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MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER |
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Dear Purchasing Partners,
 Welcome to the Summer Edition of the Georgia Purchaser. As we stride into Fiscal Year 2009, let me congratulate all procurement professionals across the state for your cooperation and contributions in making Fiscal Year 2008 a huge success. Through increased collaboration and communication, I firmly believe we are well on our way to becoming one of the nation's premier purchasing institutions.
This issue of the Georgia Purchaser includes updates on Team Georgia Marketplace, new training opportunities, as well as legislative changes and their impact on our procurement procedures. Additionally, you get the opportunity to meet our new State Cards Program Manager Paul Kurtz. It's my sincere hope that you find this information useful and enjoyable.
Let us continue to work together to build procurement for the State of Georgia. As always, please send any comments and suggestions to purchasing@doas.ga.gov.
Best regards,
Tim Gibney
Assistant Commissioner - Procurement
Department of Administrative Services
purchasing@doas.ga.gov |
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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT |
 Meet Paul Kurtz If you haven't heard, a new State Cards Program Manager has joined the ranks: Stone Mountain-raised, Paul Kurtz. Bringing more than 16 years of retail and bankcard experience, his most recent position was as National Account Executive at the largest credit card processor in the country, Chase Paymentech. Read more>> | |
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TRAINING UPDATE |
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New Fiscal Year, New Training Opportunites
The new schedules for the first and second quarters of 2009 are already available from the SPD website. Additional training classes are being added to the schedule as we formalize the locations outside the Atlanta area. For more information on upcoming classes, check the SPD State Purchasing Course Schedules on the SPD Web site. New Writing Request for Proposals (RFPs) ClassA new training class is currently in development to teach a method for creating Request for Proposals (RFPs). Read more>>
P-card Training Course to be Available Online SPD is pleased to announce that the current P-Card training course, Introduction to Procurement-Card (P-Card) Principles, is being updated to be delivered online starting this August. Read more>>New Online Registration SystemSPD is pleased to announce the availability of its new Learning Management System (LMS) beginning this quarter. Read more>> |
| NEW INITIATIVES |
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DOAS Website Redesign Plans Underway
On Wednesday, July 2, 2008, the redesign team was given the official nod to begin an overhaul of the DOAS website, including the State Purchasing Division's (SPD) pages. Read more>>
New and Improved RFP Template Coming Soon DOAS State Purchasing is proud to announce that beginning in August, agencies will enjoy a new and improved RFP template designed to reduce cycle time and administrative costs associated with RFP solicitations. Read more>> |
| SPD PERFORMANCE |
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 State Purchasing Division Wins Acclaim
While Continuing Transformation
For an unprecedented 11th consecutive year, the DOAS State Purchasing Division has been awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Purchasing (AEP) award. The State of Georgia is the only state in the country to have won this prestigious award for 11 years running. Read more>>
A Look at SPD's Past Year...
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CHANGES IN LEGISLATION |
New Bill Brings Changes to State Procurement
Effective July 1, 2008, the passage of Senate Bill 175 has created notable changes to the state's procurement practices. Read more>>
Reformed Purchasing Card Program In Sync with New Legislation
Many are aware of the public attention the statewide purchasing card program has received in recent months. However, it is lesser known that before the report became public in October 2007, the State Purchasing Division (SPD) had already been hard at work overhauling the state purchasing program on many levels. Read more>> |
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TEAM GEORGIA MARKETPLACE UPDATE |
Design and Development Continues...
Having reached the milestone of a completed Planning and Analysis phase back in May, the project team (which includes state agency and vendor partners) continues towards their September 2008 goal for the completion of design and development of Team Georgia Marketplace. Progress is steady, as catalog management duties were completed at the June projected date and all other design and development duties are in full swing. At the close of this phase, it is expected that the project team will have a fully configured system with training manuals drafted, so that prepped trainers can assist in system testing this fall and live deployment in January 2009. The Department of Administrative Services, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Human Resources, will participate in the pilot program; plans for the statewide rollout are underway and will be completed in the spring. Team Georgia Marketplace is the result of a statewide Procurement Transformation Initiative launched by Governor Perdue in 2005. The initiative's purpose is to update and improve the practices, capacity, information tracking, and technology of procurement for state agencies. Ideally, Team Georgia Marketplace will ensure better data tracking and customer collaboration to better meet the enterprise needs of public purchasing across the state. View its core function, user benefits and project progress. ▄ |
| STATEWIDE CONTRACTS UPDATE |
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Coming Soon! Easier Access to Statewide Contract Goods and Services
The Department of Administrative Services is proud to announce that through a competitive bid, SciQuest will provide electronic catalog hosting and management services for use with statewide contracts as well as agency contracts, at the discretion of the agency. Read more>> |
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DOAS IN THE LOCAL NEWS |
 Harmless Name Calling and Friendly Competition
Hightlight the DOAS Weight Challenge
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| A FRIENDLY REMINDER... |
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Ways to Save with the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Statewide Contract
State employees have been saving time and money using the Enterprise Rent-A-Car statewide contract (SWC) for business travel since the spring of 2007. Here are some time-tested ways to stretch your dollar even further:
- When appropriate, use the one-way rental option. Round-trip rentals are not required. State employees can combine ridesharing with the rental of their vehicle, at no extra charge.
- Have your vehicle sent to your home. For the most part, Enterprise can deliver the vehicle to your home, if you cannot practically begin your trip from your workplace.
- Use the cost-efficiency tool. Make it a regular practice to evaluate the use of your personal vehicle for business use versus the use of a rental vehicle by using the cost-efficiency tool available at http://ssl.doas.state.ga.us/vehcostcomp/
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Statewide Contract boasts a range of conveniences including a wide variety of newer vehicles, real-time reservation confirmation, options to customize with online reservation, and roadside assistance availability. Details about the contract, including terms and conditions, pricing information, vendor contact information, and instructions for using the contract, are available on the State Purchasing web site. ▄ | |
