To help support councils in reducing risks, time and costs associated with procurement, the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) and Local Buy developed Nex Gen.
Nex Gen is a multi-million-dollar ecosystem, underpinned by the addition of a Blockchain and Smart Contracts, designed to connect governance and reporting, guided buying, capability development, and analytics to provide a simple platform for council procurement requirements. Ensuring councils have access to the most effective procurement systems and processes available will improve value for money, create stronger integrity and governance and produce insights into how sourcing activity can support local communities and meet commitments to Indigenous suppliers and social enterprises.
LocalBuy now has over 3000 vendors, double the previous number, with lots more local businesses registered for panels.
LGAQ’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Hallam AM, said Local Buy made it easier for local government to connect with their business communities through panels that satisfy the local government regulations for councils.
“Local Government alone spends about $700 million each year through Local Buy arrangements,” Greg said.
“To ensure this is effective, good procurement systems are critical and our investment in Nex Gen is a key element.”
Councils can now access the fully funded Nex Gen ecosystem through a digital procurement hub, established via Local Buy’s partnership with ArcBlue. The partnership with VendorPanel will enable councils to access a procurement platform to easily manage their preferred suppliers, identify and engage with new suppliers and release public tenders. In turn, suppliers will have a single interface to interact with all councils in receiving and responding to business opportunities.
Local Buy Chief Executive Officer Peter Mifsud said: “Local Buy has been enabled by LGAQ to seek out procurement partners who can assist in building a procurement ecosystem that is fit for purpose and is valuable to council, suppliers and the communities they operate in”.
“Nex Gen is about delivering a program that ensures procurement remains relevant, with tools that enable data-driven decisions, probity of process and visibility across the sector for future opportunities. We are excited about this program, the collaboration with our partners and working with the council to deliver meaningful change.”
The partnership with VendorPanel and ArcBlue is an example of Local Buy’s commitment to ensure Queensland’s public procurement capability continues to develop in line with advancing technology in the coming years.
To find out more about the benefits of Nex Gen, please contact Peter Mifsud, CEO Local Buy, or Sharon Ryan, Director of Nex Gen Procurement.