Paramaribo             Telecom Operators in the Americas and the Caribbean now have access to a game changing platform that is projected to revolutionise their procurement systems, reducing the costs associated with the purchasing process and improving efficiencies.  CANTO, the trade association of telecomm operators and ICT providers, on the 5th February, launched a new cloud-based procurement platform that brings CANTO members, be they telecomm operators or vendors/suppliers into one single secure digital marketplace.   The first of its kind in the region, the application was formally launched during the trade association’s 39th Annual General Meeting  (AGM) currently taking place in Paramaribo, Suriname. This revolutionary platform has, essentially, enabled the digital transformation of business to business transactions in the Telecoms/ICT market space in the region.

 

Chair of the trade association, David Cox, notes that firms often do not have the resources to reach all the potential providers of a service or product they require; but by digitalising the procurement process and putting it online, telecomm operators can receive bids from a “firm in Canada, a consultant in Denmark, some large software company in Texas”; literally from anywhere across the globe. As competitive virtual market-space, the CANTO eMarket can also potentially reduce the costs of goods and services to the operator.

 

CANTO’s Secretary General noted that the application also allows operators full control of the procurement process since they can set the parameters for response to all request for proposals (RFPs).  Additionally, built-in authentication factors act as a filter for pre-qualification, so that firms not meeting the set criteria are automatically eliminated.

 

The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), a long standing member of CANTO, which has championed a number of regional initiatives to digitally transform the way business is conducted with applications in e-health, fintech and more; has developed this cloud-based platform for CANTO and its membership. Showcasing the features of the software, technologist Keino Cox explained that the platform goes beyond simply connecting operators and suppliers; it provides vendors/suppliers opportunities to showcase their products and services and enables users to choose the kinds of opportunities for which they would want to receive automated notifications. The platform also offers users various payment options and, activities such as auctions, tenders, qualification events and the like can all be hosted safely and securely on the site.

 

Firms, across the globe,  interested in or already doing business in the telecomm and/or ICT arena in the Caribbean and Latin America can access the new platform via their CANTO membership, as the eMarket is but one of the many benefits of becoming a CANTO member, Secretary General Teresa Wankin advised. CANTO’s website, www.cantoemarket.org details the fairly simple membership process which begins with the submission of an online form. Interested parties can also email cantoemarket@canto.org. for any questions.

CANTO notes that the site is already populated with opportunities so the call goes out to all would be beneficiaries to sign-up and access the eMarket today!

 

 

 

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