John Swinney Hails Online Procurement Success
Public sector bodies are being urged to make the best use of resources and sign up for online procurement.
The amount of business going through eProcurement Scotland increased five fold last year to £1.7 billion worth of transactions.
eProcurement Scotland is a fully managed service for the public sector to buy goods and services online. Public sector procurement in Scotland is worth around £8 billion a year.
Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney said: " eProcurement Scotland is one of the most comprehensive and successful eGovernment initiatives in the world. I want see more public bodies maximise the benefits of buying goods and services online.
"eProcurement Scotland delivers cost savings and the efficient use of resources. It saves businesses time and money by providing an easy route into public sector procurement. Small to medium sized enterprises benefit from being paid a lot more quickly. The speed from order to delivery has improved, so there is no reason why the public sector should not get online and start making the business of doing business easier."
There are over 80 public bodies currently using eProcurement Scotland and 43,068 suppliers are registered using the system. The total value of transactions on eProcurement Scotland in 2007 was £1.7 billion. That compares to £321 million in 2006 and £251 million in 2005.
Andrew Watson, spokesman for FSB Scotland, said: "As e-procurement Scotland goes from strength to strength it is transforming the way the public sector procures goods and services in Scotland. More and more buyers and suppliers are signing up and more contracts are being agreed online, and the service will become increasingly important as all public sector contracts are advertised on a single procurement portal later this year.
"The service is free for businesses and brings together many of the different strands of the procurement process. With over £1.5 billion worth of public contracts processed in the last year it has never been quicker, easier or cheaper for small businesses to get involved in supplying the public sector."
Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, said the system had "demonstrated substantial success in linking public sector purchasers with private secor suppliers". She added "The high value of transactions it's handling is testament to this".