Public Procurement Service supporting SMEs with exports

By Yoon Ja-young

Chung Yang-ho Public Procurement Service administrator

The public procurement market is huge, but it is often difficult for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to gain access to it despite making quality products. The Korea Public Procurement Expo 2016 kicks off Wednesday, to help open the doors for them.

Marking its 17th anniversary, it is the biggest public procurement exhibition in the country. Around 2,400 companies have participated in the event since its beginning in 2000, exhibiting around 7,400 goods to over 470,000 visitors.

At the event held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, this year, 250 companies are participating and will exhibit products approved by the Public Procurement Service (PPS) alongside startups that have good ideas and technologies but haven’t had channels where they can sell their products.

“The exhibition this year focuses on expanding Korean firms’ advancement into overseas procurement markets,” said PPS administrator Chung Yang-ho, adding that the agency plans to further develop the expo into an international event like the GSA Expo in the United States, to contribute to the economy as well as create jobs.

“The overseas procurement market is expanding following the signing of free trade agreements (FTAs) while the domestic market is saturated. Markets overseas ― valued at $6 trillion ― will provide huge opportunities for Korean businesses,” he said.

The PPS has been supporting SMEs, helping them advance into overseas procurement markets, leading to $330 million in exports last year.

The achievement is based on trust from overseas for Korea’s advanced procurement system. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report, “Korean Public Procurement Service: Innovating for Effectiveness,” in which it analyzed Korea’s successful innovations such as the online procurement system as well as the excellent supplier designation system. The organization notes that Korea’s procurement system can provide guidelines to other countries on how they can succeed.

Chung said that the PPS will bolster support for SMEs by creating synergetic effects. “We will share networks with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Korean merchants and traders overseas, to better support the SMEs in those markets.”

There will also be presentations, providing local companies with strategies for advancing into overseas markets. Eleven experts from international organizations including the U.N., the WTO and the International Trade Center, and countries with big procurement markets such as the United States, Russia, China and Vietnam will offer advice. Businesses can also take the opportunity to meet with buyers from 27 countries; as well as hiring qualified workers at a job fair that will be held on the sideline of the event.