VORTAL is the base line technology chosen by Solvoz, an international Humanitarian Aid platform created to make procurement and innovation more efficient, effective and responsible in the sector.
Miguel Sobral, CEO of VORTAL, underlines that “it is a privilege for VORTAL to contribute to an international project like this, helping professionals from the Humanitarian Aid sector to have access to the most innovative, competitive and efficient solutions to improve the quality of life of millions of people. With Solvoz and VORTAL, those professionals will have access to the best tools, helping them in their daily work, making it easier, more efficient and faster, which will make a huge difference in this sector. This project gives procurement a distinctive purpose and an additional humanitarian value”.
Current procurement process
The procurement process in aid is complex, time-consuming and costly, considering logistics, installation, training, maintenance and sourcing. Claire Barnhoorn, CEO & Founder of Solvoz, explains that “there is often limited knowledge on how certain solutions work in different context. Also, there are 10 million NGOs in the world, a number people often don’t realize, and information regarding procurement and markets is often not shared among organizations”.
Solvoz’s goals
Solvoz promotes a better spending of money by matching needs with responsible solutions packages, sharing knowledge, promoting transparency and reducing costs. By using the platform, aid organizations can get the best value for money, buying better and in a more responsible way. For each need, Solvoz presents responsible solution packages. Claire Barnhoorn gives an example: “the incubator itself is not a responsible solution package: it needs to come with a service of maintenance contract, training, but also with an installation package, and solutions like an incubator can have pre-requirements, for example the availability and specifications of a power supply”.
To help aid workers, the Solvoz’s platform includes an open access catalog of solutions, products, services and suppliers. This allows you to create a tender or search from scratch, based on needs or a problem analysis. Response scenarios are translated into concrete solutions within the context in which this has to be delivered. The database contains expert knowledge about products, services, sector standards, relevant requirements for the context and information regarding the total cost.
Innovative solutions
For Claire Barnhoorn, the project started in a phase where great solutions were coming up, but innovation was suboptimal in the sector. Today, Solvoz transforms needs into requirements, sharing knowledge more openly and reducing duplication of efforts. Selected solutions can be procured with the tender platform, which connects aid workers with local and international suppliers. VORTAL is the base line technology Solvoz is using for the procurement workflow. “That’s where the collaboration is and I am super happy with it”, Claire stated.
What’s next?
Solvoz is now live, initially focusing on COVID-19 related response. It includes related solutions packages in several domains, from infection and prevention control to patient care. Nonetheless, according to Claire, “(…) our mission is to include all relevant domains, like sanitation, renewable energy, etc., to provide support to organizations and institutions globally, etc.”.
VORTAL supports Solvoz’s mission and call for collaboration and funding to create new solutions and provide technical assistance to their users to improve aid delivery, make aid supply chains more responsible, and to assure connection with local suppliers to support local economies and contexts. If you would like any further information, you can contact Solvoz through this link.