Cronin Spotlight

Imagine if both vendors and state procurement officials could access everything related to the procurement process at any time, from anywhere, using any smart device or tablet.  Now imagine if you also had full functionality and complete capabilities along with that access.

In Virigina, the eVA Mobile has made this a reality.

Virginia took home the honor of NASPO’s Gold Cronin Award with the eVA Mobile Apps. eVA Mobile Apps – eVA Mobile 4 Business and eVA Mobile 4 Approvers – empowers users by bringing the bidding process to their fingertips and allows approvers to have real-time access to requisitions. These innovative apps provide a fast, secure and easy way to conduct thorough reviews of solicitations and keep the purchase process moving from the convenience of a mobile device while also increasing efficiency.

Bob Sievert from the Commonwealth of Virginia, recently presented eVA Mobile Apps as a part of the Cronin webinar series. This cloud based, software as a service eProcurement system hosted by CGI and used by 245 agencies, colleges and universities, 600+ local governments by around 13,700 users.  The system handles more than 15,000 solicitations in a year.

“eVa gives us the capabilities to do a full range of procurement functions on the vendor side and the buyer side through software as a service,” said Seivert, who serves as the Director of e-Procurement for the Commonwealth of Virigina.
Functions include requisitioning, approvals, ordering, sourcing, secure online bidding, receiving, vendor registration, public transparency, public access to all data and more.

“We didn’t want to build a mobile app just to say, ‘cool – we built something.’  We wanted something to bring additional value to this concept of eProcurement.  We wanted anytime access and a way to act on it so you didn’t have to wait to get back to the office.”

“It also helps level the playing field. Everyone has access to smart phones, not just the big companies. More access means more participation and competition.” explained Sievert.  “For the state, it also means faster approvals and faster procurements.  The workforce is more mobile and this helps us be more competitive.”

To learn more about eVA, you can watch the previously recorded webinar here.   Additionally, you can contact Department of General Services Division of Purchase and Supply at 804.786.3846.

Every year the top five finalist of the NASPO Cronin Awards present their winning nomination to the NASPO members to share what they have learned with their peers. Please join NASPO for these free webinars and you can also receive UPPCC certification credit for your full participation. Recordings of previously held webinars and registrations for upcoming Cronin Finalist webinars are available at NASPO.org.