Bonfire Releases 2021 State of Public Sourcing Report, Revealing a Resurgence in Procurement Activity

Rhea-AI Summary

Bonfire Interactive Ltd., part of GTY Technology Holdings (GTYH), released its annual State of Public Sourcing Report. This report analyzes procurement trends among over 400 North American public organizations, indicating a return to pre-pandemic project volumes and highlighting new focus areas like vendor diversity and digital transformation. Key insights include a resurgence in project activity, significant growth in K-12 sector investments, and a shift towards supporting remote work, with agencies expanding their use of eProcurement significantly.

Positive

• Project and RFP counts are nearing pre-pandemic levels, indicating a recovery in purchasing activity.
• K-12 investment has grown, reflecting a focus on safety and technology for students.
• Increased eProcurement platform usage suggests growing adoption and efficiency in procurement processes.
• Agencies are doubling efforts to diversify their vendor pools, with a 202% rise in vendor invitations since 2019.
• 75% of procurement professionals noted digital transformation efforts, indicating lasting changes in operations.

Negative

• None.

Bonfire Interactive Ltd. (“Bonfire”), a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in eProcurement, strategic sourcing, and contract management solutions, today announced the release of its annual State of Public Sourcing Report, a benchmarking study which provides insights and analysis of procurement in the public sector. Bonfire is a subsidiary of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: GTYH) (“GTY”), a leading provider of cloud solutions for the public sector.

The report is based on anonymized data from the Bonfire platform, consisting of tens of thousands of projects from more than 400 North American public sector organizations, to better understand the current state of public procurement. This year’s report, titled “Back to Business: Fast and Focused,” provides insights into how public procurement teams have ramped up operations in 2021. It also highlights the public sector’s new priorities, strategies, and goals after putting many projects on hold to focus on emergency procurements in 2020.

“This year’s report indicates that public sector project volume has practically returned to what it was pre-pandemic, which aligns with anecdotes we’ve heard from our customers,” said Bonfire CEO Omar Salaymeh. “Priorities such as vendor diversity, work-from-anywhere options, and finding new ways to make public dollars go further are becoming a major focus for most public procurement teams, which we anticipate will in turn provide opportunities for a bigger community of vendors. It’s clear that 2020 was a turning point for public procurement and that while project volume has returned, priorities have shifted, and the industry will not simply go back to the way it was before the pandemic.”

The report was officially released today during the NIGP Forum, the Institute for Public Procurement’s annual conference dedicated to connecting procurement communities. Attendees of the conference are invited to join Bonfire’s virtual panel session at 2:15 PM ET on Monday August 23, where procurement leaders from Barnstable County and Metropolitan Transportation Commission share their on-the-ground insights on the report’s findings.

Key findings from the report include:

• Projects and RFPs are back on track: Project and RFP counts dropped from 2019 to 2020, as the pandemic forced many agencies to put their plans on hold. The easing of some public health restrictions combined with federal stimulus funding has enabled both to make a resurgence in 2021, bringing purchasing activity to the verge of pre-pandemic volumes.
• K-12 projects race ahead: K-12 schools have shown significant growth since before the pandemic, increasing their investment in sanitizing products, eLearning technology, and security software to ensure students can continue to learn safely, whether virtually or in-person.
• eProcurement adoption continues to rise: Despite lower project volumes in 2020, there were more people logged into the Bonfire platform than ever before. Not only did platform users log in more, but agencies expanded the use of eProcurement to a broader set of buyer groups within the agency.
• Agencies are diversifying and widening their vendor pool: In an effort to reach more diverse, local, and small businesses, agencies have doubled the average number of registration fields they use to track vendor diversity. On top of that, vendor invitations have increased by 202% since 2019.
• Work-from-anywhere likely isn’t going anywhere: 75% of procurement professionals reported that their organization made changes to support digital transformation in 2021. Between 2019 and 2021, the average number of locations where the Bonfire platform is accessed increased by 41% and continues to grow. These metrics indicate that remote work will likely continue to be a part of public agencies’ infrastructure moving forward.

The full 2021 State of Public Sourcing Report is available to download for free by visiting the Bonfire website.

About Bonfire Interactive Inc.
Bonfire Interactive Inc. (“Bonfire”) is a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in strategic sourcing and procurement software. Bonfire empowers organizations to find the right vendors and make the right purchasing decisions with ease and confidence. With tools to support the entire vendor lifecycle (sourcing, contract management, and vendor performance), Bonfire goes beyond traditional mechanics of standard procurement suites to make complex decision-making easy. The combination of flexible technology and world-class customer service makes Bonfire the solution of choice for both public and private sector organizations. Bonfire is an award-winning solution recognized by industry-leading outlets including Gartner, GovTech, Spend Matters, Best in SaaS, and the International Business Awards.

About GTY Technology Holdings Inc.
GTY Technology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GTYH) (“GTY”)) brings leading government technology companies together to achieve a new standard in citizen engagement and resource management. Through its six business units, GTY offers an intuitive cloud-based suite of solutions for state and local governments spanning functions in procurement, payments, grant management, budgeting, and permitting: Bonfire provides strategic sourcing and procurement software to enable confident and compliant spend; CityBase provides government payment solutions to connect constituents with utilities and government agencies; eCivis offers a grant management system to maximize grant revenues and track performance; Open Counter provides government payment software to guide applicants through complex permitting and licensing procedures; Questica offers budget preparation and management software to deliver on financial and non-financial strategic objectives; Sherpa provides public sector budgeting software and consulting services.

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