Bidding strategy for drug requests for quotation – prototype

The customer participates as a supplier in influenza vaccine requests for quotation from health insurance companies. Requests for quotation for a vaccine are simultaneously issued in several geographical regions, so-called lots. The requests for quotation are carried out with complete concealment, i.e., price quotes are submitted with respect to a due date and are not published. The bidder with the lowest price for a particular lot wins without exception. The challenge is to predict the strategies of the competitors with regard to the lots in which quotations are submitted and to predict the corresponding quotation prices. The expected amount to be supplied (lot size) and assumptions about the competitors (e.g., free capacity, bidding price) are included. Using the so-called knapsack problem, a model is developed that supports the customer in determining a selection of lots and a price on the basis of the technical assumptions (input parameters).