South African capital assest online auction company Clear Asset asserts that the use of an online platform for the auction of high-value capital assets in the mining and construction sectors ensured greater transparency and security than the traditional auction format.

The new-to-market company, which offered clients an online portal through which assets could be viewed and bids submitted, asserted that the portal offered superior tracking of viewers and their bids, ensuring complete market intelligence for sellers and buyers, regardless of their location.

“The technology ensures absolute transparency,” CEO Warren Schewitz told Engineering News Online.

“We are able to advise sellers on the interest in an asset before the auction day, as well as the market’s feedback on pricing.

“In addition, we have removed the need for buyers to be out of the office for an entire day, enabling a potential buyer to track the value of other bids, as well as bid themselves, regardless of their location.”

Clear Asset’s most recent online auction, on March 7, saw confirmed sales of yellow metal from opencast mine Diesel Power, as well as drill rigs and roof bolters from Anglo American Platinum, totalling R13-million.

In addition, the company achieved sales of R35-million from an auction in November. International buyers represented 46% of the overall buyers.

Clear Asset MD and cofounder Ariella Kuper added that 71% of buyers in its most recent auction were international buyers, demonstrating the portal’s ability to function in multiple industries and on multiple continents.

“Foreign exchange movement and the current rand value relative to the dollar or euro is a strong incentive to international buyers. We had a bidder from Canada on a business trip in South America bidding on an auction in South Africa, which is a fantastic validation of our system,” she commented.

The system enabled the real-time gathering of data to provide an accurate measure of performance improvements and to provide sellers with auditable reports of the bid activity to ensure accountability.

Crucially, Kuper added, it enabled companies to dispose of assets from various sites simultaneously, without the need for stockpiling or unnecessary transportation to a central location.

“The result is that companies receive maximum outreach with a fully managed end-to-end process,” she said.