Dodds targets help to local SMEs

Finance Minister Nigel Dodds today unveiled a new electronic tender system that will help encourage more local Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) avail of the £2.2billion per annum Government procurement spend.

‘e-sourcingNI’ is a new system that will assist local businesses identify opportunities in public procurement and will speed up and simplify the tendering process, helping smaller firms more easily access Government procurement opportunities.

Launching the new electronic tender system at the CBI Public Procurement Conference in Templepatrick, the Minister said: The Executive recognises that modern, efficient and effective public procurement is now more important than ever given the economic downturn and the £2.2bn which Government spends each year.

As Chair of the Procurement Board, I am determined that the maximum best value for money can be obtained from all government procurement spending and that Northern Ireland companies are given the greatest possible opportunities to benefit from this record spend.

The ultimate goal is for all central government procurement opportunities to be managed through this single portal. This electronic tender system will maximise the visibility of all business opportunities and make it easier for companies, particularly SMEs to bid for work.”

Today’s conference, entitled ‘How do you win in public procurement markets at home and away’, was aimed at increasing the awareness in the business community of the latest developments in public procurement and the opportunities to tender both within and beyond Northern Ireland.  It was organised by CBI Northern Ireland and supported by the Central Procurement Directorate.

Praising the conference, Mr Dodds added:

This has come at an opportune time, giving suppliers the opportunity to meet public sector procurement professionals, improve their knowledge of procurement processes and better position themselves to tender for forthcoming opportunities.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Today’s conference, entitled ‘How do you win in public procurement markets at home and away’ was held at the Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick. The event was organised by CBI Northern Ireland, with support from Central Procurement Directorate (CPD), Department of Finance and Personnel.
2. CPD came into existence on 1 April 2002 as a result of the Review of Public Procurement which recommended the merger of the Construction Service and Government Purchasing Agency into a single directorate.  Further information on CPD, and current tender opportunities can be obtained from www.cpdni.gov.uk. This website also provides links to the tender opportunity areas of the seven Centres of Procurement Expertise (CoPEs).  The CoPEs are Regional Supplies and Services (Central Services Agency), Education and Library Boards, Health Estates Agency, NI Housing Executive, NI Water, Roads Service and Translink.
3. CPD is committed to making it easier for suppliers to access government opportunities and has developed e-SourcingNI a platform which is free to SMEs and Social Economy Enterprises to register and gives access to business opportunities within the public sector. The system provides web-based technology allowing buyers and suppliers to manage all their interactions online, creating greater transparency, speed and efficiency throughout the tender process. In addition the system provides details of CPD’s current tender opportunities and links to tender opportunities within the other NI Centres of Procurement Expertise.
4. The system has the ability to hold a supplier’s corporate information (e.g annual accounts, insurance details, etc) thereby reducing the amount of information required from suppliers at the pre qualification stage in the procurement process. The Procurement Board has recommended that other CoPEs to use the e-SourcingNI platform thereby creating a single portal for all government procurement activity within Northern Ireland. A roll out programme has been established to achieve the single portal for Northern Ireland.
5. To register on the electronic tender system, please visit www.e-sourcingni.bravosolution.com .
6. Media enquiries only to DFP Communications Office on 028 9052 7278 or 028 9052 7375. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.