Bid number (for EG use) | |
Lead bidder | Glasgow City Council ( GCC)
Lead contact: Elma Murray - Head of e-Government and Development (0141 287 4081) |
Brief description of the aims of the project | (i) undertake Best Practice Implementation of eProcurement Scotl@nd ( ePS) accelerating the release of savings of over £8m pa and over £21m cumulatively by 2008/9; (ii) adopt suppliers onto ePS which will benefit at least 12 Scottish Councils;(iii) facilitate cost reduction and knowledge sharing with other public partners; (iv) demonstrate an improvement project, which is re-usable across the public sector. |
Clear description of what the EGF money would be used to buy | The EGF money would be used to fund the external resources required to manage the programme, implement a best practice platform for collaborative buying and adopt suppliers to benefit all ePS partners Tasks include rationalising the supply base and implementing cost reduction projects working with other bodies eg surrounding Councils, Health Trusts, as appropriate. |
Partners to the project likely to commit resources | GCC has been working with partner Councils in the West of Scotland ( WoS) since 2003 to develop a Collaborative "Better Buying" initiative. The project proposed will provide a platform for more effective collaboration in the WoS Councils, the ePScommunity and other public sector bodies, such as NHS Greater Glasgow. In addition the project will adopt 12,000 suppliers for the benefit all ePS members. These partners are likely to commit resources progressively. |
Names of other organisations with whom the project has been discussed (to assist the introductions process) | Scottish Executive ePS Team - who have expressed support and recognise the value the project will bring to the Service. Glasgow Health who have suggested potential projects in such as travel and the Community Health Partnership. |
Evidence that suggested approach has been deployed successfully elsewhere | The Council seeks to utilise the BPI methodology that has been successfully employed in the NHS implementation of ePS - this project has already released over £20m in savings, by adoption of common suppliers to the Health Trusts, and leveraging savings from collaborative better buying. The Council is keen to learn from this experience and accelerate the release of savings. In support of the production of this submission the Council has undertaken extensive project scoping and planning supported by a detailed business case. The Council has a detailed project plan in place that will permit project commencement in early 2005. |
Are there any restrictions to enlargement of the project ( i.e. number of partners) | No - the project is designed to enable other bodies to adopt the supplier base and better buying collaborative processes set up by the City Council. |
Benefits projected from the project, contributing to Scottish Executive EG targets | - GCC will achieve savings in excess of £9m pa
- Contracts negotiated with key suppliers will be available to other surrounding Councils such as North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire;
- Acceleration of suppliers joining the ePS programme. Glasgow's membership of ePS will enhance the programme and facilitate the adoption of suppliers that will be available to all Scottish bodies on ePS;
- Better support to local suppliers;
- The BPI approach will build a platform from which Glasgow can collaborate with other bodies and an approach that will be replicable across Scotland, using partnership working methods proven on other exemplar projects.
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Estimated financial projections | Total | 20005/6 | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | 2008/9 |
Overall project cost | £7.5m | £4.6m | £1.3m | £0.9m | £0.8m |
Estimated projected benefits | £28.7m | £4.5m | £6.9m | £8.2m | £9.1m |
Net projected benefits | £21.1m | -£0.1m | £5.6m | £7.3m | £8.3m |
Is a pilot required - see guidance notes | No. Glasgow City Council will draw upon the experiences of the NHS in implementing ePS and from previous e-procurement planning work undertaken. The Council has already undertaken extensive planning work in preparation for joining the ePS programme. |
Additionally: why is EG funding required | Whilst Glasgow can implement ePS and achieve the savings projected over a period, there are significant opportunities to be gained from accelerating the delivery of benefits by taking a BPIapproach and collaborating with other Councils. EG funding will be instrumental in funding the initial resources to facilitate this acceleration. Whilst the savings for Glasgow have been modelled and are achievable, the increased resources from the EG funding will permit greater collaboration with surrounding Councils and, potentially, make savings of £36 million over a 4-year period available. These savings targets are conservative; additional savings are envisaged as the project progresses. |
Does this project complementary in anyway to other EG work | The Council believes that this submission fulfils the objectives and guidance criteria set out in the further release of Efficient Government guidance (29 November 2004). This project addresses the issues relating to work streams 1.Procurement, 2. Streamlining Bureaucracy and, over time will demonstrate the potential in, 4. Shared Support Services. The Council is integrating the ePS programme with the overall Council 1 Business Programme, which has the key objective of releasing 'back-office' resources for transfer to front line services. |