The world`s first smart card and Internet-based electronic tendering system will be used in a pilot scheme for government contracts.
A six-month trial of the system run by the Royal Bank of Scotland, using technology from Trust-Marque International, is expected to start in June. If successful, it will be rolled out under a four-year contract across most central government departments and agencies.
The trial, on behalf of the Office for Government Commerce (OGC), involves nine government departments, including the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Inland Revenue.
It is expected to save government about lb13 million over the four years and reduce suppliers` tendering costs by lb37 million.
The Internet-based system, called OGC TenderTrust, uses standard X.509 banking-strength digital certificates issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The key benefits are a reduction in the paper trail and an improvement in management information. Charles Gibbs, head of e-trust services at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said suppliers would receive details of tenders on their desktops and would then return their bids in a secure, encrypted format.
TrustMarque CEO, John Williams, said: "TenderTrust takes traditional tendering to a new level - it demonstrates how leading-edge technology can change the face of trusted business transactions."
Peter Gershon, OGC chief executive, said: "This project gives the UK government the opportunity to be at the very forefront of the development of electronic tendering."
The OGC was set up in April last year with a brief to save lb1 billion a year on commercial activities. It has got off to a stuttering start.
In 2000, the Modernising Government white paper said that 90% of government procurement should be electronic by March 2001.
The target was later changed to 90% of "low value" procurement, with the aim of 100% of procurement by civil central government being tendered electronically by 2002.
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