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Helping to shake off the paper trail

OGCbuying.solutions’ eSourcing toolkit

eSourcing is paving the way forward in the modernisation of public sector procurement practices. Its rapid adoption by central and local government therefore comes as no surprise.

The procurement process is more often than not time consuming and resource intensive, with long tender processes, hoards of paperwork and several hoops to jump through. A step towards lessening the strain on procurement professionals is welcome news.

Doing exactly what it says on the tin, eSourcing has moved the procurement process online, allowing procurement professionals and suppliers to come together using collaborative, web-based tools to manage the procurement lifecycle.

Leading the way in this online sourcing revolution is OGCbuying.solutions’ eSourcing service, which has been awarded the prestigious ‘EU Good Practice label for 2007’, based on a recommendation by the European eGovernment Awards consortium. Earlier this year OGCbuying.solutions also won the Shared Services category award at the Government Computer Innovation Awards.

BravoSolution, one of Europe’s biggest providers of internet-based procurement tools, is the sole service provider on OGCbuying.solutions’ eSourcing framework agreement. Through this arrangement the solution is made accessible to all public sector customers.

Since BravoSolution’s award to the framework agreement in June 2005, they have pioneered the development and promotion of services within the eProcurement field.

Recognised as one of the most successful pan-government shared IT applications, the OGCbuying.solutions eSourcing service has enabled many UK public sector organisations to abandon paper-based contracting activities and to embrace electronic tools and methods.

In just over two years the service has managed to attract over 50 government organisations and engage over 20,000 suppliers in online procurement activities through a single managed application encompassing software, hardware infrastructure, security and helpdesk support services.

OGCbuying.solutions expects that a further 25 organisations will come on board and begin using the service in the coming months.

Rob Knapman, Head of eSourcing at OGCbuying.solutions, says:

“At Buying Solutions, we believe that our eSourcing managed service is transforming procurement in the UK public sector by creating an eSourcing shared service which delivers reduced costs, minimises risk and increases quality along with improving consistency within the decision making process”.

Another commendation to the OGCbuying.solutions service comes from the 2006 National Audit Office (NAO) report ‘Delivering Successful IT-enabled Business Change.’ It was cited among 20 UK and global, public and private sector success case studies and praised for its effectiveness in modernising UK government procurement and in delivering substantial savings to the taxpayer.

Awards and statistics are a solid mark of industry recognition, but how does this filter through to the customer at an operational level?

Lichfield District Council wanted to streamline and improve the efficiency of their tendering process to deliver value for money and efficiency savings whilst reducing corporate risk. They consulted OGCbuying.solutions to help them achieve this target.

The Council decided to utilise the eTendering element of the eSourcing solution. This web-based technology facilitates buyer and supplier interaction throughout the tender process. It handles online tenders above and below OJEU thresholds, and includes a built-in eAuction functionality.

Steve McQuade, performance and policy manager at Lichfield District Council says:

“Lichfield District Council are pioneering eTendering with the support of the West Midlands Centre of Excellence. Through the OGCbuying.solutions eSourcing framework agreement we have access to secure, EU compliant web technology. This is enabling us to identify productivity savings and reduce direct costs whilst lowering risk and raising levels of internal control. By using ‘best practice’ eTendering templates we are starting to automate the evaluation stage of the procurement lifecycle and promote wider process efficiencies.”

The tangible benefits of eSourcing are multiple, with more efficient tender processes and overhead cost savings being the most noteworthy. What makes the service unique is the flexibility it offers to customers. They can utilise the various eSourcing elements available either individually or in combination to support the specific needs of their procurement activities.

And these benefits are not going unnoticed. “The metrics for the adoption of the service across the public sector are impressive and we are proud to be able to report that since its launch in June 2005, £15 billion worth of tenders has been awarded by 1400 buyers in over 50 organisations,” says Rob.

Not only has eSourcing managed to reduce time and resource outlays in many public sector procurement departments, the other obvious benefit is the impact it has on the environment – or to be more accurate, the lessened impact.

The UK Government has set a target to be among the European Union leaders in sustainable procurement by 2009, with an emphasis on achieving a low carbon, more resource efficient public sector.

OGCbuying.solutions is an ardent believer in sustainable procurement. Their eSourcing solution has removed the need for paper, print and distribution in the procurement cycle. To date, their eSourcing managed service has saved over 22 million pages of A4 paper through electronic tender submissions.

Fitting well with the ongoing government drive to achieve greater value for money through collaboration, eSourcing enables organisations to combine their requirements with other public sector bodies in order to secure the best prices the market will offer.

Suppliers benefit in much the same way as procurement departments, safe in the knowledge they are operating within a fair and competitive bidding environment where everyone has an equal chance of winning.

Another significant bonus for suppliers is the increased business opportunities eSourcing can bring by opening up their network to customers they would not normally reach.

With such broad benefits up for grabs for all parties involved in the procurement process, as well as the opportunity to achieve considerable savings and make a positive step towards sustainability, eSourcing definitely ticks all the boxes as an innovative model of best practice procurement.

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