E Procurement Hub Transactions Up 45%
Figures from Scotland's online procurement agency show that it handled transactions worth almost £2.5bn last year.
Transactions through eProcurement Scotland were up by 45% last year compared to 2007, when they reached £1.7bn. Overall the Scottish public sector spends £8bn a year.
More than 100 public bodies have implemented the service, including the Scottish Parliament, and 70,000 suppliers have registered.
Finance secretary John Swinney described eProcurement Scotland as one of the most comprehensive and successful e-government initiatives in the world, but added that he wanted more organisations to buy goods and services through the agency.
"eProcurement Scotland provides an effective and efficient way of improving procurement while saving taxpayers money, all the more crucial as we face increasing spending pressures," said Swinney. "It also saves businesses time by speeding up order to delivery times and is a more sustainable way of doing business".
The agency was set up in 2002 as a fully hosted and managed e-procurement service for the Scottish public sector, including central government, local government, further and higher education and the NHS. Its services include e-sourcing, which covers electronic tendering and auctions, and a transactional purchase-to-pay system.
