Empire Procure Connect for Public Purchasing Entities

Empire Procure Connect is a new eProcurement system that will transform the procurement processes for the Empire State Purchasing Group. Empire Procure Connect allows buyers to easily shop directly from Alliance vendor catalogs. 

New York State local governments can often purchase goods and services off contracts established by other local governments. This practice is known as cooperative purchasing or piggybacking. It allows municipalities to leverage the purchasing power of larger entities and streamline procurement processes. This is the case here with Empire Procure Connect.

Local Government Buyers have two options:

1. Become a FULL MEMBER by joining the Alliance and gaining full access to Empire Procure Connect. This includes signing an agreement with the Alliance and with Periscope, which includes being subject to both SAAS fees as well as Convenience Fees (paid by Suppliers) for all purchases made on contract.
2. Become a BUYING MEMBER by simply accessing the contract without becoming a part of the Empire State Purchasing Alliance.

Please note that, specific rules and regulations regarding cooperative purchasing may vary depending on the local government's own procurement policies, as well as any state laws or regulations governing such practices. It's essential for the local government to review its own procurement guidelines and consult legal counsel if necessary to ensure compliance.

The website is https://empireprocureconnect.com

For further assistance email: buyers@empireprocureconnect.info

All interested suppliers who do or wish to do business with the Empire State Purchasing Group will need to sign the participating agreement and then be registered in BidNet Direct.

Vendors awarded Alliance contracts will work with Periscope's Vendor Success Team to best represent their contracted items and/or services in Empire Procure Connect for shopping and purchasing.

Vendors will receive solicitation notifications through BidNet and also respond to those solicitations through BidNet.

Periscope is the developer and implementer of the ePro eProcurement system (branded as Empire Procure Connect for the Empire State Purchasing Alliance). Periscope also provides other products and services for government procurement and purchasing, including its suite of Periscope S2G products including the operation of a national public sector procurement supplier network. Periscope is managing the Empire Procure Connect Cooperative Program on behalf of the Empire State Purchasing Alliance.

bidnet direct, an mdf company, is a comprehensive online platform designed to connect businesses with government agencies and procurement opportunities. It serves as a central hub for suppliers seeking to discover, bid on, and manage government contracts.

MDF recently acquired Periscope and is a leader in North American eprocurement.

MDF Commerce Inc. (TSX:MDF) enables the flow of commerce by providing a broad set of SaaS solutions that optimize and accelerate commercial interactions between buyers and sellers. Our platforms and services empower businesses around the world, allowing them to generate billions of dollars in transactions on an annual basis. Our eprocurement, Unified Commerce and emarketplace platforms are supported by a strong and dedicated team of approximately 800 employees based in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Ukraine and China.

Convenience fees that fund procurement operations, cooperative programs, and systems are very common across the U.S. These fees are used to modernize the procurement operations and sourcing experience for buyers, as well as improve services to the supplier community. For Empire Procure Connect, Suppliers will be paying a 1.75% fee on all contract sales, and this fee will be used to create a marketplace presence in the EPC Marketplace. By establishing a presence in the EPC Marketplace, suppliers unlock the opportunity to showcase their contracted offerings and can also benefit from tailored promotional campaigns targeting public sector buyers.  

We are targeting early 2025 to have the Marketplace fully implemented and begin the process of adding contracts to the Marketplace.  We will contact suppliers as we get closer to launch to introduce the Marketplace and discuss the steps involved in having contracts available on the Marketplace.

Yes, a contract amendment would be required to add your contract into the Alliance and have it available on Empire Procurement Connect.