Buyers

The Government has set a deadline of the 31 December 2005 for all local authorities and schools to have functioning e-procurement systems. Both councils and companies wanting to supply to them will need an online presence that will enable quotes, orders, and invoices to be exchanged online.

Devon County council has taken the initiative and is set to beat the end of year deadline by some considerable margin for all parts of the authority.

Solution
@UK PLC has pioneered the process of connecting suppliers to local government. Each local authority on the @UK system uses the @UK Supplier Management System to place orders and receive invoices online from its selected suppliers at agreed prices. All invoices are automatically fed into the financial system of the authority concerned for authorisation and payment.

@UK PLC's ability to link with every kind of supplier from huge multinationals like Lyreco and RS Components to tiny local businesses fits well with Devon's requirements for a comprehensive service offering for all its activities, where possible supporting the local economy. Being present on the @UK system also means that suppliers can trade with other businesses and consumers online also.

@UK PLC successfully set up the system for pilot trials of suppliers to central departments within four weeks of commencing the project. @UK PLC's e-procurement network for schools in association with Capita SIMS is also to be rolled out to all 370 schools in Devon by the end of July 2005.

Benefits
Ingrid Fisher, Assistant director of education, arts and libraries for Devon County Council says “We are delighted with the efficiency of @UK's team and the support that they have offered us through this process. They have seconded an agent to the Council who is always on hand to advise us on any issues.

Online procurement is about giving the council and its schools a better choice of suppliers, while at the same time allowing them to make considerable savings in terms of time and money. @UK PLC's network has got us on track to be one of the first councils in the UK to have a fully functioning e-procurement system in place for both our internal staff and separately for all our schools.

The @Schools network will bring considerable savings in terms of time and cost to schools in Devon, time and money that can be spent on the curriculum for the benefit of teachers and pupils alike.”

For further reading please also see the following PDF files;

Durham Schools
Devon County Council
London Borough of Lewisham
Leeds Teaching Hospital
Ealing Schools