Collaborative features in French public e-procurement

Abstract

Public e-procurement is the use of electronic means for publishing, processing, exchanging and storing all the information related to institutional purchases and provisioning in public organizations. It requires complex technological tools which must comply with legal and organizational constraints. In this paper, we analyse cooperative aspects in public purchase processes through the detailed study and the modelling of a particular purchase procedure. The obtained model is used to identify all the stages and process steps likely to be virtualized1 through the use of electronic collaborative tools. This analysis is then the basis of a critical evaluation of five major e-procurement platforms currently used in France.