Skip to Content

Case Study: Acting quickly on decisions that impact departments across the county

Ventura County


Ventura County is home to over 800,000 people in Southern California. Ventura County’s vision is “to be valued as a reliable strategic and innovative partner, trusted advisor, and public steward.” However, the County’s slow-moving and environmentally-taxing procurement process—which ran entirely through paper-based workflows—did not reflect that commitment. By digitizing their procurement processes with Bonfire, Ventura County as able to respond to intake requests faster, align stakeholders across jurisdictions better, and reduce their environmental footprint.

Download case study

Invest in your procurement function for better outcomes organization-wide


While the potential for strategic contribution is high, for many teams, it’s not yet a reality. The current manual, time-consuming process means that procurement teams are often forced to function in a heavily clerical role, which limits your capacity to deliver increased value.

In this webinar presented in partnership with American City and County, learn how investments in procurement teams, through the right training and technology, can help teams achieve a more strategic role in achieving your organization’s mission and outcomes.

A better, faster bid and RFP process for Texas organizations


This webinar explores how Texas organizations can make the best choice when evaluating sourcing or procurement technology.

Adapting to procurement curveballs


In this webinar presented in partnership with American City and County, Bonfire’s Amanda Balla and CPAA’s Lili Chen discuss procurement risks, and how they impact both your municipality and your citizens. The speakers explore how your municipality can leverage technology—specifically eSourcing tools—to help you adapt to the many curveballs that may be thrown at your department, and how it can help you create the strongest, most resilient procurement process possible.

Worry-free bids and RFPs in the Sunshine State


In this conversation, Bonfire’s Ian Roberts and Brenden Knowles sit down with Kelly Downey, procurement coordinator at Palm Coast, to discuss the challenges of procurement in Florida.

Procurement’s personnel problem

Bonfire on procurement personnel

How eSourcing helps municipal procurement teams manage staff turnover and succession plans

Local government procurement teams are facing a significant challenge: how to maintain consistent procurement service delivery amidst the compounding pressures of chronic understaffing and high retirement rates?

It’s a challenge to keep up with bid and RFP project volumes at the best of times, but staffing disruptions make it next to impossible. The problem will only become more acute as experienced staff retire, taking decades of institutional knowledge with them. Technology can be part of the solution. Learn more about how digitization of the bid and RFP process helps facilitate smooth staffing transitions.

Download the whitepaper to learn how eSourcing can help facilitate smooth staffing transitions by:
  • Extending the capacity of overstretched teams through process efficiency;
  • Operationalizing best practices for smooth onboarding and training; and
  • Providing clear visibility to ensure your team never misses a beat.

Is your process ready for these procurement curveballs?

Bonfire on procurement curveballs

A last-minute purchase request, a staff member going on sick leave, or a vendor complaint—these all-too-common occurrences can throw a wrench in an otherwise well-oiled procurement machine.

Local government procurement teams need to be able to adapt to these and other unexpected situations. However, most city and county procurement teams are struggling with a paper and Excel process that is anything but adaptable.

Check out this infographic to see municipal procurement teams’ top six ‘procurement curveballs’—and how eSourcing helps teams step up to the plate.


Download Infographic

Get more done, in less time

Bonfire on time saving through procurement software
How sourcing technology helps public procurement teams do more with less

Rising project volumes and shrinking staff sizes have placed procurement teams under pressure, with 40% of public procurement staff reporting that their team is stretched or overworked.

This is exacerbated by the demands of managing the bid and RFP process on paper and Excel—which adds a significant administrative workload to procurement teams’ to-do list.

eSourcing technology can help, by eliminating manual steps and delivering process efficiencies.

Check out the infographic for a side-by-side comparison of total hours spent administering the bid and RFP process through paper and Excel, or through purpose-built sourcing technology.


Download Infographic

Invest in your procurement function for better outcomes organization-wide

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICAN CITY AND COUNTY

Bonfire Webinar on investing in procurement for better organization outcomes

Public procurement is shedding the reputation of ‘paper-pushers’ and gaining recognition as a vital contributor to the organization’s strategic goals. Procurement professionals are instrumental in delivering the crucial goods and services to their organization in a timely and transparent manner.

However, many procurement teams struggle when it comes to advocating for tools and resources to improve their own process — whether training resources, technology, or other key investments.

In this webinar, we equip procurement professionals with a toolkit to articulate their value to upper management and make a successful case for the investment in procurement technology and training.

Case Study: Eliminating paperwork to drive strategic decisions for the county

Milwaukee County

Milwaukee County parks client story

Milwaukee County’s central procurement office runs RFPs for large ticket purchases across the county’s multiple departments, including the zoo, park system, transportation department, and airport. Serving a wide range of stakeholders through an entirely paper-based process led to inconsistency and administrative headache.

In support of a broad mandate to improve their process, they implemented Bonfire to manage their procurement in one online platform, giving them control over their process and greater confidence in their decisions.

With full visibility into the evaluation process, buyers are better equipped to keep the evaluation on track and facilitate effective consensus meetings — ensuring decisions are made on time.

Download the case study