New Zealand Government Procurement aims to give potential suppliers a heads-up about contract opportunities via an early warning system.
The Government Electronic Tenders website, GETS, will send suppliers new notifications to help them see the potential pipeline of work coming from buyers.
“Until now, agencies have provided this information via the annual procurement plans (APPs) published every six months,” Government Procurement said.
“However, after feedback from both agencies and businesses, we have decided to enable procurement teams to provide early warning to businesses on an ongoing basis by publishing future procurement opportunities (FPO) via GETS.”
The government said it also planned to update the GETS platform.
“This will start with back-end improvements that will improve the stability and scalability of the system, then followed by changes to the look and feel of the system. These improvements will make GETS more user friendly and introduce greater functionality,” said Government Procurement.
While an FPO did not signal an absolute commitment by an agency to procure goods and/or services, it did alert prospective suppliers to their intentions so that they could be ready to respond to the tender.
“Agencies can update their FPOs as the project progresses and generate more certainty for businesses,” the notice said.
An FPO could signal a project that would feature multiple opportunities rather than a single contract. Interested suppliers can subscribe to an FPO and follow it.
“Good planning and market engagement are critical success factors for procurement. FPOs will help you and your agencies do both of these in a more effective and flexible way than the traditional APP,” said Government Procurement.
Meanwhile Carolyn Tremain, chief executive, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and effective head of Government Procurement, said the agency had been working in consultation with colleagues from across government to develop a post–coronavirus recovery plan for NZ.
She said the agency would share more details in coming weeks but added the plan set out six key actions to enable the agency to intervene early, build procurement capability and accelerate good practice.
“It will create opportunities for local businesses to access government contracts, realise public value and increase benefits; and focus on certain sectors, like construction, to create jobs, increase productivity and sustainability,” she said.
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