The Other Face

The

municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) is one of the largest municipal bodies in

the world providing civic services to over 14 mn citizens. Extensive procurement

activities are carried out at all of the 12 zones and various departments of the

corporation. 

In an effort to

standardize the tendering process and achieve a more scientific approach, the

corporation decided to implement an electronic tendering solution. The objective

was to bring transparency reducing malpractices and cut down tendering cost and

cycle time.

The scope of engagement

involved:

• Study
  
  of existing system and processes

• Process
  
  mapping and customization as per organization's need

• Implementation
  
  of e-Tendering for the Electronic Procurement System for MCD

• Implementation
  
  and integration of the IT network to enable the e-Tendering process

• System
  
  administration of the Electronic Procurement System

• Integration
  
  with public key infrastructure (PKI) and payment gateway.

• Provision
  
  of digital certificates for the users and vendors.

• Impart
  
  training to MCD staff and vendors

• Availability
  
  of a service help desk.

To bring about a change

in the processes and work-culture of the corporation staff and contractors was a

big challenge. It required extensive training to the users to make them familiar

with the new e-Tendering system.

Wipro in alliance with

NexTenders implemented a state-of-the art e-Procurement solution. The

multi-modal workflow of the product offered a user friendly and easy to operate

system

The new system enabled

the corporation to post and amend tender documents and view and compare bids

online, reducing administrative costs and eliminating the hassles of paperwork.

Wipro also ensured that the payment gateway and issuance of digital certificates

allowed for secured online payment options to vendors. 

The implementation was

done in a phased manner. First the tender purchase and download was made

compulsory through electronic route and then the bid preparation and submission

made compulsory for all the tenders above Rs 30 Lakh. The value slab was reduced

subsequently. 

An Entrust Authority

from Entrust was used to PKI enable the security system facilitating

authentication of users, confidentiality and integrity of information,

authorization, non-repudiation of transaction and issuance of digital

certificates. The issuance of digital certificates (DC) is unique to each

individual and is issued by Verisign, a certification authority. The data is

transferred through a secure socket layer-https.

Training of MCD staff

is an ongoing activity throughout the contract period of three years. The

electronic tendering system brought about a new approach to the way business was

carried out and furthered the corporation's commitment to e-Governance and

computerization. With the electronic procurement system, it now took an average

of 30 days to process a tender as against 90 days in the traditional tendering

system.

Bhaswati Chakravorty 



bhaswatic@cybermedia.co.in