--- title: One Canadian Firm Believes the Right Software Can Help Governments Become Smarter Shoppers description: The people behind Bonfire Interactive aren't just building purchasing software solutions; they're enabling organizations to turn the purchasing function into a powerful lever that can improve the world. image: https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/bonfire.jpg --- [![stevie-awards-full-logo](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stevie%20Awards%20Blog%20Theme%20Files/stevie-awards-full-logo.png?width=347&height=70&name=stevie-awards-full-logo.png "stevie-awards-full-logo")](http://stevieawards.com) Click to View Posts by Stevie® Awards Categories # One Canadian Firm Believes the Right Software Can Help Governments Become Smarter Shoppers Posted by [Maggie Gallagher](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/author/maggie-gallagher) on Thu, Apr 25, 2019 @ 10:49 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *MTC, the transit planning entity for the area around San Francisco, California, United States, is responsible for ensuring residents of the bustling California community get to work and back home again efficiently. Until recently, though, “efficient” wasn’t exactly the way to describe the agency’s process for managing vendors.* *All submissions were still done on paper, making it hard for the MTC staff to score and to aggregate proposals in a timely manner. As a result, it took around two to three months to complete a typical request for proposal (RFP). * *That all changed when the commission turned to the Canadian software firm [Bonfire Interactive](https://gobonfire.com/), which was founded in 2012 and specializes in streamlining the procurement process for public sector clients. By converting its antiquated process to Bonfire, MTC was able to reduce the RFP time to around thirty days while improving its reporting capabilities.* *![bonfire](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bonfire.jpg?width=549&name=bonfire.jpg)* MTC certainly isn’t the only public entity hampered by wasteful and inefficient internal processes, but the roughly ninety-employee team at Bonfire is trying to turn that around. To hear the management team at Bonfire talk about it, the company’s mission isn’t merely about gaining market share but doing good for society in the process. “The people behind Bonfire aren't just building purchasing software solutions; they're enabling organizations to turn the purchasing function into a powerful lever that can improve the world,” says Meghan Hennessey, the company’s marketing communications manager. Ultimately, she believes, when public entities get more out of every dollar they spend, the public is better served. “Increased fiscal efficiency means patients in hospitals can benefit from better equipment and receive better care. Municipal citizens can experience safer means of transportation, and schools can have proper resources for a more enriched learning landscape,” says Hennessey. **There Must Be a Better Way** Born out of an incubator in Silicon Valley, a region in San Francisco, California, United States, Bonfire, which is based in southwest Ontario, Canada, has developed an impressive client list that includes the Chicago Board of Education, the University of Massachusetts, and the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. In the process, its revenue has grown an impressive 225 percent annually. “Through various experiences in my career, I witnessed the time, energy, and frustration that went into thousands of RFPs,” says Corry Flatt, the cofounder and CEO of Bonfire. “Every time I thought, There must be a better way, it turns out there wasn’t. Eventually, in order to address that problem, Bonfire was born.” By initially focusing on governments, the company bucked a trend within the tech industry, which often tailors products to private businesses. According to Hennessey, however, that’s why it made sense to move in the other direction. “There’s an entire blue ocean of opportunity when you step away from the commercial sector,” she says. Through it all, the Bonfire management team emphasizes client satisfaction, helping the company become a Silver Stevie-winner for Customer Service Department of the Year in the Computer Software category at this year’s [Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.](http://www.stevieawards.com/sales) Today, the company’s software as a service (SaaS) solution handles more than $20 billion of procurement activities, and Bonfire expanded its portfolio to include private-sector users, such as the global accounting firm BDO. In 2018, US-headquartered GTY Technology Holdings purchased Bonfire for $108 million. In an effort to provide a full cadre of services to public-sector organizations, including everything from budgeting and permitting to grants management and procurement, GTY Technology Holdings also acquired five other firms in the government technology field. “Legally, what’s happening is an acquisition and a merger, but it’s more like they’ve assembled a team of stallions, and they’re letting them all run,” Flatt said in a statement after the deal. “For us, our employees, and our clients, it’s just a really good news story.” The purchase will ultimately allow the firm to boost its marketing efforts to both public and commercial clients and to develop additional product capabilities, including predictive analytics. It also expects to substantially increase hiring at its offices, which are about a mile west of Toronto, Canada. For Hennessey, the deal means the ability for organizations to make better use of their financial resources, which she reaffirms is most rewarding part. “To paraphrase a famous quote, the smartest minds of our generation have spent the last decade figuring out how to get you to click on ads,” she says. “Today, though, that's not good enough. People want their creativity and energy poured into something that matters.” Topics: [best customer service](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/best-customer-service), [customer service awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/customer-service-awards), [stevie awards for sales and customer service](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/stevie-awards-for-sales-and-customer-service) ### Request an entry kit for one or more of the stevie awards programs [Remove my information](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/one-canadian-firm-believes-the-right-software-can-help-governments-become-smarter-shoppers#) Entry kit will be sent to you by email. We don't sell or disclose email addresses. Review our [privacy policy.](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/one-canadian-firm-believes-the-right-software-can-help-governments-become-smarter-shoppers#) ### Recent Articles ![Die Klimaschutz-Kategorien der German Stevie® Awards 2026](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/GSA2023/GSA23-Climate-Social.jpg) On July 3, 2026 ### [Die Klimaschutz-Kategorien der German Stevie® Awards 2026](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/die-klimaschutz-kategorien-der-german-stevie-awards-2026?hsLang=en-us) Tags: [German Stevie Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/german-stevie-awards), [Kategorien](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/kategorien), [German Stevie Awards 2026](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/german-stevie-awards-2026) ![Women|Future Webinar Recap: Future-Proofing Your Organization using an AI Strategy](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/wfw26/June%20Horizontal%20(2).png) On June 29, 2026 ### [Women|Future Webinar Recap: Future-Proofing Your Organization using an AI Strategy](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/future-proofing-your-organization-key-strategies-for-building-an-ai-ready-business?hsLang=en-us) Tags: [stevie awards for women in business](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/stevie-awards-for-women-in-business), [Women Future Conference](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/women-future-conference), [women future webinars](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/women-future-webinars) ### Posts by Tag - [American business awards (351)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/american-business-awards) - [business awards (316)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/business-awards) - [stevie awards (271)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/stevie-awards) - [International business awards (248)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/international-business-awards) - [stevie awards for women in business (175)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/stevie-awards-for-women-in-business) - [customer service awards (172)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/customer-service-awards) - [Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards (152)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/asia-pacific-stevie-awards) - [marketing awards (145)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/marketing-awards) - [PR awards (143)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/pr-awards) - [women awards (137)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/women-awards) - [sales awards (125)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/sales-awards) - [hr awards (114)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/hr-awards) ### Posts by Month - [July 2026 (1)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/07) - [June 2026 (10)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/06) - [May 2026 (4)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/05) - [April 2026 (9)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/04) - [March 2026 (6)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/03) - [February 2026 (7)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/02) - [January 2026 (4)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2026/01) - [December 2025 (2)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2025/12) - [November 2025 (8)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2025/11) - [October 2025 (7)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2025/10) - [September 2025 (10)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2025/09) - [August 2025 (8)](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/archive/2025/08) [![American Business Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ABA_HC_0220.png?width=1800&height=416&name=ABA_HC_0220.png "American Business Awards")](https://aba.stevieawards.com) [![Stevie Awards for Great Employers](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/SAGE_HC_0220.png "Stevie Awards for Great Employers")](https://hr.stevieawards.com) [![Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/APSA_HC_0220.png?width=1800&height=533&name=APSA_HC_0220.png "Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards")](https://asia.stevieawards.com) [![Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/SASCS_v2_HC_0220.png "Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service")](https://sales.stevieawards.com) [![International Business Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/IBA_HC_0220.png "International Business Awards")](https://iba.stevieawards.com) [![German Stevie Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/GSA_HC_0220.png?width=1800&height=539&name=GSA_HC_0220.png "German Stevie Awards")](https://gsa.stevieawards.com) [![Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MENASA_H_0420.png?width=1800&height=532&name=MENASA_H_0420.png "Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards")](https://mena.stevieawards.com) [![Stevie Awards for Women in Business](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/SAWIB_HC_0220.png "Stevie Awards for Women in Business")](https://women.stevieawards.com) [![Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SATE-HC.png?width=2000&height=596&name=SATE-HC.png "Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence")](https://tech.stevieawards.com) [![Women Future Webinars](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/WFC25/WFC%20WEBINARS%20LOGO.png?width=1800&height=810&name=WFC%20WEBINARS%20LOGO.png "Women Future Webinars")](https://women.stevieawards.com/webinars) [![Stevie Awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/StevieAwards_EmblemLogo_C_0220-1.png?width=100&height=128&name=StevieAwards_EmblemLogo_C_0220-1.png "Stevie Awards")](https://www.stevieawards.com) --- Questions? Problems? [Contact Us.](https://stevieawards.com/contact) Read Our [Privacy Policy](https://stevieawards.com/refund-delivery-policy) Copyright © 2026 Stevie Awards, Inc. All Rights Reserved. American Business Awards and International Business Awards are registered trademarks of Stevie Awards, Inc.