AUSTIN, TEXAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Bonfire Interactive Ltd. (“Bonfire”), a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in strategic sourcing and procurement software, reports that The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is utilizing Bonfire Procurement Software for Utilities to digitally manage $1.8 billion in contracts. The solution enables GLWA to provide transparency and improved communications to all stakeholders including over 2,400 vendors and numerous internal and external evaluators. Watch video here.
GLWA is one of the leading providers of water and wastewater services in the United States, supplying water services to nearly 40 percent of the state’s population, and wastewater service to nearly 30 percent of the Michigan population. The GLWA procurement team works with between four and eight evaluators for each project to award contracts spanning professional services, engineering services, maintenance services, and construction. Before Bonfire was implemented, all procurement activities at GLWA were completed through complex paper and Excel-based processes.
“Previously, we completed all of our procurements through paper, which was painstakingly difficult,” said Sonya Collins, Interim Procurement Director at GLWA. “Now, Bonfire does most of the analysis work for us and has helped to reduce the evaluation phase from an average of 18 days down to an average of 6 days, generating faster results for our customers.” Also, as our process is now digital, we can easily provide visibility of projects and contracts to our vendor community. That transparency is crucial for a public organization like ours.”
GLWA launched Bonfire in 2017, with Sonya Collins leading the implementation across a department of 25 team members. The Authority ran its first RFP in Bonfire within two weeks of gaining access to the platform. Bonfire empowered GLWA with the ability to provide stakeholders with meaningful insights, stay ahead of contract renewals, and ensure vendors and evaluators were engaged in the procurement process. When evaluating procurement software solutions, GLWA considered criteria such as ease of use, data reportability, transparency, and the provider’s customer service capability.
“GLWA had strong procurement processes already in place, they just needed a way to execute efficiently without flipping those processes upside down,” said Corry Flatt, CEO at Bonfire. “Working with GLWA, it’s obvious they genuinely care about their vendor community and were cautious of the impact that technology can have – it’s not often that organizations embrace software with the goal of bettering stakeholder relationships, but GLWA did so to provide clear communication, transparency, and data insights.”
Watch this video to learn how GLWA has digitized their procurement process, improved vendor relations, and digitized over $1.8 billion in vendor contracts.
About the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA)
The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is the provider-of-choice for drinking water services to nearly 40 percent and efficient and effective wastewater services to nearly 30 percent of Michigan’s population. With the Great Lakes as source water, GLWA is uniquely positioned to provide those it serves with water of unquestionable quality. GLWA also has the capacity to extend its services beyond its 88 member partner communities. As part of its commitment to water affordability, the Authority offers a Water Residential Assistance Program to assist low-income households in participating member communities throughout the system. GLWA’s board includes one representative each from Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, two representatives from the city of Detroit and one appointed by the Michigan governor to represent customer communities outside of the tri-county area.
About Bonfire Interactive Inc.
Bonfire Interactive Inc. (“Bonfire”) is a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in strategic sourcing and procurement software. Bonfire empowers organizations to find the right vendors and make the right purchasing decisions with ease and confidence. With tools to support the entire vendor lifecycle (sourcing, contract management, and vendor performance), Bonfire goes beyond traditional mechanics of standard procurement suites to make complex decision-making easy. The combination of flexible technology and world-class customer service makes Bonfire the solution of choice for both public and private sector organizations. Bonfire is an award-winning solution recognized by industry-leading outlets including Gartner, GovTech, SpendMatters, Best in SaaS, and the International Business Awards.
About GTY Technology Holdings Inc.
GTY Technology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GTYH) (“GTY”) brings leading public sector technology companies together to achieve a new standard in stakeholder engagement and resource management. Through its six business units, GTY offers an intuitive cloud-based suite of solutions for state and local governments, education institutions, and healthcare organizations spanning functions in procurement, payments, grant management, budgeting, and permitting: Bonfire provides strategic sourcing and procurement software to enable confident and compliant spending decisions; CityBase provides government payment solutions to connect constituents with utilities and government agencies; eCivis offers a grant management system to maximize grant revenues and track performance; Open Counter provides government payment software to guide applicants through complex permitting and licensing procedures; Questica offers budget preparation and management software to deliver on financial and non-financial strategic objectives; Sherpa provides public sector budgeting software and consulting services.
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