Essex County Council purchases a range of goods and services in support of its own operation, and also for the delivery of high quality services to Essex residents.
For the purposes of managing the purchase of goods and services, Essex County Council uses the term ‘procurement’ to mean the entirety of the acquisition process, from definition of initial need, through tendering, delivery, invoicing, payment and contract management.
The Essex County Council procurement process is underpinned by a number of
guidance documents that clarify the aims and objectives of our procurement policies. These are regularly revised and updated, and provide an invaluable resource for all council suppliers and potential suppliers.
In order to further streamline the procurement process, Essex County Council has introduced a new electronic supplier portal
ecc.supplier.ariba.com.
Ariba is free to register and, following registration, potential suppliers can respond to the council’s tendering opportunities online. The portal is used by Essex County Council to manage the tendering process electronically, reducing both time and costs.
Opportunities
The supplier portal has been designed for ease of use. However, online tutorials and tours are available under the Help menu to assist those using the portal for the first time. For companies new to the public sector, Business Link has provided a free online procurement course,
Winning The Business, which provides an overview of the public sector tendering process.
Once a supplier has been selected to provide goods and services to Essex County Council, the ordering, payment and invoicing element of the procurement process is managed electronically, through the IdeA: Marketplace system. Marketplace enables ordering, invoicing and payment for goods and services to be managed electronically, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
IdeA: Marketplace registration is only available to existing Essex County Council suppliers, and is the county’s chosen method of managing ordering, invoicing and payment.
Businesses seeking to supply services to the public sector within the Essex area should also ensure that they are registered with a number of
other procurement portals that serve specific functions within the county, in order to maximise the number of opportunities available to them.
Any potential suppliers experiencing difficulties in accessing the supplier portal should contact Ariba on 0800 358 3556.
Any enquiries for Procurement Services that are not addressed on the Essex County Council website may be made directly to:
corporate.procurement@essex.gov.uk