Maryland Launches eProcurement Portal With Nitor, Ivalua

Portal-eases-state-purchases

The state of Maryland has launched a new eProcurement system for the Maryland Department of General Services following a collaboration with source-to-pay and eProcurement FinTechs.

In a press release Tuesday (July 30), source-to-pay solution provider Nitor and spend management firm Ivalua said their work with the Maryland Department of General Services has led to the successful launch of the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA) system. The solution, powered by the Ivalua platform, allows state government buyers to collaborate with vendors, manage the bidding and contracting process, and facilitate purchases.

“Vendors will benefit from this easy-to-use, single access point to review and participate in sourcing opportunities across the state,” said the state of Maryland’s Senior Procurement Executive Robert Gleason in a statement. “Our vendors are essential partners in Maryland’s success, and we want to ensure they have every opportunity to make full use of the eMMA system’s range of capabilities so we can enable fair, open and efficient access to all public business opportunities in Maryland.”

Nitor is providing oversight of implement and adoption of eMMA across the state in collaboration with Maryland’s Department of General Services, the companies noted. The platform will be available for use by state agencies, local governments, municipalities, and various players within the education and school system.

“With the successful launch of eMMA release 1.0, State of Maryland suppliers and procurement professionals have an easy-to-use tool to manage and participate in state-wide sourcing events,” explained Nitor Principal Jaideep Mulchandani in another statement.

Ivalua has led the rollout of other government procurement systems for Ohio, Arizona, New York and Canada, the company noted.

In a recent interview with PYMNTS, Periscope Holdings  President and CEO Brian Utley said that technology is essential to digitizing government procurement while ensuring that platforms remain compliant and transparent. That’s led private sector firms like Amazon to step in but may risk “trying to squeeze a private sector solution into a public sector transparent environment,” he said.