eProcurement during COVID-19: Resources Focus Toward Procurement

As many procurement teams work from an emergency operations center or home office, incoming purchase requests continue to pour in – particularly for those items needed to address the COVID-19 emergency. Procurement teams can be very resourceful in identifying sources and often leverage their professional networks. However, depending on the available on-line resources of their organization, tasks range from capturing data on paper or spreadsheets to entering requests on sophisticated eProcurement systems. These varying levels of resources can cause inconsistencies in support levels, with inequalities of available vendors, processing times and responsiveness, as well as ultimate delivery of the needed product or services.

Access to an eProcurement system makes a huge difference in emergencies. Over the past decade, local governments have spent a great deal of money and resources to roll out enterprise-wide financial systems. However, procurement’s specific needs have not always taken priority. The COVID-19 epidemic has clearly demonstrated that procurement is a crucial process to address the crisis, and ultimately support health and safety teams.

A simple question – in the part of the organization where a large portion of the budget dollars are spent, and required to be nimble to address emergency procurements, why aren’t more resources provided?

Stretch Your Resources With eProcurement

There are various types of eProcurement solutions on the market, including on-demand or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) options (similar to cloud-based) and traditional licensed software. Offering a centralized system that can be accessed from phones, home offices or EOC’s, increases the flexibility needed during regular and emergency timelines. System features can vary greatly, however a typical comprehensive eProcurement software enables organizations to create a vendor pool, create bid documents, track vendor progression throughout the bid cycle, compare bids, and manage contracts and insurance certificates.

Using any tool to address an immediate emergency is generally allowed by FEMA and an agency’s own emergency policies. During the current COVID-19 crisis, many eProcurement companies have stepped forward to offer their solution for free. For a limited timeline determined by the offering company, it may offer a temporary solution for public procurement teams stretched to the limit. However, it is still important for public procurement teams to approach these free offers with caution. When the free period ends, then what?  Before embarking on this path, key questions should still be answered:

·        How financially viable is the company, and how many years has this eProcurement solution been available to government clients?

·        Who owns the data – the agency or eProcurement company - at the end of the trial period?

·        Can bids or RFP’s in process be properly concluded if the procurement steps extend past the trial deadline?

·        How is access to the vendor pool made available? Are these vendors in your own jurisdiction?

·        When the immediate emergency is over, this company may offer an extended contract. How will your Agency handle this offer? Does this comply with public procurement best practices and your own Agency standards and procedures?

·        If another competing company wants your business for this product/service upon completion of the trial period, will your Agency open this to a competitive process after the emergency?

·        If your agency awards a contract to the eProcurement company after the trial period, would this sole source be defendable?

Emergency Offers New Opportunity for Resource Discussion

When this crisis comes to an end, and regular government services return, there will most likely be a debrief. What went right, what went wrong, what did we learn, and what will we do better in the future? It’s important to document your team’s contributions during this crisis – not for “bragging” points, but rather for justification to obtain future resources. 

A key to success during any emergency is access to on-line resources to manage the organization’s procurement operations, particularly from a remote location. Below are five guidelines to choosing any e-Procurement system as a long-term solution:

1)           Is this Company focused on the needs of government and adheres to public procurement policies? Procurement within the government sector has well-defined rules and procedures that need to be followed to conduct a fair, transparent and legal procurement. In an emergency, FEMA requires supporting documents for future reimbursements. It’s important the chosen company understands and complies with these requirements.

2)           Does this Company have other comparable clients to your city, county, school district or agency? Is there an ability to cross-share vendor databases, to expand your own outreach? Your team doesn’t want a long start-up process. It’s important the company has experience with other comparable agencies and the type of issues your agency faces. Call and ask about the current experience from their existing clients. Some companies offer their existing vendor database to get you started. Are those vendors within your own jurisdiction, or are they located outside your state/region?

3)           Is the system modular, to purchase exactly what is needed now, and add other options later? Your agency may allocate enough budget dollars for procurement to obtain the initial modules, but not enough for the full-fledged system. Budgets fluctuate from year to year. Does the company allow your Agency to start with one or two modules, gradually learn the system and later take on additional modules at your own pace? What kind of training is provided as part of this roll-out? 

4)           Does it integrate with your existing financial and accounting systems? What type of reporting features are provided, and can they be tailored for your Agency’s needs? It’s important to make sure that the procurement system can “speak” to the organization’s existing financial systems, particularly when tracking FEMA reimbursements or producing reports for audits or contract tracking.  Obtain copies of sample reports to ensure the available format is what your management team might need.

5)           What other factors might weigh in? Is the company financially viable to stay in business and invest in their software? Where are their headquarters and what is their availability during business hours? Can you reach a live person during an emergency? If there is a system issue, can your vendors reach them when a bid is about to close? Does the company have a cooperative contract to piggyback upon? 

As a former Purchasing Agent who handled a regional emergency – fires in southern CA – I understand that procurement teams must quickly meet the needs of their organization. If you are part of a team that feels better resources, such as a new eProcurement system is needed to expand outreach efforts or increase communication across department silos, make the case on the benefits of bringing in the right resources. In any emergency, an organization is only as good as its procurement team.