Page 106 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

What this means

Buying departments should invest in or scale up digital tools including:

• e-Procurement systems that allow “end-to-end” digital buying, that is from publishing an
opportunity online and receiving bids to allowing electronic signature and invoicing;

• supplier databases that include details of supplier capabilities, how they have performed in the
past and who they are owned by and stands to benefit from the award of contracts;

• digital frameworks – online lists of pre-qualified suppliers that can bid to provide specific goods
or services; and

• online catalogues or purchasing platforms – allowing fast “off-the-shelf” purchases of products
such as laptops, tablets, software and accessories.

When choosing a digital buying tool public officials and stakeholders should make sure that it:

• meets user needs, based on research with their users (including staff and suppliers);

• is easy to share or “interoperable” with other government systems;
• is easy to maintain and scales for future use;

• meets their security and data requirements, for example by providing information on where
data are stored if in the cloud; and
• is less dependent on single third-party suppliers.

Public officials and stakeholders should also:

• make sure their staff have suitable training to use any e-Procurement system; and

• tell suppliers about any new systems and show them how to use them if necessary

92 Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities | May 2023