E-procurement

E-procurement is electronic purchasing or buying goods and services online. The council believes e-procurement will lead to better commercial relationships and greater efficiency in the purchase to pay process.

E-procurement does not necessarily require new or high levels of technology. Suppliers to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will not be required to have new or expensive systems to be able to do business with us.

Benefits to the council

We are committed to engaging efficiently with customers and the business community and we recognise the benefits and opportunities e-procurement can offer. E-procurement gives us the opportunity to simplify and improve our current processes and performance in order to cut out unnecessary transaction costs and increase transparency.

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. 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 promote opportunities for SMEs and local businesses.

E-procurement systems

We use a system called ProContract. This is an electronic tendering tool to manage procurement projects from start to finish.  Normally, no hard copy documents are issued to suppliers and all communication with the us, including the submission of tender responses, are conducted via ProContract.

The approach is expected to improve efficiency and effectiveness of procurement, resulting in a number of benefits through faster processing, better use of information, reduced transaction costs and more effective communication.