Cross Border e-Procurement Project Update The pilots with various Councils will end 31st Dec 2008. Overview First Derivatives has been awarded a tender by ERNACT (www.ernact.net) to provide an e-Procurement solution to 19 local Councils. The aim of this project is to help accelerate the uptake of the Information Society within the Irish Border Corridor. The project will engage with around 4,000 SME suppliers and a pilot specific website will be in place in the near future. The Border Corridor Digital Economy Network (BCDEN) project, led by ERNACT, is funded by the INTERREG IIIA programme. The aim of this project is to help accelerate the uptake of the Information Society within the Irish Border Corridor (encompassing the three sub-regions of NWCBR, ICBAN and EBR). The BCDEN project has set up a series of thematic working groups in each of the three Crossborder sub regions and has conducted a consultation and needs analysis exercise with each of those groups. The objective of this process was to ascertain, based on the region’s current ICT needs, what pilots would help the participant local authority areas to adapt to, innovate and compete within the Information Society. Resulting from the aforementioned consultation exercise, the Public Services working groups in each of the three sub regions have selected e Procurement as one of the pilots that they want to see implemented. ERNACT went to public tender and a conclusion of that process has meant an award was made to First Derivatives plc (FDP), based in Newry. FDP have significant experience and expertise in delivering e-Procurement solutions into the Public sector, and particularly in ROI and NI. The pilot will run for 12 months, and will aim to deliver the following: To minimise the transaction costs associated with the procurement process To maximise value for money for the participating councils To promote competition among suppliers while maintaining reliable sources of supply To promote the use of eCommerce in the wider Crossborder economy through compelling local suppliers to use ICT in trading with Councils To improve the auditability of public procurement expenditure To benefit from the cost savings achievable through demand aggregation across the 19 councils To promote and facilitate Crossborder trade The pilot will be FREE of charge for all Councils, and for all participating suppliers. A project specific website has been created at http://www.bordermarketplace.com