During the live reverse auction event, the five suppliers placed 61 total bids.  In a paper bid process, the hospital would have only received five total bids, giving suppliers only one opportunity to submit pricing and compete for business.  First place changed hands 15 times.  At the conclusion of the reverse auction event, first and second place were separated by a mere 0.12% indicating true market value was achieved.  Final pricing yielded a 6% savings versus budget.