What
Who
Why
How
What
What is the Zanzibar Managed Service?
The Zanzibar Managed Service is a public sector eProcurement solution available to all English, Welsh and Northern Irish public sector organisations via a central government contract with ProcServe. Zanzibar is a web based purchase to pay and electronic marketplace solution. It provides a common hosted platform for ePurchasing and eInvoicing. Common off-the-shelf electronic invoice and request for payment products are available through Zanzibar. Invoices can be consolidated and automated to enable them to be placed seamlessly into finance systems. Furthermore the Zanzibar Supplier Transaction Portal provides a free-of-charge eProcurement solution for small businesses. Zanzibar complies with the eInvoicing Directive through being able to generate invoices in an electronic format to be uploaded onto the various finance systems and general ledger. The Zanzibar Managed Service is delivered by ProcServe on behalf of the UK Public Sector.
Can any supplier sign up for the Zanzibar Managed Service?
Only Suppliers sponsored to join the Zanzibar Managed Service by their existing public sector customer(s) will be invited to join Zanzibar. If you are invited, your organisation will receive a letter or email detailing how to register with the Zanzibar Managed Service.
Will smaller suppliers be able to use the service?
As Zanzibar is an internet based solution you only need a PC and internet connection to use the service. You can do this from a home office. The service offers benefits to all suppliers of subscribing buying organisations regardless of size, technical capability and location.
Who
Will my organisation be invited to join the Zanzibar Managed Service?
Your public sector customer will be able to advise you whether they are planning to subscribe to the Zanzibar Managed Service.
Why
What benefit is there to my business in trading on Zanzibar electronically?
Suppliers can make savings as a result of online trading and eProcurement, by reducing administration and removing the cost of printing and posting invoices and statements. Some suppliers may also wish to invest in integrating their back office systems with Zanzibar to reduce administration within their own organisation.
What will the Zanzibar Managed Service mean for my business?
Zanzibar is open to the whole of the UK public sector. It provides supplier ‘self-service’ tools to allow suppliers to trade online with their public sector customers on Zanzibar. Full details are available on the public pages on the supplier portal.
If you are invited to join Zanzibar by a subscribing buying organisation you will be asked to register on the supplier portal. Online help is provided and the Supplier Helpdesk can help with routine questions.
Please note Zanzibar is not currently open to buyers outside of the UK public sector, or in Scotland.
How
What do I need to do to join Zanzibar?
You will be contacted by OGCbuying.solutions, your sponsoring buying organisation or by the Service Provider. You may also be asked to fill in a questionnaire to determine your current online trading capability.
Will there be any costs if I am invited to trade on Zanzibar?
There are no joining, registration, trading or transaction fees of any kind for suppliers who take advantage of the electronic marketplace.
How much will I have to pay to use Zanzibar to trade with you?
There are no subscription or transaction charges for suppliers. If you wish to integrate with your back office systems for buyers to integrate to your existing Web environment then you will need to set up the interfaces. You will have to bear this cost. We provide a standard Zanzibar interface document for you to be able to do this on www.zanzibar.procserveonline.com/.
How long will it take to set my business up on Zanzibar?
The length of time it will take to set your business up will depend upon how you decide to trade with us using Zanzibar
Using the basic tools, it will take only the length of time to register on the Supplier Portal and to load a catalogue price list on the system via the self service upload tool available via the Supplier Portal once your registration is confirmed.
Following that your customer´s contract manager will verify that your catalogue has loaded correctly and you will be set-up to trade, via the supplier portal, email or XML integration.
Are there any special IT requirements for suppliers using Zanzibar?
Suppliers only need access to the Internet via a PC to register for Zanzibar. Suppliers can then select how to receive orders. We recommend you receive these online in the Zanzibar supplier secure Internet site as you will then be able to manage all your orders in one place. You will quickly and easily be able to convert order documents into shipping notes and invoices to be received immediately by customers without incurring any postage costs. However, you can also choose to receive orders by email, SMS text message, fax or post.
What support is there to help suppliers trade on Zanzibar?
We will be running regular Internet based online training sessions ('webinars'). You can register for these at www.zanzibar.procserveonline.com/ once you have been invited to become a Zanzibar supplier.
You may also be invited to attend a special supplier Zanzibar e-enablement forum. In addition to the downloadable supplier information packs within the Zanzibar supplier site at www.zanzibar.procserveonline.com/, there is a supplier helpdesk if you experience technical difficulties.
We already have an e-commerce/trading website and want to use this to trading with our customers, can we do this?
If you have an existing trading website with ‘shopping cart’ functionality and wish to use this to link Zanzibar to sell to buyers, you may be able to do this. Customers may be able to use the Zanzibar Managed Service to visit your site and place orders. However, some other form of integration may be required.
There may be a cost associated with integrating your site to the new electronic marketplace depending upon the degree of integration required or the level of functionality your existing website provides. The technical team from our eProcurement solution providers will need to discuss this with you at a 'webinar'. Please register online at www.zanzibar.procserveonline.com/
How do I find out more about how to load my catalogue?
You can find this information on the Zanzibar Supplier Portal (www.zanzibar.procserveonline.com/ ).
I need a username and password for the supplier portal, where do I get these?
If you are invited to join Zanzibar, you will be provided with a username and password by your sponsoring buying organisation.
I also supply other government departments. Will I need to go through this all over again for those departments?
If your other government customers also join Zanzibar, you will only have to load or provide any additional departmental specific catalogues or goods and services on the Zanzibar system. The Zanzibar system will manage your catalogues to ensure that only the right customers see the right catalogues.
So does this mean I will need to operate both traditional and e-enabled systems to trade with all the government departments I supply?
Yes, until all your other government or public sector customers join Zanzibar or use some other electronic marketplace.
When they join Zanzibar you will already be set-up to trade with them.
What is a Zanzibar 'catalogue'?
In the same way as you might give customers a paper catalogue or price list detailing your goods and services with associated prices, the Zanzibar system allows you to provide an electronic list of the goods and services at the prices agreed with your customer. If your customer agreement involves a percentage discount, then you will need to provide nett prices, having deducted the agreed discount. You can download an Excel based spreadsheet tool which will allow you to send your catalogue to the Zanzibar electronic marketplace.
What specific details will I need to put into the Zanzibar catalogue?
The catalogue management tool will provide details of the information you are required to provide. However, you will need to supply the UNSPSC coding for your item. If you are distributing goods manufactured by someone else, we may also require you to enter the manufacturer's reference/part number, as well as your own part number or identifier.
What is an UNSPSC code and how do I get one?
The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®) is an open, global standard for classification of products and services. You can search www.unspsc.org to locate commodity codes that can be used by your company. Please note that it is very important that you choose the correct code for your goods and services. The Zanzibar system uses this code to allow buyers to search for your goods, if you pick the wrong code, they may not find your services. Even if you are already providing customer specific coding, eg NHS codes, you will also need to provide the UNSPSC code.
What will I have to do to create and manage catalogues on Zanzibar?
If you have a large product range, you may already have developed an electronic catalogue which can interface with Zanzibar. In other cases, either a manually created catalogue e.g. a spreadsheet or non-catalogue service offering may be more appropriate.
If all of the employees of my organisation object to using the Internet for religious reasons, will my customers using Zanzibar stop trading with me?
The public sector will not discriminate against those organisations whose employees do not use the Internet for religious reasons. Please speak to your Zanzibar customer to determine what arrangements they have made to be able to trade with you.
I have been asked to supply a Dun and Bradstreet DUNS number, how do I get one?
There is no charge to obtain a D&B DUNS number for your business and it can make it easier for your customers to do business with you. A D&B DUNS Number is a nine-digit code assigned by D&B(Dun & Bradstreet) to identify unique business's separate and distinct operations. You can apply for a unique DUNS number on the Dun & Bradstreet website you will need to obtain a separate DUNS number to identify single locations, parents, subsidiaries, headquarters and branches. If a branch operates in the same location as its headquarters, it will have a different D&B DUNS Number.
You can apply for a DUNS Number for your business by completing and submitting the form on the D&B website. Once you have sent it off D&B should take no longer than 10 working days to respond. Alternatively you can ring Dun & Bradstreet customer services on 0870 243 2344.
