First feedback regarding the deployment of e-procurement towards economic operators

After a first phase of study (initial market analysis), the Procure project has for objective to carry out experimentations in terms of e-procurement in five pilots regions. A part of these experimentations concerns the deployment of e-procurement towards companies and more particularly SMEs.

In November 2008, it appears that some pilots are very advanced on the deployment operations (Brittany Region and in particular) when others just started or are preparing the deployment.

To assist theses pilots, Sopra Group has collected a feedback on the operations carried out by the more advanced pilots based on interviews with the pilots regions involved in Procure project and with the E-Bat project manager.

Current state of the project regarding deployment towards economic operators

At the end of 2008, operations regarding deployment towards SMEs started in region and in with first quantifiable results. Operations started on December  Central Bohemia, in Piemonte regions and in Guadeloupe.

Overview of this experience feedback

Three Procure pilots and a non Procure project have been studied:

• Uddevalla : this pilot already owned an e-tendering solution before Procure and set as an objective to increase its deployment. Four workshops towards SMEs gathering 170 SMEs together have been carried out. These operations brought 50 companies to register to the platform
• Brittany region: this pilot, as Uddevalla municipality already owned an e-tendering solution before Procure and wanted through Procure to increase the deployment towards SMEs.  The pilot organized information and training sessions supported by a communication plan to inform SMEs.  565 companies attended these operations
• Central Bohemia Region: this pilot has not started the deployment operations for the moment. But the plan put in place to carry out the training sessions and the users’ assistance has been judged interesting to describe as an example.
• E-Bat project of the “Fédération Française du Bâtiment”: E-Bat project of the Fédération Française du Batiment has been studied because of its similarities with the Procure project in terms of deployment.

In conclusion, this feedback shows that the on-site training with a direct contact with SMEs is the most effective approach. That is what the Swedish and the Breton pilots showed through their experience. The same observation has been noticed studying the E-Bat project.

The involvement of the partners (professional federations and local chambers of commerce) is also essential for the success of the deployment and the transmission of information to SMEs as they are key contacts with companies.