Boosting the local economy

Toowoomba Regional Council is introducing a new electronic process to ensure money being spent within the region goes straight to local vendors.

General Manager Finance and Business Strategy Arun Pratap said the eProcurement process was designed to boost the local economy and drive business to local suppliers.

“The Toowoomba Region is thriving at the moment and as a Council we want to make sure the majority of the money being spent on products and services is injected directly back in to the local economy,” he said.

“In Australia, Local Government Councils spend about $20 billion a year and through VendorPanel Marketplace we will be able to promote this money staying within the region.

“At Council we already have a preferred supplier’s list which we use but we are hoping to grow this further by offering an electronic way vendors can sign up.”

VendorPanel Marketplace is a centralised online purchasing system which enables Council employees to directly contact local suppliers for quotations.

Toowoomba Regional Council is looking for all local traders – be it a café, handyman, electrician or cleaning service to register their business details on VendorPanel Marketplace so Council has access to a wide breadth of suppliers they can approach for quotations on upcoming work.

CEO and Founder of VendorPanel James Leathem said, “For Toowoomba Regional Council it’s a way to efficiently administer the request for quotation process with complete transparency and compliance.”

“For businesses, it’s opening up another source to generate potential sales opportunities.

“When Council has the need for any products or services, they will be able to search, nominate and invite local suppliers registered on the system.

“In turn, businesses will receive an email notification informing them they have been invited to submit a quote. All they need to do is log in for details and then upload their quotation. It’s simple and it’s free.”

VendorPanel Marketplace is powered by the award-winning VendorPanel technology, which Toowoomba Regional Council is already using to manage panels of preferred suppliers.

Local businesses can register via the VendorPanel website – www.marketplace.vendorpanel.com 

General Manager Finance and Business Strategy Arun Pratap said this was an exciting initiative introduced by Council and one designed to benefit local suppliers in this region.

“As such, the benefits of VendorPanel will be a hot topic in upcoming local supplier information sessions scheduled to occur prior to Christmas,” he said.

A local supplier information night will be held on Tuesday 4 December 2018 at 6pm in The Annex, at the back of the City Hall building at 541 Ruthven Street. To register your interest in this event, contact Council on 131 872.

For more information call Toowoomba Regional Council on 131 872 or VendorPanel directly on (03) 9095 6181.