Washington’s Electronic Business Solution (WEBS)

1. Washington’s Electronic Business Solution (WEBS) Presenter: Kathy Costello Business Technology Manager Washington State Department of General Administration

2. Business Problem: Finding the Opportunities Pre-WEBS Environment State Agencies K-12 Schools Universities Community Colleges Counties Vendors Technical Colleges Cities Non-Profit Organizations Transit

3. Vision & Goals Build a statewide vendor registration, bid notification and bid posting tool that will • Consolidate vendor registration to a single statewide portal • Improve access to government as measured by the number of vendor registration, bid notifications and vendor bid responses • Continue to reduce or eliminate barriers to participation in the government purchasing process

4. Expected Results Organizational change Benefits • Improved data collection • Improved vendor access to bidding opportunities • Remove or eliminate barriers to conduct the purchasing process • Streamlined bid process and reduced cost to provide bid documents • Reduced advertising costs • Consolidate government bid activity in a central location • Eliminate vendor management functions • Create purchasing partnerships • Transition to a web-based environment Create a consolidated infrastructure for the state to identify and leverage its procurement activities.

5. Measurable Results 100 government entities registered to use WEBS …resulting in… 29% increase in bids accessible through WEBS and a 15% increase in notifications …resulting in… 5% increase in notifications to certified M/W firms and an additional 17% notification to self-identified* firms …resulting in… 15% increase in minority & women businesses requesting the bid and 13% increase in responses from minority & women businesses 269 bids pre-WEBS 377 bids post-WEBS Ultimate Outcome *Self-identified firms represent minority & women businesses that are not currently certified in Washington State but met certification criteria

6. Understanding the Vendor Community Outreach Demographics • 8500 vendors registered • 3% are certified M/W • 12% self identified M/W • 52% are small business • 10% certified M/W • 38% self identified M/W • Ability to focus on increasing competition and outreach to small, minority and women owned businesses • Increase our presence in vendor communities around the State

7. Create efficient statewide procurement policy Policy Leadership Practical Application • OSP delegation of specific authorities requires agencies to conduct procurement through WEBS • Office of Financial Management (OFM) endorses WEBS and eliminates advertising requirements for bids posted in WEBS • Self-identified M/W vendors are captured and reported • Provide leadership in the sourcing of goods and services essential to government operations • Create data rich environment to identify spend and support strategic procurement decisions • Balance the socio-economic requirements of government

8. Where do we go from here? Lessons learned Next steps • Phased approach taking one or two key business functions at a time worked well • Frequent communication is critical to stakeholder acceptance and resulted in quick successes • Know your limits & complement project team with diverse expertise • Prioritize and set realistic expectations, measurements & outcomes • Use WEBS to promote contemporary contracting methods • Through WEBS, implement a centralized contract management system, to include: • Online bidding • Electronic bid evaluation & award • Document management • Use WEBS data to identify statewide spend to support future procurement strategies

9. Project Manager Kathy Costello (360) 902-7294 kcostel@ga.wa.gov For More Information Marketing Lead Kerry Bustetter (360) 902-0925 kbustet@ga.wa.gov Visit our website http://www.ga.wa.gov/webs/