Frequently Asked Questions.

Background

The Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) at National Treasury, in partnership with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), has embarked on an initiative to introduce modernisation measures to the procurement landscape within Government through the use of technology.

SITA is mandated in accordance with Section 7 of the State Information Technology Agency Act No. 88 of 1998 to render Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services to government departments, and to act as the procurement agency of the Government. A number of technological SCM innovations have been phased in since 2015, including the Central Supplier Database, eTender Portal and gCommerce.

SITA, as the technology implementation partner of government has been tasked to rollout the gCommerce platform to support the modernisation and automation of the SCM reforms programme.

gCommerce is a government owned, managed and supported source-to-pay solution that is aligned to the SCM legislative prescripts in support of the government-wide SCM reform initiative aimed at modernising, simplifying, standardising and automating SCM functions across all spheres of government.

The following modules are available:
  • BuySite
  • Transversal Sourcing Panel
  • Procurement Planning
  • Supplier Management
  • Contract Management
  • Asset Management
  • Item Master Management
  • Catalogue Management
  • Requisitions Management
  • Purchase Order Management
  • Quotations
  • Bids
  • eTender
  • eAuctions
  • Stores and Warehouse Management
  • Reporting
The solution has various benefits to suppliers. These include:
  • A single portal for suppliers to obtain bids, quotes and purchase orders
  • Secure electronic submissions of bids (or in hard copy format) including electronic receipt, alerts etc.
  • Ease of use
  • Reduced cost i.e. preparation costs etc.

SITA Application Training will be responsible for equipping end-users with system knowledge and skills required by end-users to effectively use the system in carrying out their day to day work.

Classroom based training with assessments at the end of the training will be presented to all end-users countrywide.

The training will be role based. This will allow for a specific group of users to attend training according to their assigned roles and responsibilities within the organisation.

Users are encouraged to register and complete an online user registration on the gCommerce site prior to sending a request for training.

Training will be ongoing and users can register for training by sending their requests to gcommerce.training@sita.co.za. Once a request for training has been received, an invite will be sent out to the requester detailing the confirmed date, time and venue for the training.

gCommerce furthermore integrates directly with the Central Supplier Database (CSD) for government including among other the supplier contact details, banking details, business ownership, location, commodities linked to the location where these goods and services can be rendered etc.

The CSD will be the master of the supplier data and as such is not editable on any recipient system. Any supplier intending on to pursue business initiatives with Government should exist on the CSD.

For the SITA implementation the interface will be available as part of the Phase 2 SITA implementation in April 2018.

To date the Microsoft Software and Services contract have been catalogued and loaded onto the gCommerce BuySite on 1 April 2017. Kindly refer to the BuySite FAQ brochure for further information.

The gCommerce Transversal Sourcing Panel (a web based platform) was launched in April 2017 providing organs of state with an automated process of procuring computers, laptops, peripherals and consumables on SITA Transversal Contracts (RT 2004/2005 and 2006/2007). Kindly refer to the Transversal Sourcing Panel FAQ brochure for further information.

SITA has been identified as the lead implementation site. In November 2017, Phase 1 of gCommerce (8 modules ) was implemented at SITA:

  • Supplier Management
  • Contract Management
  • Item Master Management
  • Requisitions Management
  • Purchase Order Management
  • Quotations
  • Bids
  • Reporting

Phase 2 will include the implementation of the remaining gCommerce modules.

This will result in a standard system that is legislatively compliant (based on the latest SCM legal framework) and enabled with the relevant SITA configurations for workflow, budget check, etc.

Yes. Only employees who attended the required training will be provided access to the live system.

The super user in your department will provide initial support. If the super user is unable to resolve your query then you can formally log a call with the SITA Service Desk.

To ensure that all gCommerce Service incidents and requests are attended to in an effective and efficient manner, a dedicated toll-free number and email address have been established for all gCommerce users.

During normal business hours (07:30 to 16:00) all incidents and requests should be reported to the SITA Service Desk on the dedicated toll-free number 0800 611 201. A unique reference number shall be provided to the caller to be used during an enquiry.

To log incidents and request via email to the Service Desk the gcommerce@sita.co.za. email address should be used. A unique reference number shall be e-mailed to the Requester of the service, which shall be used during an enquiry.

From April 2018, SITA will make available the gCommerce platform on request across spheres of government. On boarding of various Departments from a National, Provincial, Local Government and State-Owned Entity perspective will be scheduled.

Yes. gCommerce can integrate with ERP systems e.g. Oracle, SAP etc. as well as transversal systems e.g. BAS.

gCommerce will enable government to move from compliance to adding business value. It aims to provide a public procurement system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective.

The solution has various benefits to government. These include:

  • Improved transparency, auditability and governance
  • Improved compliance and performance monitoring
  • Improved spend analysis
  • Improved service delivery
  • Accelerated turnaround times
  • Improved demand planning
  • Reduced cost to serve
  • Real time reporting e.g. spend analysis
  • Centrally hosted

The solution has various benefits to SCM practitioners. These include:

  • Improved transparency, auditability and governance
  • Improved compliance and performance monitoring
  • Improved service delivery
  • Accelerated turnaround times e.g. reduced tender cycle
  • Reduced paperwork, rework and errors
  • Electronic approval routing based on delegation of authority
  • Secure electronic submissions of bids and quotes (or in a hard copy format) including electronic receipts, tender alerts etc.
  • Electronic evaluation and award of bids and quotes based on best price and BBBEE points
  • Automated contract generation upon bid award
  • Consolidation of requisitions to obtain economies of scale
  • Real time reporting e.g. spend analysis
  • Integration to the Central Suppler Database (CSD) for government providing a central repository of verified supplier information

Department users are encouraged to register their users on the system. Users must complete the user access request form, sign, scan and submit the access form to gcommerce@sita.co.za

The users will be registered on receipt of the form, and the login credentials sent to the user email address provided.

Authorised users can access and transact on the platform by accessing the link www.gCommerce.gov.za. Internet access is required. Access into the system will only be granted once training has been completed.

Please contact the gCommerce team on gCommerce@sita.co.za.


SITA National Tresury