21 December 2006

The North West Centre of Excellence (NWCE) has created a new information sharing resource, which promises to offer "huge" savings cuts.

Named The Vault, the new procurement tool enables all councils to view the contracts held by other local authorities - potentially giving them the opportunity to identify areas where cost reductions could be made, reports PublicTechnology.net.

All contracts listed include full details - including size, duration, cost and supplier - with the database soon being available to all 46 councils in the north-west.

Olly Baker, project manager for the NWCE, commented: "The potential for local authorities to make major savings by entering The Vault are huge."

"By sharing contract information, councils can use their combined buying power to gain a better deal from suppliers."

He added that this conserved money could then be put back into the community, creating better services throughout the region.

NWCE recently announced that it would be undertaking another Bargain Hunt, which aims to provide procurement savings of £100 million for local authorities.

© Adfero Ltd

Keep up to date with industry and Nomensa news by signing up to Nomensa newsletters.