Officer, Vuledzani Nemukula, said on Friday.
By removing the physical and financial barriers associated with paper-based tenders, the e-Tender portal has significantly increased accessibility for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) across the country. “Furthermore, we have tailored our submission times to ensure SMMEs can make use of night-time data to upload large documents, saving them on additional costs,” Nemukula said.
He made these remarks after the logistics infrastructure State-owned company clinched the prestigious GIBS Logistics Achiever Gold Award (LAA) 2025 for its transformative e-Tender solution on Thursday night at a ceremony held at the GIBS Business School in Johannesburg. According to Transnet, the e-Tender portal is more than a transactional system; it is a critical enabler of the knowledge economy. By centralising and standardising procurement data, the platform is laying the groundwork for a future powered by advanced analytics.
The portal’s broad reach has already attracted over 30 000 suppliers, broadening the participation base and fostering accountability and public trust. “Digitalisation levels the playing field, ensuring that geography and administrative complexity are no longer barriers to entry for SMMEs seeking to participate in the lucrative logistics value chain,” the SOE said.
This directly aligns Transnet’s procurement function with the national mandate of inclusive economic growth. The success of the e-Tender portal is also a testament to the strategic partnership between the Group Chief Information Officer and Group Chief Procurement Officer. Their collaborative leadership ensured that both procurement and Information and Communications Technology functions were aligned from the outset, co-owning the digital transformation journey and driving shared accountability for business outcomes.
“This milestone aligns with Transnet’s broader ICT Digital Modernisation Strategy, which is fundamentally about transforming how technology supports operational excellence and business agility. Through business process automation, data-driven intelligence, and platform-based integration, we are not just digitising workflows – we are redefining how the enterprise operates. Our vision is to make automation a catalyst for growth, where technology enhances human capability, accelerates service delivery, and strengthens Transnet’s competitiveness in a connected, data-driven economy,” Transnet’s Group Chief Information Officer, Pandelani Munyai, said.
