The world bank e-Procurement for the selection of consultants: challenges and lessons learned
| Published date | 01 March 2004 |
| Pages | 319-339 |
| Date | 01 March 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-04-03-2004-B001 |
| Author | Knut Leipold,Jason Klemow,Francine Holloway,Kishor Vaidya |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management,Government,Economics,Public Finance/economics,Texation/public revenue |
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, 319-339 2004
THE WORLD BANK e-PROCUREMENT FOR THE SELECTION
OF CONSULTANTS: CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Knut Leipold, Jason Klemow, Francine Holloway, and Kishor Vaidya*
ABSTRACT. This paper introduces and examines the implementation of the
World Bank’s electronic procurement initiative for the selection of consultants,
which is expected to foster consistency of practice worldwide, increase
transparency and competition, and minimize processing time and effort.
Following the description of functionalities and benefits of the system, this
paper discusses the challenges encountered and lessons learned during the
implementation process in terms of critical success factors (CSF).
INTRODUCTION
The World Bank Group (World Bank) is transforming its former,
highly manual process of selecting consulting services into a robust e-
Procurement solution as part of its procurement simplification and
modernization agenda. The World Bank engages consultants and service
providers for technical or managerial advisory services in all sectors
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* Knut Leipold is a senior procurement specialist with focus on electronic
government procurement (e-GP) at The World Bank Group, and a member of
the Multilateral Development Banks' e-GP working group and of the European
Union's e-procurement policy working group. Jason Klemow, CTP, is a partner
with The JK Group (a professional services firm) with expertise in the financial
services industry, business process management, electronic commerce and
change management. Francine Holloway is a senior contracts officer and the
team leader for the Office of Technology team of The World Bank Group, where
she is responsible for purchasing hardware and software and leading electronic
commerce initiatives. Kishor Vaidya, a PhD Candidate, University of New
England, NSW, Australia, has research interests in adoption, implementation
and performance measurement issues in the areas of e-Commerce innovations
such as e-Procurement, e-Government and ERP.
Copyright © 2004 by PrAcademics Press
LEIPOLD, KLEMOW, HOLLOWAY & VAIDYA 320
from socioeconomic and environmental projects to reforms of state and
financial sectors, privatization, information technology and
infrastructure. To that end, the World Bank needs to manage the
selection of providers and the resulting contracts with thousands of
businesses throughout the world. To ease this process and improve
efficiency, the World Bank has implemented a new electronic
procurement solution for the selection of consultants, with the goals of
fostering consistency of practice worldwide, increasing transparency and
competition, and minimizing processing time and effort.
Electronic Procurement (e-Procurement) in this paper is
conceptualized as a subset of e-Commerce. While e-Commerce is simply
a transaction conducted electronically, e-procurement is the automation
of many procurement processes via electronic systems, especially the
Internet. The World Bank definition of e-Procurement is broad in that it
accommodates the use of information & communication technology
(especially the Internet) by governments in conducting their procurement
relationships with suppliers for the acquisition of goods, works, and
consultancy services required by the public sector” (World Bank, 2003).
However, the focus of this paper will be on the acquisition of
consultancy services rather than the acquisition of goods and works.
This paper will explore the relevant issues surrounding the
implementation of an e-Procurement solution for the selection of
consultants. Following the overview and background of selection of
consultants, the paper will present a case study (project) and discuss the
system functionalities and benefits of the solution. Using critical success
factors as identified by Vaidya, Sajeev, and Callender (2004), the authors
will explain the challenges encountered by the World Bank during the
implementation of the solution, and suggest a research model for future
research in this area.
OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND
The Philosophy behind ‘Selection of Consultants’
The term ‘consultants’ includes a wide variety of private and public
entities, including consulting firms, engineering firms, construction
managers, management firms, procurement agents, inspection agents,
auditors, United Nations (UN) agencies and other multinational
organizations, investment and merchant banks, universities, research
institutions, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations
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