FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT/Net eases government purchasing process
Typically, government purchasing, from requisition to bid to award, is a costly, paper-driven process. Once a municipality identifies a need for a particular good or service, it must issue public requests for quotes (RFQs). As soon as an RFQ is posted, purchasing agents engage in time-sensitive follow-up, such as fulfilling phone and in-person bid information requests.
Local governments can save time hunting for bargains by using the Internet. Instead of the time-consuming administrative steps of photocopying, folding, addressing and mailing bid packages, governments can create an bid online and submit it electronically to suppliers.
“Prior to moving our purchasing process online, we spent much of our time copying, compiling and mailing requests and bid packages to contractors and suppliers,” says Charlene Antonelli, purchasing agent for Torrington, Conn. “The time we’ve saved by joining an online purchasing network has freed us to become more strategic contributors to the overall goals and objectives of our municipality.”
E-government purchasing saves money as well. For example, a bid can be sent to a government’s entire vendor list with the click of the mouse. By using a nationwide network, purchasing managers can increase the number of suppliers that receive the open bid and generate more responses.
The Internet is a valuable intermediary between local governments and the suppliers that serve them. The more government business a supplier can get, the better, but it is difficult for a supplier to source bid opportunities nationwide. An online network offers one central source for opportunities across the nation.
The Internet can reduce bid preparation and distribution from hours to minutes, and governments can manage their bids across all suppliers and preserve their own bid invitation lists. They can share vendor lists and bid information with other local governments, and they can distribute project plans and specifications easily. Rather than conducting time-consuming manual follow-up, governments and suppliers can use the Internet to field questions and make adjustments to bids and proposals online.
The governments and the suppliers also can use the Internet to review questions on a bid and to review blueprints that may accompany a bid. Lastly, governments can use the Internet to alert suppliers of their decisions.
Purchasing networks reduce the amount of paperwork involved in the bid process, and they record all communications. The networks store histories for every bid that is awarded.
“I don’t see why all governments won’t eventually use the Internet for purchasing,” says Chad Walton, former director of purchasing and contract services for Evanston, Ill. “It streamlines the process for both suppliers and governments, and provides the best value for the taxpayer’s dollar.”
“We’re saving money because we can attract a larger pool of solicitors for bids.” says Sandy Conyers, a buyer for Evanston. “I’ve gotten back as many as 25 responses on one quote. We’re amazed at some of the prices.” Conyers says Evanston uses the Internet to buy everything from plumbing supplies and traffic signals to uniforms and court reporting software. In the year that the city has been using the Internet for purchasing, it has posted nearly 150 bids online.
Whether local governments join a free or fee-based network, or create their own online purchasing systems, e-government procurement can deliver the same public purchasing processes governments and suppliers have used offline for years. Through the Internet, purchasing managers can connect their local governments with local and national suppliers, delivering a convenient, efficient and cost-effective buying process.
The author is CEO of Boston-based MunicipalNet.
