The e-procurement system, was launched by the government’s automated system IFMIS, last year to enhance efficiency in planning, budgeting, procurement, expenditure management and reporting in the National and county governments in Kenya.
IFMIS aims at promoting openness and accountability in the use of public money, hence increasing transparency and cutting costs thus making Kenya more attractive for inward investment.
Here is a step by step process showing how IFMIS works to manage suppliers, requisitions, quotations, contracts and receipts which have been moved online for a more cost efficient transaction:
- The requestor creates a requisition on behalf of the user department using the item master against the procurement plan. He then runs fund to check funds that are available in General Ledger module then submit the requisition for approval to his/her AIE holder.
- The AIE who receives the notification of requisition needing approval, confirms the validity of the request for approval, forwards, rejects, reassigns or requests for more information. A procurement officer creates a quotation request from the approved requisition by filling in the selected procurement method, lines detail, controls and suppliers lists, and sends the quotation to the Head of procurement for approval.
- The head of supply chains receives the notification, reviews the quotation and approves.
- The quotations are published to the supplier through the supplier portal. Supplier also receives notifications from the procuring unit through the Kenya supplier Portal before the closing day.
- The system automatically locks the suppliers from submitting more responses once the time set for submission expires.
- Procurement tendering committee begins the process of opening suppliers’ responses online. The Evaluation committee on the other hand ,evaluate the responses through preliminary evaluation which could be a yes or no, Technical evaluation ,where supplier needs a minimum score of 3 to go through this step and finally, a commercial evaluation where a minimum of 3 unsealers are required to unseal the best price from the suppliers.
- The procurement tender decides on whom to award the tender based on the technical and commercial evaluation and sends to the Head of Procurement who approve and the award is notified.
- An order is made from the approved award and a purchase order is made, the Chief finance Officer verifies the charge account and approves the order too, and the final approval by the Head of Procurement is done.
- The supplier receives an online order through the Kenya Supplier Portal for acknowledgement. The supplier can then deliver his/her goods and services.
- The Inspection committee receives and inspects goods and attaches an inspection report. Invoice is prepared to match with the order amount.
- The first invoice approval is done by the AIE and the final one done by the Head of Accounting. Payments to the supplier is then processed online through EFT,and funds are transferred to the suppliers specified account and notified of his/her payment through the Kenya supplier Portal.