3. GoProcure overview

The GoProcure system is provided by Cap Gemini New Zealand and utilises the Oracle iProcurement, Exchange and iSupplier Portal applications, with the Oracle eBusiness suite including Purchasing, Accounts Payable and General Ledger supporting this, and an underlying Oracle database. Datacom, who are hosting the new Government Portal launched in October 2002, will host the GoProcure system.

Key features of an e-procurement environment are:

• on-line requisitioning from catalogues

• on-line approval of requisitions - via workflow

• electronic transmission of purchase orders to suppliers

• on-line receipting

• automatic matching of electronic invoices received from suppliers

• capture of procurement information to support strategic sourcing, syndicated procurement and best practices initiatives

• a self-service facility for maintenance of catalogues by suppliers.

All these features are available from GoProcure, but agencies may choose to use only some of the GoProcure functionality. GoProcure is modular, with different solutions available to meet the needs of different agencies, based on factors such as agency size and fit with existing processes and systems. Agencies are able to choose which GoProcure option suits them.

The following diagram provides an overview of the GoProcure system and these options:

The four different options for participating agencies are:

Transaction Hub only

An agency that has existing automated requisitioning (usually the procurement module of a financial system such as Oracle, Peoplesoft, SAP or QSP), or chooses to implement this itself, would not use GoProcure iProcurement, but use its own requisitioning system to access GoProcure supplier catalogues and exchange electronic transactions with suppliers via the GoProcure transaction hub.

Exchange purchasing

A small agency with limited purchasing requirements may use the Oracle Exchange purchasing product (which has lower functionality than Oracle iProcurement) to purchase from GoProcure catalogues and automatically send orders to suppliers.

Full suite

An agency with no existing e-procurement capability could become a GoProcure "Full Suite" user, using both Oracle iProcurement which automates requisitioning within the agency, and Oracle Exchange which hosts supplier catalogues and is a transaction hub to link to suppliers.

Extended Oracle application

This option was not part of the government e-procurement RFP, but demand for it emerged during the agency workshops held in 2002. Some agencies indicated that they wanted to replace their current financial information system, and they wished to link this to choosing the GoProcure Full Suite option. These agencies will use the Oracle financial applications, hosted on-line by GoProcure and Cap Gemini, to replace their existing financial systems, as well as using the GoProcure Full Suite option. This option has also been referred to in other correspondence as Hosted Financials.

Comment

In effect, agencies choose how they automate their internal processes to improve their procurement function. However use of the Transaction Hub is part of each of these options - its use within GoProcure is not optional. The reason for this approach is the benefits that result from a consolidated approach to suppliers. The transaction hub provides supplier catalogues and transaction documents in a single place and format (i.e. costs for suppliers and agencies are not duplicated by agencies undertaking separate initiatives to which suppliers need to respond). Suppliers only need to provide electronic catalogues and interfacing once to sell to government. Cost savings for agencies and suppliers are potentially large as e-commerce grows, and this approach will accelerate that growth, particularly by medium sized suppliers.

In addition the GoProcure Exchange/Transaction Hub has excellent tools to allow suppliers to maintain catalogue information and share transaction data with the agency. Individual agency initiatives would not be able to employ those tools, thus increasing the catalogue maintenance workload for agencies as they conduct e-commerce with multiple suppliers.