We have a great deal of experience supporting bidders and regulatory authorities with regard to high-stakes spectrum auctions. We assist bidders (large and small) both in the consultation phase to ensure optimal auction rules (e.g. regarding spectrum caps) and leading up to the auction itself to ensure that the bid team is well-prepared. Our analysis serves to optimise bid strategy (to win as much spectrum as cheaply as possible), building on game theoretical analysis, customised software tools and interactive “war games” workshops. We also provide support during the auction, delivering live analysis and specific bid recommendations as the auction develops. Furthermore, we have great experience advising regulators on auction design, ensuring that the auction format and specific auction rules are well-suited to achieve the regulator’s objectives. We have worked with all major auction formats, including the Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending auction (SMRA), the Combinatorial Clock Auction (CCA), Simple Clock Auctions (SCA), the Combinatorial Multiple Round Ascending Auction (CMRA), and sealed-bid formats.

We provide assistance in relation to energy tenders, both in auctions for energy contracts (e.g. CfD auctions or subsidy auctions, where bidders typically compete to accept the lowest price), in tenders for specific projects (e.g. wind parks), and in auctions for sea-bed licenses (a vital component in the development of offshore projects). We provide regulators with support in relation to auction design, based on our extensive knowledge of auction theory and practice. We also assist bidders to find the “right price” which balances the probability of winning with profitability, including in a broad market context. We have experience applying all major formats, including pay-as-bid and pay-as-clear mechanisms, as well as multi-round formats.

We assist pharmaceutical companies in preparing for participation in public tenders for medicine and treatments. Our approach typically includes analysis of the auction format and of bidding history, as well as extensive market simulation. We build market simulation tools that can evaluate the impact of tender outcomes on short-term and long-term market shares and profitability, which can be used for direct pricing strategy analysis, or incorporated as a hands-on mock tender tool. For tenders in the health care industry, models typically incorporate the impact of public guidelines on market share development, doctor/patient behaviour, treatment length, switching propensities and more.

From fishing quotas to mineral extraction rights to IPv4 addresses, auctions are being used to trade and create markets for scarce resources. Do you have a resource allocation problem? Are there regulatory or other practical constraints on the allowable outcome? We can help – all the way from design to implementation.

Auctions and tenders provide an open, transparent and non-discriminatory way of identifying suppliers. The rules of the process determine the incentives of suppliers to provide their best offer, and thus determine the likelihood of achieving an optimal outcome. We help public and private buyers to optimise procurement processes to ensure they get the best supplier at the best price, whilst maintaining solid supplier relationships and protecting against the risk of strategic bidding. We also support suppliers looking to optimise their strategy by applying game theory, simulations and interactive workshops to identify the most profitable bids.