Our colleagues in the Procurement Services unit have been working more or less paperless for some time now. Due to the coronavirus crisis and the avoidance of direct contact, the complete switch to exclusively digital tender submission was technically implemented.

At the same time, the award management system (VMS) and the award marketplace have been set up to allow tenders to be opened online from various (home) workstations. The preparation of contract awards is also carried out online: Digital approval processes within a shared VMS award file enable paperless communication between the awarding offices spread across the entire city within the specialist departments, with the Audit Office and, last but not least, with the Procurement Services department. Training for the new system is currently underway again so that all 500 or so procurement officers will be able to work with the system by the end of the year.

The only thing missing now is the switch to the digital administration of guarantees. Here, the department will be involved in a project together with the insurance industry as a representative of the municipal side.