Digitalising procurement processes leads to more efficiency and makes doing business with government easier for suppliers. Sylvia Vertegaal is Portfolio Manager Digitalisation Public Procurement and coordinates this transition with Central Government at the behest of Chief Procurement Officer André Weimar. “Our goal is for suppliers to feel they are doing business with 1 Central Government, regardless of which ministry they are dealing with,” Vertegaal clarifies.
Although focus is on Central Government, the future aim is to include fellow government bodies, such as provinces and municipalities, in a more uniform and aligned procurement process. Vertegaal: “We are quite advanced with the digitalisation policy for Public Procurement. The processing of e-invoices has been running successfully for some time. And recently we have established digital business with the E-order and the E-timecard. We will now be focusing on the initial phase of the procurement process, such as tenders, offer processing and contract management. There is still a lot of potential for further digitalisation in that stage. I would like to examine how we can best support departments during that particular phase.”
Managed diversity
Vertegaal is in ongoing dialogue with stakeholders on the needs within the public procurement system and the technical options. Stakeholders are the executive organisations that provide support and expertise, such as Logius (Digital Government Service of the Netherlands Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, abbreviated RVO), the Nederlands Peppol Authority (Nederlandse Peppol autoriteit, abbreviated NPa), Public Procurement Collaboration (Rijksinkoopsamenwerking, abbreviated RIS) and the ministries and bodies that fall under their umbrella. For their procurement processes, they work together in accordance with the principle of ‘managed diversity’. This allows for enough leeway to set up their own procurement processes, while suppliers will still feel they are dealing with just 1 central government.
Digitalising as 1 Central Government: the state of play
Vertegaal: “With the digitalisation of the entire procurement and tendering process, we are increasing the efficiency of the procurement process for Central Government and for its suppliers. It leads to quicker, more accurate and more transparent procurement processes for all involved. Key to this is that Central Government should operate as 1 government to suppliers. Vendors should at all times be able to do business with Central Government in the same way, regardless of which department they are dealing with. Behind that unity, however, are many different systems, applications and unique procurement processes. The challenge is to organise that diversity in-house, while providing a unified experience to the outside world.”
“We are addressing this by deploying open ICT standards and central facilities. This allows for government bodies to tailor their procurement processes, while suppliers experience the benefits from uniform and consistent collaboration. Although the digitalisation of the procurement process in Central Government is ahead of the curve, the goal is a government-wide consistent procurement process. This means that in future, suppliers will no longer experience any difference in their collaboration with Central Government, municipalities, provinces, water boards and other government bodies.”
Simplifying the procurement process
“In my previous work as a project manager in the world of business, I have seen how, with the right software set-up, we can simplify the entire procurement process from start to finish,” says Vertegaal. Based on that experience, she anticipates being able to effectively link the digitalisation policy for Public Procurement with its implementation. “By working closely together and listening closely to procurement needs inside and outside Central Government, we can establish a successful e-Procurement chain for Central Government and its suppliers.”