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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney has urged Scottish businesses to go online to bid for Government procurement contracts.
Public sector procurement is worth £8bn a year in Scotland, and Swinney says that businesses using the eProcurement Scotland site can save money and get results quicker.
Over 80 public bodies currently use eProcurement Scotland and 43,068 suppliers are registered with the system. The total value of transactions on eProcurement Scotland in 2007 was £1.7bn compared with £321m in 2006 and £251m in 2005.
Swinney said:
“eProcurement Scotland is one of the most comprehensive and successful eGovernment initiatives in the world. I want [to] 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.”
FSB Scotland spokesman Andrew Watson said:
“As eProcurement Scotland goes from strength to strength it is transforming the way the public sector procures goods and services. 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 £1.5bn 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.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 February 2008 )
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Holyrood news 
