E-Procurement
What is E-Procurement?
E-procurement is electronic purchasing, i.e.
buying goods and services online. Electronic commerce is high on
Harlow Council’s agenda as we believe it will lead towards better
commercial relationships and greater efficiency in the purchase to
pay process. E-procurement can be defined in a number of ways
and does not necessarily require new or high levels of
technology. Suppliers to Harlow will not be required to
implement new or expensive systems to continue supplying us.
Benefits to the Council
Harlow Council is committed to engaging efficiently with the
public and the business community and we recognise the benefits and
opportunities e-procurement can offer. In implementing
e-procurement (online ordering) we have a real opportunity to
simplify and improve our current processes and performance in order
to cut out unnecessary transaction costs.
E-trading is faster and more efficient than conventional
purchasing processes and we are keen to embrace these advantages
and for our suppliers to do the same. It will make purchasing and
the payment process easier, quicker, more efficient and
cheaper. In addition, it will give staff direct access, from
their desktops, to all the corporate contracts, which increases our
ability to commit to contract usage.
We hope to achieve two objectives through our
e-procurement initiative:
- streamline the purchase to pay process to the
benefit of our suppliers and the Council
- help businesses take advantage of the
commercial opportunities generated by the internet and
stimulate opportunities for SMEs and local businesses.
E-Procurement System
The e-procurement system Harlow Council has
adopted is known as Market Place. The development of
marketplace was IdeA's
(The Improvement and Development Agency) response to the growth
of e-commerce, which is changing business practices on a global
scale. Marketplace enables the full purchasing process to be
carried out online, from order creation and authorisation to goods
receipting and invoice matching. Marketplace is also able to
support electronic catalogues, purchase cards, requests for quotes
and spot pricing.
Benefits to Suppliers
Just as it benefits us the IDeA:marketplace
benefits suppliers. Local government is big business.
Collectively the local authorities of England and Wales spend
approximately £25bn per annum on bought-in goods and services,
placing 35-38 million purchases with 800,000 suppliers. IDeA:
marketplace can help you gain access to a wider local authority
market and increase sales opportunities to this sector.
The benefits of e-commerce are:
- Ability to increase market
share. The advent of regional and national framework
agreements gives suppliers of goods and services access to a much
wider market than they have previously enjoyed. Through
IDeA:marketplace, Suppliers will be able to expand into much larger
markets and bid for work through electronic tendering and request
for quote facilities.
- Reduce cost of sales.
While local authorities reduce the cost of their transactions the
cost of making sales will fall. Suppliers using the system will
become more competitive.
- Makes payment quicker.
An e-procurement system can ensure that suppliers are paid more
quickly and will reduce the number of invoice discrepancies.
- Market with consistent
demand. Local government expenditure is attractive
to suppliers, often running counter-cyclical to the private sector.
Suppliers can frequently make surplus stock available to local
authorities at mutually attractive prices.
- Improves management
information and provides marketing data. Reliable,
accurate data is as useful to suppliers as it is to local
authorities.
- Protects the market from volatility
in revenues. Local authorities tend to maintain
their level of spending year on year. Economic cycles seldom effect
council spending.
Application
If you are an existing supplier to Harlow you
may have already been registered onto IDeA:marketplace
so that you can now receive orders from us via email or
fax.
If you have already been registered on
Marketplace and are currently receiving orders via fax but would
prefer to receive them via email please contact the e-procurement
administrator.
If you are a frequent supplier to Harlow
Council and do not receive official orders by email or fax, please
contact e-procurement administrator so that you can obtain the
wider benefits from Market Place.
If you are not a current supplier to the
Council, as and when you are commissioned your details will be
obtained and loaded onto the system.