New single registration system will make it easier for suppliers to bid for government business
Government Procurement Service has awarded a new contract to NQC Limited to develop a Single Supplier Registration platform.
CAB 031-13
A new centralised system will make it easier and cheaper for suppliers to compete for government and public sector opportunities, Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, announced today. The new system will mean suppliers only have to register once to have access to a range of contracts.
Currently, suppliers to government and the public sector have to register on several systems to be able to view, access and tender for business opportunities, making it onerous and time-consuming, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), to bid for contracts.
Government Procurement Service (GPS) has awarded a new contract to NQC Limited to develop an efficient and secure Single Supplier Registration platform. The new cross-government system will replace an existing system with over 80,000 registered suppliers and almost 80,000 customers using it.
Francis Maude, who yesterday visited civil servants at the GPS’s Newport office said:
We’ve always said we want to simplify the procurement process, and it won’t make it easier for new suppliers to bid for government business if we’re asking them to register on several systems in order to access these opportunities.
That’s why we asked GPS to bring together the current myriad systems and tools into one single place of registration, holding accurate and up-to-date information on suppliers. It’s simple and innovative; it will reduce the time and cost spent tendering for government business – especially important for SMEs – and will improve how we share analysis of supplier financial information across government.
And in awarding the contract to NQC Limited, a SME based in Manchester, we’re showing exactly how government is actively providing more opportunities for SMEs to do business with us.
The new registration platform will be available from April 2013, for the health sector and will extend across other sectors in following months.
Notes to editors
- The GPS Single Supplier Registration solution will replace the existing SID4health system and provide an efficient and appropriate integration across the whole procurement landscape.
- Currently, suppliers to government and the public sector have to register on multiple systems to be able to access and tender for business opportunities. These include the Government eMarketplace, the Dynamic Marketplace, eSourcing tools, spend analysis tools and various enterprise resource planning (ERP) business management systems across Government plus a range of category specific tools.
- The new system, developed by NQC Limited, will first be available for the health sector at the end of April, followed by phased implementation across other sectors to integrate the registration across different solutions.
- There will be a reduced cost for suppliers who will only need to complete one Pre-Qualification Questionnaire – this information will be maintained on the single registration system.
- The system will be aligned with the Dun & Bradstreet contract to standardise supplier identification across government.