Local Buy selects VendorPanel as a sourcing platform for new statewide procurement ecosystem

Local Buy has announced today that the VendorPanel platform is to be at the core of the Nex Gen procurement ecosystem available to all 77 Queensland Councils.

Nex Gen is a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project, that is enabled by the investment from the Local Government Association of Queensland, and delivered through Local Buy. Nex Gen’s aim is to ensure that Councils have access to the most effective procurement systems and processes available in an evolving technology landscape, benefitting from improved value for money, stronger probity and governance, and insights into how sourcing activity can support local communities The agreement with VendorPanel is an example of LocalBuy’s commitment to ensure that Queensland’s public procurement capability continues to develop in line with advancing technology in the coming years.

Councils will have access to the fully funded Nex Gen ecosystem. They will use it to manage their own preferred supplier lists, to access any shared panels maintained by Local Buy, to identify and engage with new suppliers in the Local Supplier Marketplace or to release public tenders. Social Enterprise and other supplier intelligence badges will enrich the supplier discovery interface, providing extra value to buyers.

Suppliers, in turn, will also have a single interface to interact with all Councils in receiving and responding to business opportunities.

In addition to the VendorPanel procurement platform, Nex Gen provides analytics tools to help Councils make informed decisions about spending in the community, with particular provision to meet commitments to Indigenous suppliers and social enterprises. It also features an online VendorPanel How-To-Purchase guide and an RFQ builder to assist non-procurement staff in purchasing from suppliers in line with Council policy and other regulations. All of these components connect with an easy-to-use access hub, creating a fully integrated procurement ecosystem.

Confirming Nex Gen’s technology choice, Local Buy CEO Peter Mifsud, said “Local Buy has been enabled by LGAQ to seek out procurement partners, who can assist us in building a Procurement Ecosystem that is fit for purpose and is valuable to Council, Suppliers and the communities they operate in. Nex Gen is about delivering a program that ensures procurement remains relevant, with tools that enable data-driven decisions, probity of process and visibility across the sector for future opportunities. We are excited about this program, the collaboration with our partners and working with council to deliver meaningful change. ”

VendorPanel CEO James Leathem added: “This initiative is an Australian first and, we believe, unique in the world in terms of transforming Local Government procurement on this scale. We have worked closely with Local Buy and partners to make the Nex Gen ecosystem a reality. We are excited to be supporting the vision and commitment that LGAQ and Local Buy have shown, and we think this model has potential to become a lighthouse project and a case study on how to practically enable government procurement transformation.”

To know more about the benefits of Nex Gen or the role that VendorPanel plays, you should contact either

* Sharon Ryan, Director of Nex Gen Procurement: sryan@localbuy.net.au or

* Glen Duff, Sr Commercial Manager at VendorPanel: glen.d@vendorpanel.com