January 17, 2014

Written By: Wade D. Koenecke

The Department of the Treasury, Division of Purchase and Property (the “Division”) has announced plans to implement a new electronic procurement (“eProcurement”) system. This new system, named NJ CAN (New Jersey Central Acquisition Network), will replace several procurement systems currently in use with a single solution that will allow a complete procurement process all within a single environment.  

A highlight of NJ CAN, and a major change to the current procurement process with both the State and Division, will be the introduction of a “vendor portal.” Through this self-service portal, the vendor will have the capability and responsibility to maintain their own business profile. The vendor will be able to maintain a current dossier of State-required forms (that will be accessible to all State and local government entities) and the vendor will have the opportunity to interact with the various State procurement departments via an electronic means.  In particular, vendors will, through a vendor-unique User ID and Password, be able to go online to:

• Upload contract/solicitation specific documents
• Update their company’s address(es)
• Sign-up for NIGP commodity codes
• Submit invoices
• Update vendor catalogs and punch-out sites
• Upload all State and Local required forms.

NJ CAN is scheduled to go live on October 14, 2014, though the vendor portal is expected to be available prior to October.

Hill Wallack LLP’s Government Contracting Practice Group has a long history providing cutting edge advice to vendors, as well as government contracting units, involving in government contracting, on a broad range of legal matters, including specification review and rule comments. Our counsel on government processes keeps public entities and private-sector vendors ahead of the curve in these ever-changing areas of law.

This article provides information of general interest and is not intended, and should not be used, as a substitute for consultation with legal counsel. Any questions regarding the specific changes raised in this article should be directed to the authors or to your contacts at Hill Wallack LLP.