Property and Procurement Unveils New Bidding and Purchase System

Anthony Thomas, commissioner of the Department of Property and Procurement, told lawmakers on Monday that the U.S. Virgin Islands has begun utilizing an electronic procurement and government bid notification software.

The new programs allow all executive branch agencies to manage procurement-related activities in one centralized system, Thomas told a budget hearing of the V.I. Senate Finance Committee.

Thomas said Central Stores, a division within the department, has collected more than $500,000 in the year to date, but is poised to increase these earnings upon the full launch of the system in February. Within the system – which the department is calling GVIBUY – is a marketplace feature that allows buyers to shop from a collection of the territory’s contracts.

“The government will host and deploy its first marketplace shopping experience for the territory,” Thomas said. “The marketplace shopping portal will provide immediate access to Central Stores’ digital catalogue, as well as the department will have access to a larger pool of wholesale providers including those approved by the General Services Administration. We anticipate our sales will increase exponentially once the marketplace module of the e-Pro system goes live in February of 2022.”

According to a letter issued by Thomas and addressed to all government vendors, though the live launch doesn’t occur until next year, there are steps vendors should take to prepare for the transition.

The new software requires all bid solicitations, contracts, purchase orders, and invoicing be inputted through the system. To access the network, suppliers must register their business during the open registration beginning Sept. 7 and complete registration by Oct. 8.

Thomas said registration is free for suppliers and “required to continue doing business with the territory.”