PPC Reaping Rewards with PEDMS

The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) says it is reaping rewards with the successful implementation of the Procurement Endorsement Database Management System (PEDMS).

“In the past, people had to call and say how far is the processing in my application. Now the system allows them to track it as it moves from one phase to the next,” said Senior Director for the Procurement, Management and Compliance Branch (PCMB), Kerry-Ann Henry Douglas.

The PEDMS is a cutting-edge, centralised, web-based platform that has significantly enhanced the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the procurement endorsement process in government. It allows procuring entity users, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to submit requests for procurement contracts above a certain threshold to the PPC.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on March 24, Mrs. Henry Douglas said PEDMS allows procuring entities to track their applications in real time.

Additionally, the system facilitates seamless communication between procuring entities and the PPC’s reviewing officers, ensuring a more streamlined process.

The platform also boasts advanced reporting capabilities, which Mrs. Henry Douglas said have enhanced their auditing capabilities.

“The system has the ability to generate reports and, also, it improves our auditing capabilities and facilitates us doing data analysis and trend analysis to inform the improvement of the system and our processes and also to inform our stakeholder engagement initiatives,” Mrs. Henry Douglas said.

Notable among the successes is the remarkable reduction in approval turnaround time for procurement submissions by the MDAs.

“In the past we were like eight weeks. As of PEDMS, we have significantly reduced it to below two weeks, or averaging at two weeks for our approval,” Mrs. Henry Douglas said.

She noted that they have also received great feedback from its users, with many saying it is user-friendly.

Despite the system’s success, the PPC remains committed to continuous improvement and integration with other critical procurement platforms.

“We are still seeking and continuously improving on the system and facilitating integration between our system and the system that is used for the contractor and consultant performance evaluation, as well as GoJEP.

(Government of Jamaica Electronic Procurement), to reduce the redundancy of providing the same information throughout GOJ to further improving the whole GOJ procurement process,” she said.

Over the years, the PPC has seen a significant increase in the value of the contracts that it has awarded or approved. For example, up to 2022 the figure stood at $38 billion, and as of last year that has doubled to $78 billion.