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CGI introduces ideal integrated procurement solution for the Commonwealth of Virginia
“ The success of the Commonwealth's e Procurement Program, eVA, is attributed to the blending of a talented, dedicated team, a strong commitment from our private sector partner, and the trust and support of our Governor and his entire staff. ”
Ron Bell, Director, Department of General Services,
Division of Purchases & Supply
Prior to 2001, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s procurement activities were decentralized across more than 171 state agencies and institutions, as well as other public bodies such as schools, airports, districts, authorities and commissions. All of these state organizations operated largely as autonomous entities. Throughout the Commonwealth, day-to-day procurement activities used a variety of desktop applications, automated purchasing systems and manual processes.
The decentralized procurement environment was also a burden to vendors doing business with the Commonwealth, who were required to register with multiple individual agencies, institutions and public bodies. Virginia engaged CGI to provide a comprehensive, integrated solution addressing the Commonwealth’s vision for electronic procurement.
The Challenge
Virginia’s patchwork of applications, systems and processes did not enable sharing of information, promote cooperative procurement, or allow the Commonwealth to leverage its buying power to obtain the best value for dollars spent. The added cost of doing business was passed along to the Commonwealth in the form of higher prices for vendor products. Virginia also incurred additional costs for the hardware, software and resources required to support the multiple applications, systems and processes.
Early in the project, its potential for savings took on renewed importance when a new governor came into office who was seeking greater efficiencies to offset a budget deficit.
While CGI offered an excellent solution, it needed to adapt its solution to ensure it provided the Commonwealth with precisely the tool it needed.
The Strategy
To provide enterprise-wide electronic purchasing for all Commonwealth of Virginia agencies, local governments, and institutions of higher education, CGI designed eVA—a Web-based government-to-business eProcurement solution capable of managing the unique needs of a diverse group of state and local agencies and suppliers. eVA reduces costs and streamlines the Commonwealth’s purchasing processes by funnelling purchasing activities through a single electronic portal that securely transmits data. Powered by Ariba Buyer and AMS Advantage® Procurement, eVA automates workflow utilizing common, auditable business rules that apply to all users while supporting unique rules for each buying organization; then captures and aggregates data for procurement information and activity. Funded through transactions, CGI implemented hosts and maintains eVA, as well as provides a customer support team to manage technical concerns of vendors and buyers.
The CGI team implemented the solution in stages. The first component of the application was the implementation of the highly customized Ariba portion (previously known as buysense) of the solution in March 2001, which enabled the Commonwealth’s vendor contracts to be shared across the state. It was followed by the addition of agency interfaces, Quick Quote functionality, User and Data Management capabilities and a procurement data warehouse. This data warehouse allowed top state officials, including the governor, to receive quarterly report cards on the volume of spend and frequency of use by agency. This sort of performance accountability brings focus and attention to purchasing from state agency leadership.
January 2003 saw Advantage Procurement added to the solution. This addition allows buyers to seek competitive bids for purchases over $50,000. Once the bid is awarded, the awarded pricing can be loaded into the Ariba component for buyers to access.
The Technology
- AMS Advantage® Procurement
- Ariba Buyer
The Results
With the eVA solution, CGI succeeded where other companies failed and continue to struggle. The eVA solution has enabled the Commonwealth to obtain goods and services easier, faster, and at the best value. When the solution went online, it established one of the most comprehensive Web-hosted electronic procurement solutions in the United States. Earning the distinction of being the fastest initial state-wide procurement system rollout ever achieved in the nation, the project has met or exceeded all project goals.
The success of eVA is highly evident. More than 1,049,385 orders and $9.76 billion have been processed; 983 catalogues made available; and some 32,000 vendors, 171 agencies, 4925 localities and 9,121 users represented. In fact, in October 2006, CGI announced it had received a five-year, US$65 million contract renewal to sustain the eVA procurement portal.
For suppliers, there is now one standard way to access business with the Commonwealth—there is now a single interface to government for the supplier community using one electronic standard, regardless of the multiple back-end systems that agencies use. Suppliers no longer have the frustration and additional cost of connecting their order management systems and business processes to government in multiple ways in order to sell goods and services to the Commonwealth.
The eVA system is widely considered to be the most successful eProcurement solution in the nation, and following its implementation received numerous awards, including the 2002 Government Service Award for a Large State Agency, from the Commonwealth of Virginia Information Technology Symposium; the 2002 Best in Breed award from the Center for Digital Government; the 2003 Cost Effectiveness Through Government Award, sponsored by the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council (NECCC); the 2003 State Government Innovator award from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning and Accenture; the 2003 Trailblazer Award, from eGov Magazine’s Government Services Administration; and the 2003 Cronin’s Gold Award for Innovations in IT from the National Association of Procurement Officials (NASPO). Most recently, the Virginia Department of General services received the 2005 Achievement of Excellence In Procurement Award. Virginia received the highest score among the five states that received the prestigious award.
Fully implemented, CGI continues to support any upgrades or infrastructure changes to sustain eVA as one of the top government eProcurement solutions. Ron Bell, the Director of Purchasing and Supply for the Virginia Department of General Services, noted the importance of the partnership established between the Commonwealth and CGI: "The success of the Commonwealth's eProcurement Program, eVA, is attributed to the blending of a talented, dedicated team, a strong commitment from our private sector partner, and the trust and support of our Governor and his entire staff. Our success is also due to a number of agencies and institutions who get the vision for eProcurement and the promise of greater efficiencies." |
