Presentation
Converting Government Procurement Procedures (Excluding Public Works) to an Electronic System

Mr. Yoshiaki Kanda
Deputy Director, Finance Division, Postal Service Policy and Planning Bureau, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunications, Japan

One pillar of e-procurement is the provision of enriched information and access to such information. In Japan, each ministry is providing tender information in an official daily gazette, and this information is now on the Internet: each ministry has a procurement menu on its own Internet page, incorporating the information carried in the daily gazette. In this way, information is integrated into one comprehensive source that provides enterprises with access to procurement and tendering opportunities.

With the consolidation of information received from participating bidders, the application process has been streamlined and the filing workload reduced. Ministries were asked to eliminate overlap in procurement procedures, and this directive was completed successfully. The new system came into effect from January 2001, allowing companies to use the Internet for tender approvals. Electronic bidding is expected to be introduced by FY2003, two years ahead of the original plan.