Montgomery County Launches Vendor Innovation Portal
As a part of Small Business Month, The Montgomery County Office of Procurement has launched a new website to help local vendors connect with County departments at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/PRO/vendor-resources/VIP.html
According to the website, the Vendor Innovation Portal is to help encourage innovation and finding the best value solutions to the challenges faced in government purchasing.
For Immediate Release: Monday, May 3, 2021
To recognize Small Business Month in May, the Montgomery County Office of Procurement is launching a new web-based service to connect vendors with County departments. The Vendor Innovation Portal (VIP) will allow businesses to introduce their company and connect with the most appropriate contacts in the County that could best utilize their goods or services. This initiative is a positive step in encouraging innovation and finding best value solutions to the challenges faced in government purchasing. Vendors can access the portal here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/PRO/vendor-resources/VIP.html.
“Vendors frequently contact me with innovative ideas that would not only improve outcomes like environmental impact, but they could also save the county money.” said Chief Procurement Officer and Office of Procurement Director Ash Shetty. “The Vendor Innovation Portal provides more opportunities for businesses in our supply pool to communicate directly with the relevant County departments.”
The Office of Procurement has created several recent initiatives to help small businesses. As of April 1, 2021, the director designated all informal solicitations under the Local Small Business Reserve Program.
The Local Business Preference Program (LBPP) went into effect in August 2020. LBPP requires a 10 percent price preference for a local business bidding on an Invitation for Bid or an evaluation factor worth 10 percent of the total points for a local business submitting a proposal under an RFP for a contract awarded by the County.
“The success of these programs is dependent on vendor participation. I always encourage businesses to register in our vendor database and research the procurement process either via the videos on our brand-new website or during one of our open houses,” said Director Shetty. To learn more about all of the local business programs, visit the Procurement website www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pro.
Learn more about the portal and other procurement programs at the next Economic Revitalization & Recovery Town Hall, hosted by Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Jerome Fletcher on Friday, May 14, 2021 from 12 – 1 p.m. on Zoom. The theme will be “Increasing Communication in the Procurement Community.” Mr. Fletcher will be joined by Mr. Shetty to discuss the Vendor Innovation Portal. The Zoom link will be posted on www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pro.
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