2 November 2009 — Difi, the Norwegian Agency for public sector management and eGovernment, has signed a four-year agreement for IBX to operate its e-business platform called Ehandel.no.  Through this project, public sector entities and their providers can track spend and purchase goods in a more secure, user-friendly and cost-effective manner. The four-year contract includes the opportunity to renew it again for another four years and the anticipated value of an eight year contract is NOK 150–300 million.

During 2009, some 80 public sector entities in Norway, including local governments, county councils and government departments, will use the service. The total procurement spend for 2009 through the platform will exceed 3 billion NOK. By 2013, the trade volume through the IBX solution should reach NOK 16 billion.

Through Ehandel.no, Norwegian public sector enterprises and their suppliers gain access to e-commerce services and guidance on how to cut costs through efficient and secure purchasing.

"Norway is already far ahead when it comes to electronic public procurement and with this initiative all public service entities will have the opportunity to simplify and improve the efficiency of their procurement processes. The new solution consists of one simple system and is adapted for use by even the smallest local governments," says Herman Røvde, CEO of IBX Norge.

IBX will provide a number of new functions to Difi that will provide significant benefits for both smaller local government and central government departments. For example, the development of an electronic payment solution that is user-friendly and tailored to the needs of the public sector. In addition, existing and potential suppliers to the public sector will have a unique opportunity to market their products and services on Ehandel.no. The solution also allows users to make one-off purchases and agreements that can be agreed directly, to ensure fast turn-around time. This is something that Norwegian suppliers have requested for many years.

The solution ensures full control and traceability for all procurement carried out through IBX/Ehandel.no.

A number of public reports also show an often significant potential for savings worth billions of NOK when solutions are put into full-scale use.

In order to encourage more public sector entities to take advantage of Ehandel.no, the Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration and Reform has granted an additional NOK 19 million in the 2010 state budget to further strengthen the initiative moving forward.