Barnstable County Streamlines Cooperative Purchasing for 15 Towns with Bonfire Strategic Sourcing Software

By: Bonfire Interactive Ltd. via Business Wire

August 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM EDT

Regional government for Cape Cod, MA achieves better collaboration and decision-making with digital procurement

Bonfire Interactive Ltd. (“Bonfire”), a business unit of GTY Technology Holdings Inc. and a leader in eProcurement and strategic sourcing solutions, today announced that Barnstable County has improved cooperative purchasing within 15 towns in the region since adopting the Bonfire eProcurement Solution.

Barnstable County is the regional government of Cape Cod, MA, serving a population of over 212,000 people. With a one-person team responsible for managing procurement for internal and county-wide cooperative bids, Barnstable’s traditional paper-based approach impeded strategic sourcing and collaborative decision-making.

“Barnstable’s collective success depends on coordinated efforts across more than a dozen towns,” said Omar Salaymeh, CEO at Bonfire. “They needed a digital platform that would streamline the entire procurement process, drive innovative purchasing solutions, and connect everyone involved, including internal clients, stakeholders, and existing and prospective suppliers. The county has realized impressive results in both efficiency and procurement during a turbulent year, and has created an environment for success in the future.”

After implementing Bonfire in 2020, Barnstable immediately expanded their procurement capacity without increasing headcount. The county has seen increased vendor submissions, made more competitive bids, boosted direct cost savings, and improved collaboration, all while reducing the time it takes to get projects off the ground.

In just over a year, Barnstable’s digital procurement process through Bonfire has helped the 15 towns in its jurisdiction deliver more cost-effective solutions and realize a vision of greater strategic collaboration.

“In 2020, as we focused on opportunities to minimize costs and reallocate budget, strategic tools like Bonfire allowed us to collaborate and put our resources together,” said Jennifer Frates, Chief Procurement Officer at Barnstable County. “As we emerge from the pandemic, we’re now able to make data-driven decisions and cooperatively source — delivering best value outcomes for the citizens of Barnstable County into the future.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, Barnstable used Bonfire to quickly complete urgent projects, including sourcing equipment for COVID-19 testing sites and working with consultants to understand the business impact of public health restrictions on the local economy.

Learn more about how Barnstable County’s digital transformation is taking cooperative purchasing to the next level by watching the video here.

About Barnstable County Regional Government of Cape Cod

Barnstable County is one of the last functioning counties in Massachusetts, with departments serving the 15 towns of Cape Cod and supporting a response to regional issues that transcend municipal governments’ existing boundaries. Barnstable County government consists of a legislative branch (Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates) and an executive branch (Barnstable County Commissioners). Learn more at www.barnstablecounty.org.

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 brings procurement online, ensuring 100% compliance, reducing cycle times, and improving transparency. Through the power of tools optimized for collaboration and in-app access to RFP insights and templates (surfaced from Bonfire’s library of 40,000+ projects), Bonfire unlocks procurement’s potential to drive greater agency impact, achieve better outcomes, and engage colleagues along the way. Bonfire’s proven history of customer-driven innovation is trusted by hundreds of public procurement teams across North America.

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.