NSW Local Government Procurement is harnessing new Australian technology to access and manage their engineering and professional services preferred suppliers.
This month, over 160 local councils in NSW will be the first to access VendorPanel.com/NSWLGP – a new web based technology designed and developed by the young Australian technology firm Magnetized Markets.
According to Brian O’Mara, general manager of NSW Local Government Procurement: “The goal is to provide a solution that is better for all parties – to make it easier for Councils to access the best match preferred suppliers; easier for preferred suppliers to access opportunities and benefit from their preferred status; and easier for procurement to optimise supplier relationships while reducing administration and risk, with real time visibility before decisions are made”.
Managing director of Magnetized Markets and the creator behind the VendorPanel technology, James Leathem, said “buyers are struggling to work out which preferred suppliers best match their needs, suppliers are frustrated at not getting access to opportunities, and procurement want to reduce administration while better realising the value of preferred supplier arrangements”.
This technology is directly targeted at those areas of procurement that have previously sat in the ‘too hard basket’, categories like professional services and Maintenance Repairs and Operations (MRO), which are frequently composed of dozens of preferred suppliers and inherently difficult to source.
The importance of bringing innovation and accountability to this sector is paramount. It’s not just about reducing risk, it is also about increasing inefficiency and optimising the value of money spent by ensuring the best match service providers are used for each project.
According to a Canadian Expert Cal Harrison, “Service providers are enormously frustrated. All too often they work very hard to become a preferred supplier, then get little or no benefit as they languish as a name on a spreadsheet somewhere on the organisations intranet. VendorPanel is the first real solution I have come across that addresses this challenge in a way that adds value to suppliers, organisational procurement and the individual buyer. Once again, Australian innovation is leading the way”.
The VendorPanel technology is designed specifically to increase efficiency and utilisation. It also promises significant savings and benefits to the thousands of Australian Services firms and Suppliers that are already endorsed preferred suppliers to Australian organisations, but struggling to get real access to opportunities.
Targeted benefits to NSW LGP include: Simpler access to preferred suppliers; Increased panel utilisation; Reduced ‘maverick’ spend; Reduced supplier administration; Greater opportunity and easier access for vendors.