Public sector urged to embrace e-procurement

The President of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), Ghana, Mrs Stella Addo, has urged public institutions to use electronic platforms for their procurements to increase their efficiency.

E-procurement, she said, was fast driving growth in the private sector; hence, the need for the public institutions to move from the manual system.

At a business networking event organised by Smartbid Gh, Mrs Addo said institutions could not be more efficient without using the various e-platforms for their operations.

“One thing that drives most of the things the private sector does is the e-platforms. You cannot be more efficient when you do most of your things without an e-platform. It is one new thing that has to be spread to the public sector. For them to be able to go one notch up, and catch up with the private sector, they really need to take the e-procurement platform very seriously,” she said.

She stated that the challenges associated with the manual system of procurement was very frustrating and time consuming, making it difficult for a lot of people to take part in the submission of tenders. 

“The e-platforms make things very easy for you and they are time saving. They also helps to reduce cost, create efficiency and ease of doing business,” she added.

Due diligence

A Procurement Consultant, Mr Frank Mante, reiterated the need for suppliers to exhibit selfless commitment and dedication when preparing their tenders.

Making a presentation on “Preparing winnable bids,” he explained that it was important for suppliers to pay attention to the requirements of the tender “and do well to adhere to it, else they risk their tenders being described as unresponsive.” 

“Before purchase, review the schedule of requirement to ascertain whether you are able to supply the required goods and services, else your tenders will be deemed unresponsive,” he said.

He added, “where samples are required as proof of your tender, ensure that these are submitted before the deadline for tender submission.”

Mr Mante urged suppliers to seek clarification when in doubt, “follow approved means for submission of tenders and ensure that tenders are packaged neatly and nicely as it reflected the nature of the company.”

“You must also sign to indicate you have procured a tender document and ensure your tender form is duly signed.  Where the currency has been indicated , do well to only quote in the stated currency,” he added.

The forum

The Co-founder of Smartbid Gh, Mr Simon Annan, said the summit was to bring its registered suppliers under one roof to train them on how to develop winnable bids.

He said there were petty mistakes that most suppliers overlook, “but in the long run it renders their bids as unresponsive, and as a result are not able to win contracts.”

Smartbid Gh, he explained, was an e-procurement and bidding platform that connects both suppliers and buyers and had the objective of helping suppliers overcome the numerous challenges associated with procurement in the country.

“Smartbid Gh is the most simple and powerful way to win contracts from public and private organisations. We provide the platform to facilitate business interactions between suppliers and buyers at their point of need,” he said.