Yeah, I read this list and thought, "Shit, this isn't enterprise, I'll show you enterprise!" Our application is a procurement tool; specifically, sourcing. Sou

Yeah, I read this list and thought, "Shit, this isn't enterprise, I'll show you enterprise!" Our application is a procurement tool; specifically, sourcing. Sourcing isn't what most people think it is though. When large companies buy things, they don't just run down to the market and buy them. They go through a process that is broken up in to many parts. Sourcing is the process of identifying vendors and acquiring a price, which will then be formalized in to a contract, through which employees will purchase goods and services... DEEP BREATH This process occurs for any goods or services that the company spends large dollar amounts on. The threshold varies from organization to organization, but we focus on contract values of $500,000 or more. We built a modern implementation of a pricing tool that showed up in the mid-nineties: reverse auction. Our software is built in Ruby on Rails with a standard CRUD portion for most of the document handling and administrative work, and a couple of javascript/api apps for bidding and observing during a bid. Our software and process works a bit differently than our competitors. Most reverse auctions run for days, kind of like eBay in reverse. Bidders can stop by and drop a bid in whenever they want. Our reverse auction events are run "live". We schedule them for 30 minutes (typically), and bidders compete in real time through an interface that updates immediately. Becaues the product is complex, we have a heavy professional services component. We've got bid teams and account execs who work with our customers throughout the process. On bid day, there are people on the ground fielding calls from bidders, talking the customer through the bid, and generally making sure that the ball gets across the goal line. Surprisingly, it's really exciting work. Our sales guys always say it's the most fun you'll have in procurement. We're 3 years in, bootstrapped and profitable from the first year. We're actually going to do some hiring in the Cleveland, OH market, so if you're in the area, and you know Ruby on Rails, get in touch with me through my profile.