E-AUCTION HALVES PROCUREMENT COSTS

Fourteen councils and six NHS Trusts have cut the cost of procuring IT hardware by 50 per cent in the latest e-auction run by the Office of Government Commerce with the London Centre of Excellence. The councils and trusts pooled their IT hardware requirements worth 13.7 million pounds at pre-auction benchmarked prices and achieved a price at the end of the five hour auction of 6.9 million pounds giving an average saving of 50 per cent across the six lots.

This brings the number of central government and wider public sector organisations that have so far participated in OGC eAuctions to 325, saving a total of 21 million pounds since the first eAuction in September 2005.

The eAuction was championed by the London Centre of Excellence, which provided sponsorship and project management resources. The OGC assisted with technical and project management support, drawing on the lessons and successes of its previous six IT eAuctions.

Ken Cole, Director of the London Centre of Excellence, said: “These excellent results show how the Regional Centres of Excellence are bringing local authorities and other public bodies together to combine their buying power. At a time when councils are facing greater financial pressures, eAuctions can deliver substantial savings which can help protect frontline services.”

The Government strategy Transforming Government Procurement, launched in January 2007, highlighted the central importance of procurement in delivering high-quality public services and best value for money. OGC is responsible for delivering this transformation, and with driving up standards and procurement capability.

Any public sector organisation interested in making cash savings by participating in an OGC IT eAuction should contact the Director of their nearest Regional Centre of Excellence.