ProcServe, a PA Group company and a leading provider of procurement and marketplace connectivity solutions, has been appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver the eProcurement platform for the xChangeWales programme. This programme will result in an all-Wales system that will allow every Welsh public sector organisation to find suppliers and order and pay for goods at the click of a button.
This article appeared appeared on www.epractice.eu
UK: Wales takes shared services approach to eProcurement
The Welsh Assembly has launched a new shared services platform for eProcurement which will enable Welsh public sector organisations to locate suppliers and order and pay for goods on-line through a single centralised service.
The new platform – xChangeWales – is the first eProcurement solution on this scale and is predicted to provide savings of over €250 million for Wales in the first five years. The Welsh Assembly intends to reinvest this money in improving services for citizens. Officially launched on 17 December 2007, the system is expected to go live in the spring of 2008.
Each year, public sector bodies in Wales spend more than £4.5 billion (approx. €6 billion) on the procurement of goods, services and capital projects. Benefits of joining the system will include lower prices, increased use of corporate contracts, paperless ordering with reduced administration and improved support for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
Commenting on the new service, Andrew Davies, the Welsh Assembly’s minister for finance and public service delivery, noted that : “The programme will provide suppliers with a single point of access to a variety of public sector buyers. For the buyers, the scheme will deliver an ‘Amazon type’ shopping experience, enabling users to access electronic on-line catalogues and allowing invoices to be received and paid electronically.”
There are 22 local authorities in Wales, as well as a variety of public sector organisations across the NHS (health service), local government and education. Many have already signed up and others are in the process of doing so. The overall setting up and maintenance of the system will be funded by the Welsh Assembly. Customers will also be required to pay an annual subscription.
