Welsh Assembly signs e-procurement contract

The Welsh Assembly has signed a contract for a procurement tendering web portal that is expected to help it save £200m over five years.

The portal, which supports the 'xchangewales' e-procurement programme, was ordered by Value Wales, the procurement arm of the government. The technology is supplied by BravoSolution.

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Two hundred buyers for the government have been trained to procure goods and services online for central and local government, the NHS, emergency services and Higher and Further Education within Wales.

Every school in Wales will get free access to the portal, which is expected to save the schools system £22m as a result.

In a statement, Welsh Assembly minister for finance and public service delivery Andrew Davies said: "Each year, public sector bodies in Wales spend more than £4.5bn on the procurement of goods, services and capital projects. Latest figures show that the value of public sector contracts won by Welsh-based companies has risen dramatically from 35 per cent to 49 per cent in only two years.

"A single internet transaction hub will help remove barriers to public sector procurement faced by some businesses and in particular SMEs. It has the potential to deliver an incredible £200m over five years. These savings can be reinvested back into better citizen-focused services."