RESTRICTED
GENERAL AGREEMENT GPA/IC/W/7/Add.4
7November 1994
ONTARIFFS AND TRADE
(94-2346)
Original: English Interim Committee onGovernment Procurement
QUESTIONNAIRE ONINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Response bytheEuropean Union
Theattached communication contains thereplies from thedelegation oftheEuropean Union
tothequestionnaire onInformation Technology inGovernment Procurement contained in
document GPA/IC/W/4/Rev.1, dated 16September 1994.GPA/IC/W/7/Add.4
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Replies received from theEuropean Union
Inreplying tothequestions setoutindocument GPA/IC/W/4/Rev.1, itisuseful toidentify
twobroad categories ofuseofinformation technology (IT)intheareaofpublic procurement:
- simple databases which "listgovernment procurement opportunities"; and
- useofITforthecarrying outofasignificant partoftheprocurement process, going
beyond dissemination ofopportunities toinclude suchelements asdemand andreceipt
ofdocumentationandspecifications,tendersubmission,invoicing.Theterm"electronic
commerce" would more appropriately apply tothissecond category.
AttheEuropean Union level, wewould currently beplaced inthefirstofthese twocategories.
Some ofthequestions setoutinthedocument (e.g.question 1)refertobothofthese categories. In
order toensure clarity inourresponses wewillanswer thequestions inthefollowing structure:
A. Question 6andthose partsofquestions 1to5relevant toourdatabase onprocurement
opportunities;
B. Asummary ofplanned developments andenhancements involving thedatabase system
described under A;and
C. Finally, some information on"electronic commerce".
A. Question 6
6. Forthose delegations whouseadatabase which listsgovernment procurement opportunities:
(i) What isthename ofthisdatabase?
Thename ofthedatabase isTenders Electronic Daily (TED).
(ii) Howlonghasthedatabase beenoperational andhowmany suppliers usethedatabase?
TEDhasbeenoperationalsince1988andhasapproximately5,000users.Theseinclude
suppliers,informationbrokersandournetworkofEuropeanInformationCentres(EICs).
Thefinalinformation-userpopulationisthereforedifficulttoquantifybutisfarinexcess
of5,000.
(iii) Isafeecharged tosuppliers using thissystem? Ifso,howmuch, andwhatisincluded
inthefee?
There isacharge forusing thesystem. Examples ofcharging ratesare:ECU 600
(approx. SDR 540)perhourorECU 0.8pernotice.GPA/IC/W/7/Add.4
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(iv) Cansuppliers obtain tender documentation electronically? Ifso,how?
No,suppliers cannot obtain tender documentation electronically.
(v) How isinformation onthedatabase organized?
Theinformation oneachnotice isheldonthedatabase intextformat. However, a
largeamount ofkeyinformation foreachnotice isheldinseparately searchable fields.
Thisallows, among others, definition ofsearch strategies broken down bytypeof
contract (supplies/construction/services), by"product", bytypeofpurchasing entity
(central, utilities, etc.), byGATT/non-GATT covered, bygeographical location, by
name ofcontracting entity, bysubmission deadlines; bypublication date. Having
narrowed asearch using some oftheabove strategies, theentire textofthenotices
selected canalsobesubmitted toakeyword search, fullortruncated.
(vi) Does thedatabase offer anyother features?
AnMSWindows-based graphical userinterface hasbeendeveloped andiscurrently
being tested.
(vii) What istheapproximate number ofprocurement opportunities listed onthedatabase
annually?
There were approximately 50,000 procurement opportunities listed in1993 andthis
figure isgrowing annually.
(viii) Isthesystem managed bythegovernment oraprivate company?
Thesystem ismanaged bytheEuropean Commission (Office ofPublications).
A. Question 1
1. Could delegations giveabriefdescription ofanystepstaken orplanned tointroduce information
technology (electronic commerce) intopublic procurement? Ifso,doesthiscover contracts which
arecovered under theAgreement presently inforce, orunder thenewly-signed Agreement? Atall
levels ofgovernment? Intheevent thatdelegations arenotconsidering introducing information
technology intopublic procurement, could theyexplain thereasons?
TheTEDsystem covers allcontracts coming under theterms oftheEU'sDirectives onpublic
procurement, therefore covers alllevels ofgovernment andcaters forboththecurrent andnewly-signed
Agreement.
A. Question 2
2. What function(s) would information technology serve insuchsystems andwhowillbetheusers?
Themainfunction ofTEDistoallow suppliers tobecome aware ofprocurement opportunities
inaformat otherthanpaper-based. Thesystem isalsousedforsurveillance andmarket analysis although
itisnotprincipally geared forthese purposes andtherefore doesnotatpresent lenditself easily to
suchuse.GPA/IC/W/7/Add.4
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Users oftheTEDinclude suppliers, information brokers, contracting entities andsupervisory
authorities.
A. Question 3
3. Could delegations describe thetechnical aspects ofthesystems inuseorplanned? Inparticular
asregards infrastructure/hardware-software anditsoptions/standards?
TED isbuiltonSiemens hardware using DIMDI asitsdatabase management system.
A. Question 4
4. Could delegations describe anylimitations affecting access toinformation available inasystem?
Howwideispotential access tointerested suppliers? What aretheaccess possibilities forsuppliers
ofother signatory countries? What possible obstacles toaccess might arise forsuppliers inother
signatory countries?
Potential access tothesystem isworldwide. There arenoreallimitations toaccess butefficient
useofthesystem isclearly dependent upon familiarity withquery commands andsearch strategies.
(Ausermanual isavailable tosubscribers.) TheMSWindows interface, withitsquery forms and
on-line help, willgreatly simplify useofthesystem.
Suppliers (orinformation brokers), bothdomestic andforeign, canaccess thedatabase viathe
public switched network (X25) connecting toaNetwork UserAddress.
B. Summary ofPlanned Developments
UndertheprojecttitleSIMAP(Systèmed'InformationsMarchésPublics),thefollowinginitiatives
areeither under wayorsoontobeundertaken atEUlevelwhich willenhance thecurrent TEDsystem:
1. development ofaPC-based software withgraphical userinterface andcontextual on-line help
forthecontrolled dataentryofinformation contained onstandard public procurement notices -so-called
"electronic forms".
2. development ofEDIFACT messages, according towhich thedatacontained onthe"electronic
forms"willbestructured,readytobetransmittedtothedesignatedreceivingsystem-theSIMAPCentral
Unit.
3. development ofE-mail service fortransmission oftheEDIFACT electronic forms totheSIMAP
Central Unit.
4. development ofapplication software running ontheSIMAP Central Unit, forthecentral
processing ofthedatacontained ontheelectronic forms.
5. pilotrunning, atEUlevel, ofthenotification system outlined at1to4above.
6. development ofasimple search andretrieval tooltobeusedasuser-friendly "link through"
software foraccessing hosts containing dataon"below threshold" contracts aswellasforaccessing
TED.
7. pilotrunning ofthedevelopment described at6above.GPA/IC/W/7/Add.4
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8. carrying outofafeasibility study todetermine potential ways ofstimulating/providing access
todatabases containing general information onpublic procurement -e.g.legal rules, standards,
qualification systems.
C. Electronic Commerce
Whileaverysmallnumberofprivatesectorinitiativesofvariouslevelsofsophisticationcovering
individual sectors suchaselectricity generation anddistribution haverecently beendeveloped, nothing
yetexists attheEUlevelwhich isinanywaycomparable totheUSElectronic Commerce initiative.
However, recognizing theimportance ofthissubject, theEUCommission islaunching a
comprehensive study covering worldwide developments inthefield. Theresults ofthisstudy will
beusedasabasisfordeciding thebestwayofencouraging andassisting thedevelopment ofelectronic
commerce inanenvironment accessible toallthose wishing todobusiness inthegovernment
procurement market.