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NEPO has made two new appointments to support its new, advanced e-portal Open, ahead of its full roll out next year.

Georgia Smithson and Joe Taylor have taken on roles as customer service coordinators for Open which streamlines the tendering process, providing a more user-friendly e-procurement system that will help suppliers find and bid for public procurement opportunities.

Open will go live in 2024 and will replace the current NEPO portal as the place to find and compete for public sector tendering opportunities. Developed by NEPO and its twelve north east member authorities, Open has been designed around user-needs and benefits from advanced technologies including artificial intelligence and robotic process automation.

Georgia, who was previously a project manager at University of Sunderland, will focus on system testing and user training, said: “I was attracted to the job as I have an analytical brain and enjoy problem solving. I like to investigate the end-to-end process and functionality of systems to gain a thorough understanding of how they operate. I also enjoy coaching and producing training materials tailored to suit a wide range of learning styles.”

Joe, who brings a wealth of data administration experience to his role, said: “I’m really excited about working on Open and being able to provide businesses and local authorities with fantastic customer service and an e-procurement system built on cutting edge technology that is fit for the future.”

Graham Kelly, Open product owner, said: "I’m delighted to welcome Georgia and Joe to the Open team. This is an incredibly exciting time for NEPO and our suppliers as we continue the roll out of Open. Georgia and Joe’s experience and skills are a great fit for helping us deliver our ambitions for Open.”

Every year NEPO advertises around 6,000 competitive opportunities within the public sector. Suppliers will need to be registered on Open to access all future tendering opportunities and are being encouraged to register at www.open-uk.org