Changes to Zanzibar public sector agreement should benefit smaller resellers

Resellers selling into the public sector should find it easier to compete against large rivals under changes made to the Zanzibar Supplier Agreement.

The Office of Government Commerce and ProcServe have enhanced the procurement process focusing tenders on a value for money basis as well as changing the supplier agreement to provide greater chances for smaller resellers.

In a statement, Robert Knapman, director of ecommerce at OGC buying solutions, said that the supplier agreement had been a barrier to entry for some potential players because "it led to higher insurance costs for suppliers and may have discriminated against smaller suppliers".

He added that the government had issued guidance about opening up contracts for competition and these changes also matched those requirements.

ProcServe has helped build the online system that links public sector organisations with the chance to buy services and products that are designed to be the best value for taxpayers.

In the past there has been criticism voiced by resellers trying to sell into the various strands of the public sector that only large incumbent suppliers tended to get through the tender process.

When projects have run into trouble, most recently with the NHS, the channel has been vocal about the service it could have offered as an alternative.