OMES
unified purchasing saves millions for state
State
purchasing director submits report on savings to House committee
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Central Purchasing division of the Office of Management
and Enterprise Services has saved the State of Oklahoma millions of dollars
through competitive statewide contracts and negotiating better pricing for
state and local government agencies, State Purchasing Director Ferris Barger told
legislators today.
“We have $76 million in savings through our practices,”
Barger told the House Government Modernization Committee, summing up the fiscal
year 2016 Procurement
Cost Savings Report issued by OMES. “We had a very positive year. As we
continue on through our unification process, you’ll see even more positives.”
Barger said of the FY 16 savings that a good portion, about
$46 million, come from being able to negotiate statewide contracts for information
technology purchases. Those contracts save money because of the
greater purchasing power afforded through the unification of the state’s IT
assets. Unification, legislatively mandated by HB 1304 in 2011, partners
agencies with OMES to streamline and consolidate IT
efforts and allows bulk IT
purchases instead of individual agencies paying a higher price.
“It has become even more evident as we start adding up the
numbers that the unification of IT not
only affords agencies enhanced cybersecurity and administration, but also provides
greater monetary savings and purchasing power,” said
Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston L.
Doerflinger, who is the director of OMES.
“Calls to exempt certain agencies from the unification
process or unwind the unification process are simply misguided and would cost
Oklahoma taxpayers millions,” Doerflinger said. “The purchasing power and
savings, cybersecurity enhancements, less computer down time and better
technical assistance are just a few of the benefits of unifying the state’s information
technology.”
To date, 58 of 78 legislatively mandated agencies have
unified their information
technology with OMES. Another 31 agencies have voluntarily
unified their IT with
OMES. The remaining 20 legislatively mandated agencies are expected to be
unified with OMES by the end of the fiscal year. Unifying IT
services has resulted in a combined reduced spending and projected savings of
about $129 million.
Barger said all statewide contracts are aimed at giving
agencies better pricing through increased purchasing power. Negotiating specific bulk prices allows agencies to save money and relieves them of the
burden of negotiating, he said.
“Contracts are a lot more complicated than one might
expect,” Barger said. “We competitively bid and get that pricing down. There’s
no other hidden cost out there.”
The full Procurement Cost Savings Report can be
found at https://www.ok.gov/DCS/documents/ProcurementSavingsReportFY2016.pdf.
Media Contact
MICHAEL BAKER
Director of Public Affairs
(405) 522-4265 | michael.baker@omes.ok.gov
 About the Office of Management and Enterprise Services
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services
provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and
information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the
Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission: Supporting our partners through unified business services. For more information, visit OMES.OK.gov.
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