The new figure flies in the face of the EUR175 million statistic that a 2002 government commissioned report claimed could be brought about from e-procurement. That figure, which the ISC described as conservative, estimated e-procurement savings of just 2 percent. But in its analysis of other e-procurement rollouts around the world, the ISC said that 10 to 12 percent is closer to the norm.
In fact, the report called for a number of changes from the current e-procurement strategy, including moves that would ensure that SMEs are able to become regular suppliers to the government. The report also called for upgrades to the E-Tenders web site among other measures to enhance e-procurement in Ireland.
Most significant was a recommendation in the study which said that a public private partnership (PPP) model may make for the most effective delivery method for government e-procurement, since a private sector partner could deliver additional funding and fast implementation.
E-procurement refers to the use of the Internet and other information technologies to find suppliers of both products and services. It is a method for doing business that has been widely adopted in the private sector among large corporations, and in the public sector the idea has become core to e-government in most places in the industrialised world.
E-procurement brings public sector savings thanks to cuts in administration time and expenses. Furthermore, governments are often able to find suppliers who can complete projects at a lower cost and newer e-procurement systems can even help ensure that suppliers buy "on contract," or from sub-suppliers that can offer the best deal.
Since 2002, Ireland has been embarking on it own e-procurement strategy following the production of a study on the matter which was carried out in 2001. From this work have come services like e-tenders.ie, although it's generally agreed that the government's overall e-procurement activities are behind schedule.
Clodagh O'Donnell, chairperson of the ISC e-business working group said that current government e-procurement funding, at about EUR5 million per year, is just over a third of what was envisioned in the first e-procurement report and she acknowledged the government is unlikely to have the resources to spend more next year.
"If we want to do this, it's going to cost money; more money than was originally expected. And the theory is, the more we are willing to spend, the faster we can get it done," O'Donnell told ElectricNews.Net. "But we are also aware that the government faces some budgetary constraints. That's where the public private partnership comes in," she explained, adding that a PPP would allow the cost of the ISC's more ambitious plan to be spread to the private sector. A private sector partner, or multiple public sector partners, could also make for more cost effective management of specific e-procurement services and tools.
Quelle: electricnews.net
