Contrast:

Site second level navigation

e-Procurement

What's new?

The National e-Procurement Project (NePP) is run by local authorities on behalf of local authorities, the project aims to enable all local authorities to gain the maximum benefit from e-procurement tools and techniques. The project is funded by Communities and Local Government.

ProductShare provides a single point of access to some 2,000 products from local government initiatives including the National Projects, e-Innovations and regional partnerships.

national projects product catalogue

e-auction database

The NePP has created an e-auctions database which includes e-auctions that have taken place in local authorities around England and international e-auctions.

An e-auction commodity listing has recently been added to the site and demonstrates the wide range of commodities that have been auctioned in the last year.

e-auction commodities listing

Procurement card website

The NePP has developed a procurement card website which details all aspects from implementation through to management of p-cards.

NePP procurement card website

Vendor database

The NePP vendor database has recently been updated and provides local authorities with a rich source of potential suppliers. Local authorities are able to review the type of products and services these suppliers can offer their council.

NePP expert e-procurement workshops

The NePP recently ran a series of expert e-procurement workshops which were established as forums to capture the emerging best practice from councils using e-procurement technologies on a daily basis.

Workshops were successfully held on the following technologies:

p-cards
e-sourcing
Supplier engagement
e-marketplaces
e-ordering / e-invoicing

The NePP will be publishing up-to-date guidance on the learnings from the workshops as well as an electronic issues note on each of the technologies which were covered.

Useful links

NePP Chair's statement:

"A considerable amount of valuable work has now been completed by authorities who have already gone through the tough process of automating their procurement activities. But there remains a great deal of work to be done by authorities as a whole if significant savings are to be released to support important front-line services such as education and health. Meeting demanding e-procurement targets is not just about making sure authorities have the right range of technologies in place. Above all it is about ensuring that they act as good stewards of tax payers’ money by ensuring that they get the best value for the services they are providing. The Government’s efficiency agenda commits authorities to a continuous programme of improvement and benefits realisation.

"Implementing e-procurement solutions requires an investment and therefore authorities have to make sure they have a sound business case for any implementation now or in the future. The best way to get the interest and support of the senior management team is to demonstrate what would be different in the authority if various e-procurement technologies are implemented. To do this authorities must ascertain information about their current procurement spend and processes in order to measure the benefits that will accrue.

"What councils are finding is particularly difficult about e-procurement is not the technologies but the change management issues and persuading people to alter their behaviour. Letting go of the paper is not as straightforward as it sounds. Whatever stage an authority is at, they should not try to do everything on their own. Collaboration is crucial. It is important to look to work with other councils and investigate the sharing of processes and the costs of technology. Equally I strongly recommend that councils work with their Regional Centres of Excellence, OGC and IDeA.

"There is a whole range of realistic e-procurement options available now for councils to make sure 2006 is a more efficient and better value year for all the citizens and communities they serve. NePP will continue to support the work of the Regional Centres of Excellence and individual councils by developing new guidance in areas such as multi-agency procurement and marketplace interoperability, and continue to provide high quality, hands-on support at a local level."

Colin Whitehouse
NePP Chair
January 2006