E-procurement system could save Gov't 30% on spending

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

The Government could save up to 30 per cent of its spending on items outside of debt and wages when it implements an electronic system aimed at improving efficiency in the public procurement process, that will be funded in part by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Last Wednesday, the IDB approved a US$900,000 grant to the government to support the development of the e-procurement system in Jamaica, which will provide a single portal to government procuring and tendering agencies and suppliers and will automate activities performed by these parties by integrating them on a single network.

For its part, the government has to put up an additional US$272,000 and execute the project over a 30-month period.

In technical documents published last Thursday on its Website, the IDB noted that greater efficiency in public procurement will lead to "significant savings in government purchases due to greater competition among suppliers, better comparison of prices, and reductions in transaction costs".

"Systems implemented in other countries have showed reductions from 10 per cent to 30 per cent in the costs of governmental procurement," said the report.

The document also said that strengthened quality of public procurement will lead to "increased competition in the procurement process and better use of the government resources".

The US$1.17 million project will involve developing a tender system characterised by:

a) supplier registry and single sign-on, single window;

b) online access to procurement legislation and regulations for all agencies and stakeholders;

c) online access to forward procurement plans for each agency;

d) online advertising of all bid opportunities;

e) downloading of bid documents and technical drawings;

f) capacity for suppliers to use the site to request hardcopy;

g) awarded contract information;

h) intelligent search facilities by locality, business type and value if applicable;

i) early bid advice on tenders currently under preparation in public agencies;

j) electronic lodgment of bids by suppliers;

k) customised email notification of new bids and amendments to suppliers;

l) an online tracking capacity for suppliers in relation to their bid processing;

m) archived contracts with public interrogation capabilities;

n) a secure management information system (e-PMIS) that enables audit trails, access logs as well as comprehensive management information with emphasis on statistics regarding the public procurement market; and

o) electronic online evaluation.

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E-procurement system could save Gov't 30% on spending