CGI system will continue to find best buys for Virginia

CGI Group Inc. will continue to help the financially strapped Commonwealth of Virginia process state purchases under a contract extension valued at $70 million.

The deal extends CGI’s Electronic Procurement System (eVA) program through June 2016.

Since CGI initially implemented the system in 2001, Virginia has used eVA to purchase $20 billion worth of products and services, with $11.6 billion purchased from small, minority- or women-owned business, company officials said.

Virginia reduced order processing costs up to 50 percent and processing time up to 70 percent in some cases. The system is estimated to have saved the state more than $280 million, they added.

Virginia partnered with CGI in 2001 to develop eVA and streamline the statewide purchasing process by funneling procurement activities into a single electronic portal, with more than 5 million products available and more than 38,000 private vendors registered.

The eVA system “has introduced a whole new level of procurement transparency and accountability to state officials and the general public, and it has leveled the playing field for small, women-, and minority-owned businesses to participate in the state’s business opportunities,” Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said in a statement.

eVA “has allowed us to leverage our buying power, all critical objectives during these tough budget times,” Kaine added.

CGI Group, of Montreal, ranks No. 78 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.