August 8, 2024 — OpenGov
Big things are happening for procurement in 2025. The Code of Virginia is bringing game-changing updates to the purchasing community through Section 2.2-4303.
Starting January 1, 2025, all local public bodies shall provide an option to submit bids or proposals through eVA or other electronic means. What does that mean? Paper is no longer cutting it. Take a deep breath. We’re here to break down what it all means.
Why You Should Care about the Updates to the Virginia Public Procurement Act
This legislation’s direct impact on your procurement processes emphasize the importance of transparency, compliance, and accountability which are critical for maintaining public trust and ensuring the best value for taxpayers. These initiatives have a direct impact on procurement professionals’ day-to-day operations, so compliance at every level is the best way to stay on the right side of the law.
What to Look For in an eProcurement Tool
Having the best digital tools at your fingertips is essential to stay current and compliant, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your team. Here are some of the features you should look out for when it comes to finding the perfect procurement platform (Say that three times fast!):
- Automated Solicitation Development: The right system uses automation, collaborative and guided workflows, and intelligent boilerplates to reduce the time it takes to develop solicitations. (OpenGov Procurement allows teams to build solicitations 75% faster.)
- Excellent Supplier Experience: This one’s easy. The better the experience is for suppliers, the more likely they are to respond. And the more responses you get, the better the competition. (TIP: Watch out for any tools that charge suppliers for notifications or updates. That affects equity across your suppliers.)
- Unmatched Ease-of-Use: Let your team hit the ground running with intuitive design, guided workflows, and live chat with real support.
- Transparent & Accessible: Empower suppliers and reduce FOIA requests with guided public portal access.
- Features for the Entire Procurement Lifecycle: Keep an eye out for bells and whistles like reverse auctions, partner integrations from tools like Pavilion and Procurated, bi-lateral contract onboarding checklists, records retention, template change broadcasting, public Q&A and addenda notifications, AI scope-builders, and more.
- Data Security: Securely gather and analyze sensitive procurement data to build stronger cases.
So, What Happens Now?
Even with so much information to take in, the good news is there’s time to prepare! Get the ball rolling with stakeholders with a kickoff meeting to:
- Review Current Processes: Identify gaps in compliance with the new legislation.
- Research Procurement Solutions: Evaluate the best procurement systems with the tools that make it easier to meet the new requirements.
- Engage Stakeholders: Involve key stakeholders in the decision-making process to ensure the selected system meets the needs of all users.
- Step-by-Step Implementation: Create a detailed plan to put it all in motion. Don’t forget to include regular staff training and an updated transitioning timeline so everyone stays aligned.
- Stay Informed: To ensure ongoing compliance and efficiency, make a point to stay on top of any new updates to procurement laws or practices.
- Learn from Other Agencies: For example, Richmond was able to make the procurement process more intuitive and transparent for City officials, suppliers, and the community with its eprocurement tool, ultimately fostering greater competition and better service delivery to the City’s residents.
Understanding this important update in a simple and strategic way is the first proactive step you can take on the road to compliance, efficiency, and total transparency. And with the right platform and tools in place to help you get the job done, you can ensure a smooth transition into the future of procurement.
Interested in checking out OpenGov Procurement? Watch our detailed product tour here. Or, better yet, request your personalized demo.
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