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. 

The website is https://empireprocureconnect.com

Use this link to access a Vendor Quote Guide, and for further assistance please email: support@bidnet.com.

Vendor Quote Guide

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. Suppliers BidNet Account will be sufficient and will not need to sign up for a second Empire Procure Connect Account. 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 commerce Inc. provides SaaS solutions that optimize and accelerate commerce between buyers and sellers. Our platforms facilitate billions in transactions annually, supporting businesses worldwide. As a for-profit company, we focus on delivering innovative e-commerce, eProcurement, and marketplace solutions, backed by a team of approximately 800 employees across Canada, the U.S., Denmark, Ukraine, and China. Learn more at mdfcommerce.com.
Periscope, acquired by mdf commerce on August 31, 2021, is a leading U.S. eProcurement provider with over 20 years of experience. Its end-to-end solution helps state and local governments streamline purchasing, sourcing, and contract management through a public procurement platform with a consumer-like shopping experience.

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% based on the invoice sales price, less taxes, shipping costs and other regulatory fees. and this fee will be used to create a marketplace presence in the EPC Marketplace as well as fund eprocurement, reporting software, and contract marketing. 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.   This fee was negotiated between the counties and Periscope and determined to be the bast match and practice in the cooperative industry. The 1.75% fee applies to all sales that occur against the Alliance contracts.   Sales do not need to occur on the marketplace.

If your contract is in the program, we are already promoting it to local government buyers across New York State. Without your participation we cannot promote your contract. We are targeting 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. As supplier contracts are amended to be included into the alliance, the process of developing their marketplace presence will commence.

Yes, a contract amendment would be required to add your contract into the Alliance and have it available on Empire Procurement Connect. If your contract contains the permissive cooperative language and does not contain the EPC Alliance Program Language, you will need to execute an amendment to incorporate the EPC Program Language. The Counties will be in touch with you regarding the amendment process.

We have utilized SAMPO to promote EPC and are having discussions with other counties who are interested, and they will be brought on board when the timing allows. We are currently targeting spring of 2025.

Suppliers will not have a log in to the EPC marketplace, however we can meet with you to show you what your marketplace presences looks like.   The only login you will need is to Bid-Net Direct. If you need assistance with Bid-Net Direct, please reach out to: support@bidnet.com.

The Counties will be in touch with you regarding the amendment process.

The Marketplace is designed to best suit your companies needs based on the products and services you provide. There are 3 levels of visibility for your Marketplace presence; Informational (showing information about your company and cooperative contract), Itemized (showing shoppable products and services with pricing and item level detail) or a Punchout to your ecommerce site.

No, you will not need a separate agreement. The OGS "piggyback" agreements are separate from this Alliance.

You are under no obligation to join the program.

Yes, there are several national cooperatives where their contracts are not available for local government agencies to use. NY Law prohibits using cooperatives were multiple awards were issued. All of the Alliance contracts will be solicitated and awarded to New York State law and rule and will be available for use by all local governments. 

This will need to be decided on a case-by-case basis, but in some instances, yes non-profits may be able to access alliance contracts.

Yes, you need to have an existing contract containing the piggyback clause with either Rockland, Orange, Ulster or Chemung County. Your contract will need to be amended to incorporate the alliance program language.

The search results will be limited to those contracts that are included in Empire Procure Connect. The results will be based on the search words used and if any filters were also used in searching.

We have utilized SAMPO to promote EPC and are having discussions with other counties who are interested, and they will be brought on board when the timing allows. We are currently targeting spring of 2025.

If your contract contains "permissive cooperative language" (piggyback language that allows other agencies to use the contract) that opens up your contract to other public organizations to purchase from, you can amend your contract to add the EPC Alliance program language.