Latrobe City Council acquires Open Windows eTender Management, Contract Management, Grant & Procurement Management Systems on the Microsoft Windows Azure Contracts Cloud.

Melbourne, Australia. Latrobe City Council currently manages in excess of 110 contracts, ranging from service, capital and consultancy contracts to Quotes and Expression of Interests via a simple database.

Latrobe City Council went out to tender in July 2011, looking for a solution that would assist in streamlining their processes, as well as providing a clear audit trail of all contract and tender activities. The solution would provide a central repository of data and documents, visible audit trail, and contractor financial information as well as detailed reporting and process management capability.

After a thorough evaluation process, Latrobe City Council selected Open Windows to provide an end-to-end Contract Lifecycle Management solution on the Microsoft Windows Azure cloud to replace their manual contract and tender processes. Open Windows was chosen because of their proven track record within Government organisations, with similar legislations in relation to purchasing and contract management. “We have been working with all levels of government for over 17 years, and understand that legislation is constantly changing. That is why our solutions are built so that they are flexible enough to adapt quickly to these changes” says Adam McInnes, Open Windows CEO.

Benefits of Open Windows Contract Lifecycle Management include: reduced exposure to litigation; proactive management on financials and reporting; process compliance with policies and regulations; holistic view of contract and tender information; the ability to capture and review contractor performance, as well as manage relationships; and streamline contract and tendering processes with a clear audit trail.

Latrobe City Council plans to roll the solution out in stages initially managing tender and contract management, with subsequent phases employing grant management and capital works in late 2012.

About Latrobe City Council

Latrobe City is made up of four major urban centres: Churchill, Moe/Newborough, Morwell and Traralgon, with smaller townships of Boolarra, Glengarry, Toongabbie, Tyers, Traralgon South, Yallourn North, and Yinnar.

Latrobe Valley is located only 90 minutes from the outskirts of Melbourne with a population of over 75,000 residents. Latrobe City boasts all of the recreational and cultural facilities of a large diverse regional centre with the added benefit of being nestled amongst some of the best tourist attractions in the state.

About Open Windows

Open Windows is the leading Australian contract lifecycle management software vendor, innovating in contract management for 17 years. With over 450 customers, Open Windows is trusted by large Government agencies and top 100 companies, to automate sourcing, procurement, and contract management processes, and manage contract commitments.

Open Windows’ end-to-end contract management and procurement solutions include sourcing & tender management, contract management, grant management, business process workflow, and contract document management.

The former premier of the state of Victoria, the Honourable Jeffrey Kennett AC, is non-executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Open Windows.