Trusts believe in online trade
NHS trusts install eMarketplace system for electronic ordering
Channel partners supplying two Oxfordshire NHS trusts will receive orders electronically following the installation of an eMarketplace system.
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust have signed integrator Ukprocure to roll out the hosted system for electronic trade with their suppliers. The software, based on Oracle Exchange, is expected to go live at both trusts in April.
Ukprocure said the first phase of the roll-out will allow the trusts to develop more transparent procurement processes, reduce transaction costs and improve supplier relationships. In the second phase, the trusts will install an online invoicing system.
"Suppliers provide details of their products which are uploaded onto the system," said Adam Jacobs, commercial director at Ukprocure.
Philip Bonnier, project manager at the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust, told CRN: "The system will give us a lot of gains. Orders will go out mainly by XML, but it depends on the suppliers' back-office systems."
Bonnier claimed eMarketplace will also help ease late payment worries for resellers. "It can be used to ensure that payments are generated promptly," he said.