Challenges of e-procurement: a case study of JICA assisted Northern Bangladesh Integrated Development Project (NOBIDEP) under Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).

Abstract

Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works or services through externally sourcing. In sourcing, the needs of the organization for goods, works or services including requirement definition, identification of potential suppliers, schedule of requirement etc. are taken into account. E-procurement is the acquiring of goods, works or services through on-line bidding from potential suppliers. Public procurement means procurement using public funds. Public procurement systems in Bangladesh has been evolved, modified and developed over time. Chronologically milestones of the processes are PPR 2003, PPA 2006 & PPR-2008. E-GP system is launched in Bangladesh by the year 2011 which results public procurement more accessible, fair, transparent and efficient. Objective of this paper is to identify the challenges of e-GP through a case study of JICA assisted NOBIDEP project implemented by LGED and recommends measures to be adopted by the concern stakeholders in their arenas. For this purpose, a Questionnaire survey has been conductedamong the different stakeholders of LGED, bidders’ community& others in collecting primary data. Besides, Key Informant Interview has been carried out to collect valuable opinions of some senior officials; their perception regarding the challenges of e-Procurement and suitable suggestions to overcome negative impacts. The summary of each chapter is summarized below: The Chapter One termed as Introduction illustratesthe background of e-GP system in Bangladesh covering public procurement reform and the evolution of e-GP system. The Chapter Two titled as Literature Review explains the worldwide e-procurement issues like its adoption, operations, benefits, challenge & risks etc. It also explains how e-GP in Bangladesh weregradually adopted and become successful with special attention to LGED, Bangladesh. The Chapter Three Titled as Methodology of study describes how the study was carried out including coverage area, sample size and data collection using the designed questionnaire.The Chapter Four Termed as Data Analysis represents the data gathered from different respondents in bar diagrams using excel spread-sheet. The bar diagrams are selfexplanatory. The Chapter Five Tilled as Findings illustrates E-GP related issues like internet connectivity, internet speed, power availability, user friendliness, Knowledge & expertize of the personnel handling the programme, suitability of different time frame for conducting the procurement activities, confidentiality and risks etc. Finally, the Chapter Six terming as Conclusion & Recommendation includes conclusions about the different challenges of e-Procurement and a set of recommendations that different Organizations and Government could do to overcome those challenges.