OGCBUYING.SOLUTIONS
News Release (Ref. ZAN09/05) issued by The Government News Network
on 9 May 2008
Zanzibar, the
Government's strategic eMarketplace and Purchase to Pay (P2P)
system, has picked up a top prize at the prestigious 2008 MCA
Management Awards dinner held in London on April 28.
The Zanzibar Managed Service, operated by OGCbuying.solutions and
delivered by ProcServe, won outright in the Management
Consultancies Association's Operational Performance category.
The accolade follows a period of significant growth in the use of
the eProcurement tool by public sector organisations. The Welsh
Assembly Government recently announced the launch of its
xchangewales online purchasing system, based on the Zanzibar platform.
Meanwhile the Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) has confirmed that it is to make OPEN - the online
marketplace for schools, also based on Zanzibar - ready and
available to all 20,500 schools in England from Spring 2008.
And the Department for Communities and Local Government chose
Zanzibar to support their drive towards improving their
procurement processes.
By bringing together government contracts in a single platform,
Zanzibar enables collaboration across all public sector buying
organisations and provides access to the best pricing and
transaction-ready suppliers.
Robert Knapman, Director of eCommerce, OGCbuying.solutions, said:
"We are delighted to have won in this category. The team have
worked hard to deliver this groundbreaking service, so this is a
fantastic reward for all the hard work.
"eProcurement generally and Zanzibar in particular are at
the heart of OGCbuying.solutions' new category management
approach to collaborative procurement.
"Zanzibar mobilises public sector buying power. It makes
eProcurement easier, it's flexible, it can be adopted
speedily, it widens engagement and provides control for users.
And, because we have been through a rigorous development period
with the inevitable technological challenges, we now have a tried
and tested, leading edge product."
For more information about Zanzibar, go to http://www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk
Ends
Note to Editor
OGCbuying.solutions is the trading arm of the Office of
Government Commerce (OGC), which is itself an office of HM Treasury.
The Office of Government Commerce is responsible for improving
value for money by driving up standards and capability in
procurement, from commodity buying to the delivery of major
capital projects, maximising the effective use of 60% of
Government spending and a £30 billion property estate. For more
details, visit the OGC website on: http://www.ogc.gov.uk
OGCbuying.solutions provides public sector procurement
professionals with a route to the products and services they need
to maximise procurement efficiency and value for money. Its
contracts and framework agreements offer substantial savings
through significant buying power, economies of scale and strategic partnerships.
Rigorous tendering and evaluation processes ensure that products
and services are checked for quality, price competitiveness,
fitness for purpose and compliance with statutory requirements.
These products and services are available through
OGCbuying.solutions' framework agreements, managed services
and other procurement arrangements.
More details are available on the website: http://www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk
Zanzibar - the basics
For public sector buyers in England Wales and Northern Ireland
Zanzibar delivers:
* An electronic marketplace that can operate alongside existing
electronic procurement processes
* The ability to exchange electronic documents with suppliers,
including purchase orders and invoices
* An electronic supplier catalogue system that allows suppliers
to create catalogues and allows buyers to approve and access
suppliers content and pricing
* Access to collaborative contracts across all government organisations
* An optional purchase to pay system, or the ability to connect
easily to existing purchase to pay systems, including Proactis,
SAP, Oracle, Cedar, Sage, Agresso, Belmin, and many others
* A secure, hosted and managed service, with ongoing support for
buyers and suppliers
* Detailed procurement management information and reporting tools
Public sector organisations benefit by:
* Reducing costs and errors by eliminating administrative and
manual procurement process, including catalogue management and
paper transactions
* Enabling better value for money decisions by providing access
to extensive supplier pricing and product information
* Improving procurement visibility by supplying comprehensive
management information and reporting on spend levels and patterns
* Removing the risk of joining Zanzibar by providing a solution
that has been thoroughly tested and approved
* Delivering robust marketplace and electronic transaction
functionality without the need for a capital outlay or dedicated
IT resources
* Extending the life of electronic procurement investments by
integrating with existing purchase to pay systems
About ProcServe
ProcServe, a wholly owned subsidiary of PA Consulting Group,
provides fast, flexible and secure electronic marketplaces and
trading connectivity solutions. ProcServe's hosted,
custom-branded solutions provide customers with the unique ability
to leverage a software-as-a-service solution and maintain their
own uniquely branded and configured marketplace. Customers enjoy a
faster solution set up, lower cost of maintenance, and a secure
environment. ProcServe also delivers OPEN and xchangewales on
behalf of the UK Public Sector. For more information, please visit
http://www.procserve.com.