Simplified Purchasing
Online Shopping of Statewide Contract Presences
Marketing
Diversity & Inclusion
What is the Procurement Efficiency Program?
The Procurement Efficiency Program (PEP) was established through NJAC 17:12-1.5 to create a sustainable funding model for the State of New Jersey’s procurement operations. The PEP and related initiatives have been implemented in partnership with SOVRA, an mdf commerce company.
Is the PEP and PEP fee different than the NJSTART Marketplace Program and Vendor Convenience Fee?
No, the NJSTART Marketplace is a presence software integrated with NJSTART. You can find out more about the Marketplace by reviewing these FAQs.
The Vendor Convenience Fee language has been updated to align more closely with NJAC 17:12-1.5 and is now called the Procurement Efficiency Program Fee (PEP Fee).
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Who is Sovra?
SOVRA is the new unified brand for the procurement technology and services previously known as Periscope. This shift provides clarity, consistency, and a more streamlined experience for all stakeholders and reflects our continued investment in modernizing public procurement and creating a more cohesive, innovative experience for buyers and vendors.
Important to note:
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Contracts and Legal Entities: Contracts remain with Periscope Holdings, Inc. (PHI) at this time. Any future transition of legal entities will be communicated well in advance.
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Vendor Payments: For vendor fee payments, vendors will continue submitting payments to Periscope Holdings Incorporated (PHI), as this structure remains unchanged.
How will this benefit my business?
A typical question is “What’s in it for me?” Based on independent research and similar State eProcurement initiatives, it’s been proven that eProcurement system brings many benefits vendors, including:
- Support as a marketing arm for the statewide contracts to encourage knowledge and use by buyers, providing additional marketing resources directly for statewide contract vendors.
- The enablement of marketplace presences for direct searching and ordering, which makes it easier for purchasers to find what's on contract, understand the products and services, and quickly order. When purchasers can search the web for products, services, information, and solutions it greatly increases visibility and ordering (meaning increased sales).
- The system and marketplace presences are available to State agencies and to all Cooperative Purchasing Program Entities (e.g. New Jersey local governments, school districts, counties, and cities), which increases the reach of state contracts.
What are the additional marketing resources I will receive?
Statewide contracts will be marketed to New Jersey public purchasing entities. For example, we will advertise online and in print publications about what goods and services are available to buyers. We will manage ongoing outreach throughout the year to buyers, feature participating vendor logos at tradeshows, conduct webinars with vendors, etc. The PEP will increase the visibility of statewide contracts and result in larger sales volumes for those vendors.
Additionally, we have a password protected site with Marketing Communications templates and assets for use in your collateral.
If you do not have this password, reach out to suppliers-njstart@mdfcommerce.com with your request and they will get right back to you.
Resources for PEP Vendors
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PEP Vendor Marketing Resources
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Reconciler Vendor Reporting & Payment Overview
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Periscope DDA Letter
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List of New Jersey State Agencies & Organizations*
*This list of State Agencies and Organizations only reflects State Agencies and Organizations. State Cooperative Purchasing Entities such as Municipalities, Counties, School Districts, Volunteer Fire Departments, Volunteer First Aid and Rescue Squads, County and State Colleges, Independent Authorities, Quasi-State Agencies, and Independent Institutions of Higher Education are not listed, but must still be reported in your quarterly NJSTART Marketplace Sales Reports. If you need assistance, contact the Reconciler support team at reconciler@mdfcommerce.com
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Contact Us
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Local Agency Support
Contact us by phone or email, toll free at
Phone
844-470-5019
Email
PEP Vendor Support
Assistance with onboarding, marketplace presence, and reporting
Email
General Vendor Support
For all other questions related to account questions, technical issues, contract questions, or day-to-day assistance
Phone
609-341-3500