smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

The Government has launched a major campaign to persuade more small- and medium-sized businesses to start trading over the internet with local authorities.

The new initiative will target all council suppliers but one of the chief objectives is to ensure that more small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) start using local authority e-procurement services.

The campaign falls under the responsibility of deputy prime minister John Prescott and is being spearheaded by a small steering group of local councils nationwide, including Newham borough council, Bristol city council, Essex county council and Leeds city council.

Across the country, businesses will be encouraged to attend e-skills training courses and moves are being made to accelerate the introduction of broadband. Local authorities will be supplied with tool kits to help them set up systems for businesses that are reluctant to trade with them over the internet.

“We as local authorities have been told that we must be 100% capable of trading electronically by 2005. We can’t do that without small- and medium-sized local businesses. We want SMEs to trade electronically with us. SMEs need to be in the e-world not the paper world,” says Martin Scarfe, financial adviser for Newham borough council.

The local authorities of England and Wales spend about Ł25 billion a year on bought-in goods and services. By automating their internal and external buying processes, the Government hopes councils will significantly reduce costs and improve services to the communities they serve.

Scarfe says that SMEs who trade online with local councils will see improvements in their own business processes and are likely to improve their chances of winning new contracts from local councils. He points out that if tenders are sent out electronically, SMEs who are not online will not be able to pick them up.

Businesses are being advised by the steering group to get in touch with their key local council buying contacts to explore what options are currently available for them to start trading online.

For further information: www.lgolpathfinder.gov.uk/eprocurement

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