The Ministry of Economic Development has invited proposals for the supply of an electronic marketplace (or “e-marketplace”) solution under that would work under a “software-as-a-service” (“SaaS”) delivery model.SaaS - a
The Ministry of Economic Development has invited proposals for the supply of an electronic marketplace (or “e-marketplace”) solution under that would work under a “software-as-a-service” (“SaaS”) delivery model.
SaaS - a close relative to cloud computing - involves software and a service that sits on the internet and is accessible from any PC.
The e-marketplace solution will initially support the delivery of government contracts for office consumables, vehicles and IT & multifunctional devices, which are being negotiated as part of the Government Procurement Reform Programme.
The e-marketplace solution may be used to support other product categories over time, according to the tender, which went on the GETS (Government Electronic Tender System) website Friday night.
It is intended the e-marketplace will be a comprehensive solution that will include the provision of an online catalogue with shopping basket and check-out capability plus back-end functionality for electronic transaction generation and processing.
Capability to integrate with buyer and supplier ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems is also required for full purchase-to-pay functionality, although this aspect may not be implemented immediately.
The solution must be implemented, tested and operational by 30 June 2010 in order to be capable of undertaking transactions from 1 July 2010.
Provision of electronic tools was identified as a requirement of the Government Procurement Reform Programme.
The programme was announced in June 2009 and is being led by the Ministry of Economic Development. It aims to improve State sector productivity and efficiency, increase opportunities for New Zealand business to participate in government contracts and release fiscal savings for use in priority areas.
