1. OF
MY EXPERIENCE
raining 2000 are an SME/Charity
and are bound by the EU
procurement directives. Recent
changes in legislation and
funding opportunities have
caused a significant change in
our procurement strategy
resulting in the sourcing of a suitable e-
procurement platform. This approach has
ensured compliance with procurement
legislation for large scale purchases for our
Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC).
Why In-Tend?
After some careful consideration and
research on other platforms we decided In-
Tend would be the best fit based on the
following criteria:
Cost: compared to all other platforms that
were considered In-Tend falls well within the
most affordable and flexible in terms of
payments and add-ons of all systems that
we researched.
Value Added: the added value by using In
-Tend has largely been seen as a result of
the outputs and the engagement with a
network of new suppliers and reductions in
pricing as a result. Recently, a mini-
competition for furniture resulted in a 15%
reduction in cost due to the increase in
competition.
Ease of use: I have found the system to
be very flexible and simple to use with expert
user guides and first rate training
opportunities. Follow-up ‘master classes’ are
also offered on a regular basis to engage
new users, explore shortcuts and more
efficient usage. Furthermore the inviting
interface offers even novice users the
chance of navigating the system with
minimal training.
Integration: Training 2000s procurement
strategy has significantly been enhanced as
By James Gee
Purchasing Manager
Training 2000
T
a result of purchasing this new system
whereas previously quotations would be
obtained verbally or via email. This solution
now encourages larger scale quotations to
be run via mini-competitions with a clear
audit trail. This has enhanced an existing
‘tender’ procedure already evident within
the working procedures and offered a more
professional approach for seeking RFQs
and market research via expressions of
interest.
On-going service: The cynical view that
post implementation the initial enthusiasm
from service account managers tends to
dissipate couldn’t be further from the truth
with In-Tend. On several occasions I found
the first line support staff to provide a
knowledgeable and prompt service; to date
they have always been able to resolve my
queries. The real added value for Training
2000 has been found in this on-going
support as queries and knowledge of
procurement legislation have posed an
initial challenge.
Functional evaluation: The interface as
stated above is very flexible, in-particular
the wizards and simplicity of setting up new
projects via the projects tab. However, one
update which may be beneficial could be
the project pipeline tracker. Presently, not
all of the tiles need to be lit green in order
to progress to the next stage; I would
suggest the EU directives/individual
company tender procedures be coded into
the set-up to allow the pipeline to become
more user friendly and only allow access to
the adjacent tile once the routines for the
current have been completed.
In conclusion, I would not hesitate to
recommend In-Tend to other users and
have already had several networking
meetings to provide a demonstration and
first-hand experience.
50 | February 2016 | In-procurement @inprocurement