Public e-procurement for the public administration

A platform for managing the entire purchasing process for goods and services in the Public sector must meet several quality requirements. Its front-end, for example, must be functional and intuitive, since it addresses a wide range of users, who are not necessarily trained. Its back-end, on the other hand, must be subject to parameters of completeness, security and reliability to guarantee a transparent and effective end-to-end process.

Starting out from these prerequisites, an organization responsible for managing the purchases of a large Italian region chose Lutech as the best partner to implement its digital platform for the management of public procurement processes.

The organization is responsible for the online management of all goods and services procurement processes for the region in question, public health agencies and other public entities entitled to use it. The platform must cover the whole process: from the publication of the tender call (or the identification of suppliers to be called, in procedures that do not involve the publication of a call in the strict sense), to the choice of the contractor.

Lutech’s dedicated team was responsible for the design, implementation and development of the dedicated e-procurement platform. After the necessary period of design study alongside the client, the team began creating an application system capable of managing the processes for purchasing goods, services and contracts for all those with access.

The functionally complex platform, composed of more than 6,000 Java classes, proved particularly effective, to the point that it was soon requested by other Italian regions. The solution is part of a broader reference model of public sector computer systems, based on the characteristics of independence, subsidiarity and interoperability.

The e-procurement platform created by Lutech allows the organizations responsible to manage the procedures for the purchase of goods and services in complete independence.

The system – which integrates with any project management software – allows member organizations to independently handle procurement procedures according to the ASP (Application Service Provisioning) logic in full compliance with current regulations, call centralized or consortium tenders, and activate “online auctions”. It also, however, enables the management of purchasing from electronic catalogs, allowing, among other things, the parametrization of the sections dedicated to each organization.

From a technical point of view, particular attention was paid to guaranteeing the highest levels of security (certification, identification, transactions), transparency and dynamism – in the case of tenders with multiple interactions. In particular, the solution makes it possible to keep track of all operations carried out for both technical-managerial and analytical purposes, with the aim of achieving maximum control over the procurement system.

The system has also been designed to ensure that procurement procedures are carried out digitally above and below the EC threshold, in particular by encouraging the exchange of information and knowledge between bodies with a view to benchmarking.

In addition to the e-procurement platform, Lutech has developed an additional electronic shop project. This is a system that allows electronic intermediation between public administration bodies and successful suppliers in the award procedures.

Ultimately, the platforms created by Lutech have already highlighted several advantages:

1. Increased efficiency in the purchasing process and a consequent reduction in process costs.
2. A broadening of the bidding base and increased competition on the supply side.
3. Greater control of expenditure flows, with particular reference to regional healthcare.
4. Greater flexibility in accreditation procedures and some advanced supplier directory features.

At the request of the organization, Lutech has also made the platform open to future developments such as, for example, integration of standard and/or customized modules, such as those relating to data storage and logistics management.

Finally, further work was planned on the platforms with a view to scalability and adaptation to security regulations. Specifically, the authentication system was updated to the latest Single Sign On technology. In addition, Lutech implemented an architectural and application upgrade capable of supporting the growing volumes and has supplemented the electronic shop with an electronic invoicing system.