Start-up BigDogg in deal to upgrade councils' software

SOFTWARE START-UP BigDogg Technologies has won a contract to develop web-based supplier sourcing technology for local authority tenders which will be used by 33 councils around the country.

The company won a tender against four other bidders for a contract worth close to €20,000. The work involves upgrading software running the local authority quotations website LAQuotes.ie. The system is due to go live in October.

This is expected to make it easier for thousands of small indigenous suppliers to do business with local councils. “It allows new companies into the market,” said Catherine Carmody, procurement officer with Kerry County Council, which is managing the project on behalf of other local authorities.

The previous LAQuotes system only covered quotations for plant hire and haulage, tool hire and supplies and services. The new system is being broadened to accommodate more categories of work.

It will also allow framework agreements where suppliers can express an interest in particular types of work and select which local authorities they want to do business with. Then, as needs arise, those councils can run mini-competitions for individual projects using pre-approved lists of suppliers.

Under the old system, suppliers had to register in October to cover the following year, potentially pricing their services uncompetitively up to 14 months in advance of when the work might take place. “Each of the suppliers gets an opportunity to come back with their best price for the job,” said Ms Carmody.

Local authorities can also combine to buy in bulk from suppliers. “This should lead to much better value for money [for county councils] and there’s much more transparency,” she added.

Kerry County Council alone spends about €5 million a year on plant hire and related services. Ms Carmody said it was too soon to say how much cost the local authorities could save through the new system, as comparative data won’t be available until next year. “Without a shadow of doubt there will be savings,” she said.

The same procurement model could also apply in other public sector areas such as education, health or central government, she added.

BigDogg’s chief operations officer Mark Scanlon said the system is designed to be user friendly, while the company uses cloud computing technology to reduce software development and services costs for customers by removing the need to have software installed at every local authority site.

Formed in 2009, BigDogg Technologies now has customers in eight countries using its procurement software. The company employs 11 staff and is on course to hire four more people by the end of the year and recently opened a second office in Galway in addition to its Dublin headquarters.