City of Inverness, Fla., Takes Procurement Online

Local governments in Florida are utilizing a Web-based technology to purchase goods and services -- saving taxpayer money and leveling the playing field for local businesses.Recently, the city of Inverness started using the DemandStar e-procurement system. Now the city can post its bids and requests for quotes online, saving staff time and reducing purchasing costs.

Historically, government purchasing professionals had to create databases of potential bidders based on past bids, copy lengthy bid documents, and hand mail them to potential suppliers. Today, with DemandStar, the city of Inverness notifies all interested suppliers via email or fax when a bid opportunity is available. Suppliers can sign up for an annual subscription, starting at $20 per county, per year and print the bid specifications or respond to quotes right from their computer. This subscription includes automatic bid and quote notifications for all agencies using DemandStar, which locally includes Citrus County. Additional agencies in the region using DemandStar include city of Dunnellon, city of Ocala Central Purchasing, Marion County Purchasing, city of Chiefland and Southwest Florida Water Management District.