The council is set to issue a formal invitation to tender next month

Norfolk County Council is seeking to replace its existing hotchpotch of procurement tools with one overarching software system.

The council has issued a prior information notice outlining its intent to phase out its current set-up, which consists of various different platforms, and implement a single system. The aim is to create cost savings while improving performance and increasing ease of use.

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The notice said: “Norfolk County Council wishes to procure a new, integrated source-to-payment solution that will replace a number of disparate systems with a single solution that reduces total cost of ownership, improves data quality, implements more effective controls, improves reporting and, above all, is easy to use.”

The council added that it requires a system that can, initially, successfully interoperate with its incumbent enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform while, ultimately, facilitating its replacement.

“The system must integrate with the council's Oracle 12 ERP system but make it simple to swap that system out in due course,” said the notice.

The project, which will not be split into lots, has an estimated budget of just under £1.4m, excluding VAT. A formal invitation to tender is expected to be published sometime next month, and the bidding process will be managed via an e-procurement platform.