G-Cloud email slip-up reveals supplier info

G-Cloud apologises and blames human error for message which included all 347 suppliers' details in 'send to' field

G-Cloud has insisted that confidential details leaked to suppliers are not an indication of which companies will win a place on the third iteration of the framework.

Yesterday evening, an email to suppliers seen by CRN mistakenly revealed the identities of all 347 firms hoping to secure a place on the framework by including all email addresses in the "send to" field.

This meant that suppliers could see all the companies' names and, in some cases, personal email addresses of those involved in the process.

The message in question thanked suppliers for submitting an interest in G-Cloud III and gave details on the eSourcing suite which is used in the tendering process. It also provided information on other procurement tools made available to suppliers.

G-Cloud III, which launched on 14 January, aims to streamline the procurement process and give greater choice to buyers. On its launch, the Government Procurement Service (GPS) claimed the third iteration of G-Cloud was the best yet as it was tweaked according to supplier feedback.

Framework agreements for G-Cloud III are expected in March.

In a follow-up email sent to suppliers within an hour of the original, G-Cloud assured suppliers that the details included in the email are no indication of who will win a place on the framework.

G-Cloud apologised for the mistake, putting it down to human error and said it should never have happened.

The email added: "Please be assured we do not share supplier information and this will be picked up internally. The email addresses held within the email are of no indication to who will be on the framework as the procurement is still under way, this is simply a process we follow to encourage potential suppliers to register on the system.

"Again apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused."

GPS and G-Cloud were unavailable to comment further at the time of publication.

One of the suppliers whose details were shared on the email said he was not surprised with the slip-up, and that it shows government procurement has not moved with the times.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "G-Cloud's communications have been typically governmental along the way – clunky and overly convoluted. This basic slip-up is just another example. The portals and processes are very unintuitive and the whole [idea] of G-Cloud and government procurement being moved into the 21st century is a PR parade.

"I wonder how much taxpayer money has been spent on all this so that the powers that be can tick some boxes."