The Department of General Services (DGS) and the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) are having a soft launch on Dec. 9 of the state’s new online vendor portal for bidding, purchasing and contracting.
Beginning on that day, businesses can create a business profile and register their company on the system, called Cal eProcure. From Dec. 9 to Dec. 31, bid opportunities will be posted on both Cal eProcure and the state’s existing procurement system, BidSync.
Then on Jan. 1, 2016, bid advertisements in the California State Contracts Register will move entirely to Cal eProcure and new bids won’t be inputted into BidSync anymore.
Registering in Cal eProcure will allow firms to search for bid opportunities, apply for and renew their small business status and other certifications, receive bidding notifications, bid electronically, and more. Here’s a fact sheet from DGS with more information about Cal eProcure.
“We are excited for the launch of Cal eProcure system in December. We are optimistic that the hard work put in over the past few years both by DGS and Fi$Cal project staff will pay off with a modern, user-friendly and responsively designed new system that makes doing business with the state more efficient for our customers,” said Brian Ferguson, DGS deputy director of public affairs, on Wednesday.
DGS is encouraging companies to sign up to its Cal eProcure email list to receive future updates about the new procurement system. Subscribe here.
DGS state chief procurement officer Jim Butler wrote an opinion piece about Cal eProcure in Techwire’s fall 2015 magazine.
“We have been committed to offering a customer-friendly way of buying, selling and exploring transactions with the state, and I believe the new system moves us closer to accomplishing our goal,” Butler wrote. “By replacing BidSync as the portal for public bidding in California, this effort will bring new efficiencies to the procurement process, enhancing users’ experience and broadening their access to information.”
