South Wales Evening Post - 03 November 2006
Increasing numbers of bargain hunters are using the internet to do their shopping, and now Swansea Council is set to follow suit.
Around 24 million people spent an average of £816 on web purchases last year.
Now a new IT system has been introduced at Swansea Council, giving the authority the chance to buy thousands of products online.
The iSiop system means Swansea Council will now be able to order anything from overalls to paint, food to spare parts, on the web.
The scheme is part of the council's controversial eGovernment programme, which is costing tax-payers £86 million over the next 10 years.
It is hoped that new working methods will save millions of pounds each year and help pay for the IT system.
However, it ran into trouble last month when it was revealed that first-year savings would be around 60 per cent below targets.
Council leaders are confident savings will be made.
Councillor Mary Jones, who is in charge of the IT project, said: "This will replace 25 existing financial systems which made it difficult to access information, and vital time and effort was being wasted.
"The new system will give us instant access to all the relevant information in a quicker and more efficient way.
"This will save time and money for the council and the people of Swansea.
"Swansea is the first council in Wales to introduce such a wide-ranging system which can handle so much information and different processes."Other elements of the project will come online later this year.
Councillor Jones said: "To introduce this system and transform the way we operate in less than 12 months is a fantastic achievement."
