E-Procurement for Suppliers
It is now a mandatory requirement for all current as well as future suppliers to Flintshire County Council to engage with us electronically. By 2018 this will become mandatory for all public sector organisations to conduct procurement in this way. Flintshire has taken the decision to do this now as we see this as a far more efficient way of conducting business both for ourselves as well as our suppliers.
All our suppliers (whether current or prospective) must register their details on the PROACTIS Supplier Portal. PROACTIS are our E-Procurement Partners who manage the Supplier Portal.
Supplier Registration
Depending on whether you’re one of our current suppliers or you’re a prospective supplier, there are 2 options in how to register. Option 1 relates to current suppliers who do business (or are about to) with the council and option 2 is for new / prospective suppliers.
Supplier Registration Options
| Option | Description | User Guide |
|---|
| 1 |
You’ve been given a PIN Code from Flintshire County Council. |
Download User Guide |
| 2 |
You’re a prospective / new supplier who has never done business with the council before and would like to receive relevant Opportunities (i.e. Quotations & Tenders) from the council in the future. |
Download User Guide |
Once you have registered you will receive numerous benefits.
Supplier Benefits (Standard)
| Benefit | Description of Benefit |
|---|
| Quotations & Tenders |
Receive and respond to any Tender or Quotation via the Supplier Portal |
| E-Auctions |
Allows you to participate in reverse Electronic Auctions (E-Auctions) |
| Saves you Money |
For example no more printing, postage & courier costs when sending us responses to Quotations & Tenders |
| Saves you Time |
Reduces procurement cycle time, bringing faster awarding decisions |
| Self Service |
Allows you to keep all your details up to date e.g. what type of goods/works/services you are able to provide, what geographical areas you cover, email & telephone contacts etc. |
| Improved / Simplified Communications |
Allows us to communicate quickly and efficiently with you |
| Increased Opportunities / Visibility |
Allows you to receive Quotations & Tenders from other Public & Private Sector Buyers who use the PROACTIS Portal |
Current Suppliers
If you’re one of our current suppliers (i.e. you either receive Purchase Orders from us and / or Invoice us for Goods, Works or Services you supply to us) then from 1st December 2016 we will be sending all purchase orders to our suppliers electronically via the PROACTIS Supplier Portal as well as giving suppliers the opportunity to Invoice us electronically. PROACTIS will provide the additional software functionality to allow this to happen.
As a supplier to the council, you will receive additional benefits from the new software.
Additional Supplier Benefits (Current Suppliers)
| Benefit | Description of Benefit |
|---|
| Electronic Orders |
Receipt of Electronic Purchase Orders (this will be the ONLY way of receiving Orders from the Council from 1st December 2016) |
| Electronic Invoicing |
Convert your Electronic Purchase Orders simply & quickly into Electronic Invoices (E-Invoices) via the ‘PO Flip’ functionality
Access to a range of other E-Invoicing submission options Assured timely delivery of invoices to the right place as well as direct submission into the Councils Invoice Processing system, resulting in your invoices being processed quicker
Ensure your Invoices don’t get ‘lost in the post’ and avoid postage costs
|
| Invoice Status |
Electronic access to the Payment Status of any of your invoices negating the need to call the Council’s Accounts Payable team |
| Accelerated Payment Facility* |
Optionally, get paid quicker, potentially receiving settlement into your bank account on the same or next day, in return for an early payment discount.
Improved cash flow through the early payment of invoices
Increases your financing opportunities
Reduce the time it takes for you to get your money by days or even weeks
|
| View Trading with other Customers |
Receive all the above benefits when transacting with any other PROACTIS Customer |
*Currently under consideration by the council.
In return for the above, additional benefits you will need to pay a nominal annual software support fee directly to PROACTIS. PLEASE NOTE: if you do not pay this fee by 6 June, 2016 you will no longer be able to receive Purchase Orders from the Council as well as any Invoice payments being severely delayed.
No PO No Pay Policy
In addition to the above, the Council will also be invoking a NO PURCHASE ORDER NO PAYMENT POLICY at the same time, therefore it is essential you follow our guidelines.
E-Invoicing Guidelines
The Council have recently launched an E-Invoicing solution which means we now process all Suppliers’ Invoices and Credits in a more efficient way. We now ‘scan’ all paper as well as emailed invoices and credits into the system. As a Supplier to the Council, it is essential that you follow our guidelines when sending us your Invoices / Credits so as we can process them as efficiently as possible. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in us rejecting your Invoices / Credits.
For more information please read our E-Invoicing page.
How to Pay
In order to pay the above annual fee, please download the Supplier Payment User Guide and follow the instructions. Please note you must be logged in to the Supplier Portal in order to pay.
How to Contact Us
If you wish to contact us for general enquiries you can do so by either emailing us at procurement@flintshire.gov.uk or you can call our Supplier Support Desk on 01352 704000 (Monday to Friday 09.00 – 16.30). If you have technical issues (registering, how to pay the subscription or logging in) with the PROACTIS Supplier Portal please log your call by going to http://proactis.kayako.com/suppliernetwork then select “Submit a Ticket”.