Andhra Goes Private to Streamline Buying

Andhra Pradesh has been on a drive to enhance the IT awareness in the state
for quite some time now. And in keeping with its efforts to increase the
efficiency of all its departments through faster and more transparent automated
procurement procedures, the Andhra Pradesh government has chosen C1 India to set
up an e-procurement market place for the state.

The transformation of Andhra Pradesh into a SMART state, is the brainchild of
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. "Our IT initiatives are steps in the
direction in which knowledge is central to progress," he said. "Our
vision is to transform the lives of all the citizens of Andhra Pradesh (AP) by
simplifying complex procedures and using IT as an instrument in bringing about
overall economic development. We are committed to providing simple, moral,
accountable and transparent governance. This new e-procurement initiative takes
us closer to this goal." he added.

Spread over three phases, the project will involve the implementation of
Commerce One’s (C1) eProcurement solution that will cater to all AP government
departments including local bodies such as municipal corporations along with
their vendors and co-operative sectors.

As part of this initiative, all the tenders floated by the government shall
be made available through the new system. The work involved would include
receiving online bids, evaluating them, awarding the order, monitoring the
contracts and placing purchase orders directly on the Internet. This would
eventually translate into making online payments.

J Satyanarayana, Principal Secretary, Information Technology &
Communication, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said, "Through this solution,
the government departments will be able to streamline their entire procurement
procedures. They will be able to reduce inventory costs, shorten the supply
chain, create a level playing field for the suppliers and leverage their buying
power within the suppliers thus ensuring better governance."

"We were looking for a customized eProcurement solution that would
utilize appropriate technologies and applications to meet our specific
requirements. We found Commerce One eProcurement marketplace solutions most
suited to our needs.

The total procurement of the AP government is around Rs 8000 crore. We
believe that in the next three years, the majority of this procurement shall
happen online through this new initiative across all the 150 departments of
Andhra Pradesh Govt." he added.

Vivek Agarwal, COO, C1 India, said, "We believe that the efforts of the
government of Andhra Pradesh will be an example to other progressive state
governments who are working towards better governance. We have won this project
after a very rigorous evaluation conducted by the govt. of Andhra Pradesh along
with PriceWaterhouse Coopers over a period of four months and we are proud to
have been selected as their partners in this effort. We customize the Commerce
One technology to suit individual requirements for best results."

Under the able leadership of Naidu, Andhra Pradesh has been the forerunner
amongst progressive states that have adopted IT as a means to ensure better
governance. This project is another exemplary initiative and forms part of AP
government’s vision 2020 programme.

ZIA ASKARI in Hyderabad