Jamal, CEO of Abyres, an IT vendor in Kuala Lumpur, is just one of the 35,000 government suppliers in the country that have been issued a directive by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in January to be ePerolehan-enabled.
ePerolehan (www.eperolehan.com.my) is the official secure online marketplace for suppliers and government agencies. It enables suppliers to sell their products and services to the government via the Internet, and is also an e-government flagship application project under Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor initiative that aims to develop the country into a world-class IT centre.
While there is no deadline on when to be ePerolehan-enabled, suppliers risk losing out on government-related business opportunities otherwise.
E-procurement
Two modules under this new electronic sales channel—central contract and direct purchase—are already fully functional and are being used by the government in its procurement exercises.
By the end of March, when ePerolehan’s tender and quotation procurement modules go live, suppliers will be able to obtain tender documents and submit bids and quotations online.
“Previously, we had to physically hand over the documents to the MOF and they would take up to three months just to inform us that our documents were incomplete,” notes Jamal. “Now, we can submit the same information online and make the necessary changes immediately when alerted. We would also not miss out on any of the announcements that previously only appeared in the newspapers.”
Currently, only about 1,000 government procurement agencies, out of a total of 4,288, are involved in this exercise. Agencies that are already enabled must start procuring through ePerolehan.
Of the 35,000 suppliers nationwide, only 5,000 have been equipped with smartcards that enable them to transact with the ePerolehan system.
What’s available
The project is under the administration of MAMPU, the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation & Management Planning Unit, an agency within the Prime Minister’s Department that introduces administrative reforms in the public sector. It is responsible for planning and implementing the seven e-government (EG) flagship applications:
- eServices, which include driver and vehicle registration, licensing and summons services, and utility bill payments, among others.
- Electronic procurement.
- Generic office environment.
- Human resources management information system.
- Project monitoring system.
- Electronic labour exchange.
- EG-accountant general integration.
The project is expected to cost RM256 million (US$67.4 million) over the period of the concession, and RM140 million (US$36.8 million) has already been spent.
Government projects are not necessarily awarded to the lowest bidder, but CDC vice-president of finance Jasim Puthucheary believes that conducting the tender exercise in a controlled environment via ePerolehan will force suppliers to be more competitive.
“Although this might cause suppliers’ profit margins to suffer,” he says, “the government gains by making purchases at a lower price while trying to maintain its socio-economic duty by ensuring that the projects are distributed among other suppliers.
More importantly, the system will streamline the processes and procedures as well as improve efficiency and productivity, while lowering the government’s operational cost over time. For the suppliers, it could translate into new markets, additional revenues and higher margins.”
ePerolehan allows suppliers to present their products on the Internet, receive, manage and process purchase orders, and eventually receive payment from government agencies via the Internet, says Puthucheary. “The supplier’s product catalogue is converted into an electronic catalogue, which can be viewed from any desktop with a Web browser.”
These benefits notwithstanding, Abyres’s Jamal would like to see more transparency in the award process, including disclosing the names of successful bidders and the amount of the winning bids. “We want to know why we fail so that we can do better in the next tender exercise,” he says.
Jamal says the fees charged by CDC do not burden the users. More than 90 per cent of CDC’s income will be derived from transaction fees, charged at a rate of 0.8 per cent of the value of each completed purchase order, subject to a maximum fee of RM9,600 (US$2,530) per order.
The fee will be paid by the government upon completion of each purchase transaction. Other income for the company comes from the biannual subscription fee of RM300 (US$80) levied on each registered supplier, catalogue development and hosting fees.
Change management
Only about 30 to 40 per cent of the effort spent on ePerolehan is on the infrastructure; the remainder consists of formulating work processes to get users to embrace it. As such, Puthucheary believes change management through training and telemarketing has to be introduced both to suppliers and government agencies to encourage the use of the system.
CDC has also put in place several alternatives or backup plans to ensure that things run smoothly during the period of transition to the electronic procurement system. “In the event that the government wants to procure something and the catalogue for the product is not available on the system, we will send salespeople out to the field, while at the same time informing the supplier enablement unit so that they can rectify the situation,” Puthucheary says.
“What we promise the government is that if we cannot process its requirement around ePerolehan within 48 hours, users can then go out of the system until its functionality and content is rectified.”
ePerolehan takes off
- Started in 1999, the ePerolehan procurement project is expected to cost US$67.4 million.
- About 1,000 government procurement agencies, out of 4,288, are now using the system.
- Suppliers pay a biannual subscription fee of RM300 (US$80). The government pays the transaction fees. These are charged at a rate of 0.8 per cent of the value of each completed purchase order and subject to a maximum fee of RM9,600 (US$2,530) per order.
Quelle: MIS web
