The Ministry of Defence has said that “over 90%” of outstanding invoices through its new online procurement platform have been processed, as suppliers complain that they are still waiting to be paid.
The MoD’s new online procurement platform has led to delays in payment of invoices – Photo credit: PA
The new platform, called Contracting, Purchasing and Finance (CP&F), replaced the existing MoD purchasing and payment systems at the end of last year.
It will allow data to be entered just once and then reused throughout the procurement process, from contract advert to closure, and is part of the government’s drive to make all transactions electronic by 2017.
However, the MoD had to push back the original go live date of 18 November 2016 after it encountered problems with data migration from the old to the new systems.
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The delay meant that users were unable to access the system, with only paper-based processes available to them, which meant that some suppliers could not be paid.
And, although the department warned that suppliers should expect “minor disruption” for around two weeks after the service went live – which eventually happened on 5 December – some suppliers have said they are still waiting to be paid.
This includes smaller companies and charities that are working with the MoD, with one source telling PublicTechnology that their employer was “owed significant sums”.
The MoD confirmed in a statement to PublicTechnology that there were outstanding invoices, but that it was confident they would be paid soon.
“We have processed over 90% of the invoices and are dealing with the last few. We are engaging with suppliers and are confident that any delays will be resolved rapidly,” a spokesman said.
“The MoD is committed to ensuring that issues are resolved as rapidly as possible.”
There is one further release due on the CP&F system, the scope of which the department said was “under discussion”, with announcements about time scales and deliverables expected soon.
