Local authorities are missing out on £1.1bn in cost savings by not adopting electronic procurement systems, according to a study commissioned by the National E-procurement Project. Run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Project was set up to spread best practice in e-government among local authorities.
The new research, involving a survey by consultant Deloitte, examined 12 local councils at various stages of e-government development.
It found that councils are currently losing 726 days of productivity by failing to adopt e-tendering, and 2,560 days due to a lack of e-purchasing systems.
But Deloitte admitted that only large county and unitary councils would benefit from its recommendations, with few savings opportunities available to small district councils.
"The size of a district council in terms of spend and personnel is such that solely starting e-procurement will not reap the best rewards," said Deloitte partner Mark Lawrie.
"But we think that two or three district councils could group together on e-purchasing and e-procurement to get the benefits of the economies of scale for all."
The research calculated that a complete e-purchasing scheme would cost a council up to £1m to install, with savings taking two to three years to be realised.
Deloitte added that e-auctions were cheaper, with 'supported' events generating running costs of £15,000 per annum, including change management and roll-out costs.
"In most cases schemes can fit with existing IT systems. We can sweat the IT assets to get more out of them and at the same time reduce maverick spend," said Lawrie.
Quelle: Vnunet, 30.03.2004
