GTY Technology’s Bonfire Procurement Software Digitizes $1.8 Billion in Vendor Contracts For Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA)

GLWA team uses Bonfire to improve procurement transparency and vendor relations

Bonfire Interactive Ltd. (“Bonfire”), a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in strategic sourcing and procurement software, reports that The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is utilizing Bonfire Procurement Software for Utilities to digitally manage $1.8 billion in contracts. The solution enables GLWA to provide transparency and improved communications to all stakeholders including over 2,400 vendors and numerous internal and external evaluators. Watch video here.

“GLWA had strong procurement processes already in place, they just needed a way to execute efficiently without flipping those processes upside down”

GLWA is one of the leading providers of water and wastewater services in the United States, supplying water services to nearly 40 percent of the state’s population, and wastewater service to nearly 30 percent of the Michigan population. The GLWA procurement team works with between four and eight evaluators for each project to award contracts spanning professional services, engineering services, maintenance services, and construction. Before Bonfire was implemented, all procurement activities at GLWA were completed through complex paper and Excel-based processes.

“Previously, we completed all of our procurements through paper, which was painstakingly difficult,” said Sonya Collins, Interim Procurement Director at GLWA. “Now, Bonfire does most of the analysis work for us and has helped to reduce the evaluation phase from an average of 18 days down to an average of 6 days, generating faster results for our customers.” Also, as our process is now digital, we can easily provide visibility of projects and contracts to our vendor community. That transparency is crucial for a public organization like ours.”

GLWA launched Bonfire in 2017, with Sonya Collins leading the implementation across a department of 25 team members. The Authority ran its first RFP in Bonfire within two weeks of gaining access to the platform. Bonfire empowered GLWA with the ability to provide stakeholders with meaningful insights, stay ahead of contract renewals, and ensure vendors and evaluators were engaged in the procurement process. When evaluating procurement software solutions, GLWA considered criteria such as ease of use, data reportability, transparency, and the provider’s customer service capability.

“GLWA had strong procurement processes already in place, they just needed a way to execute efficiently without flipping those processes upside down,” said Corry Flatt, CEO at Bonfire. “Working with GLWA, it’s obvious they genuinely care about their vendor community and were cautious of the impact that technology can have - it’s not often that organizations embrace software with the goal of bettering stakeholder relationships, but GLWA did so to provide clear communication, transparency, and data insights.”

Watch this video to learn how GLWA has digitized their procurement process, improved vendor relations, and digitized over $1.8 billion in vendor contracts.

SOURCE BUSINESS WIRE

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Taxonomy

• Procurement