A government IT-focused e-procurement strategy for Colombia

Abstract

In Colombia, public agencies execute independent contractual processes to acquire the same information technology (IT) goods or services, suppliers are mostly selected based on the minimum price, and the current procurement process is lengthy and inefficient. There is a need for allowing the Colombian Government to select suppliers considering other criteria (e.g. quality assurance) and also make purchases more efficient and transparent. In this paper we present an initiative aimed at facilitating and standardizing the purchase of IT goods and services across public agencies, through the implementation of a government IT-focused e-procurement strategy. This strategy is mainly focused on the establishment and implementation of an IT e-procurement process, based on Pricing Framework Agreements and supported by a set of tools and training. The implementation of this strategy will enable the Colombian State to achieve a higher level of rationalization over the investment in IT and a reduction in time, effort and cost of the procurement process.