The Apprentice Winner Randal Pinkett Partnered with Essex County to Develop Cutting Edge System Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and the Office of Small Business Development & Economic Opportunity officially unveiled the brand new Essex County Vendor Registration System during a press conference on Tuesday, June 26th. Essex is the first county in New Jersey to implement a system of this caliber, which can be accessed by linking to http://vrs.essexcountynj.org. The registration system was designed by BCT Partners, the consulting firm co-founded by The Apprentice winner Dr. Randal Pinkett, Chairman & CEO, and Lawrence Hibbert, President & Chief Technology Officer. “The new web-based Vendor Registration System allows Essex County to streamline its procurement process, making registration and outreach to small, women and minority vendors more efficient,” said DiVincenzo. “The Internet is a driving force for business today and having our Vendor Registration System online makes it a valuable asset for vendors and the County,” he added. The Essex County Office of Small Business Development and Economic Opportunity has a mission to ensure equal opportunity in the procurement and contracting processes of Essex County through strategic partnerships, outreach, technical assistance, and collaborative partnerships. This state-of-the-art registration system is the latest tool to advance the County’s initiative to make information more accessible and creates an additional avenue for small, women and minority owned businesses to have an equal opportunity to participate in the County’s procurement and contracting processes. “The Essex County Vendor Registration System furthers our goal of ensuring that small, women and minority vendors have a fair opportunity to compete for contracts not only with the County, but with others who share our commitment to equal opportunity,” said SBDEO Director Deborah E. Collins, Esq.  “This database serves the dual purpose of promoting the businesses that register with us and providing them with access to information regarding our contracting and procurement needs.  We are proud to have worked with BCT Partners in Putting Essex County First,” she added. “BCT Partners is proud to be working with Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, Jr. and his team to launch the new Essex County Vendor Registration System,” said BCT Partners Chairman and CEO Dr. Randal Pinkett. “Essex County is now positioned to become a shining example in New Jersey not only for their commitment to the growth of minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses, but also for implementing the necessary systems to demonstrate results. We commend Essex County for undertaking this work and are pleased to be a part of this groundbreaking initiative,” he added. The new online Vendor Registration System provides a convenient portal into the Essex County procurement process. It enables vendors to register their businesses with the SBDEO, search online for goods and services that are being sought by the County, and view the status of bids and other procurement opportunities in “real-time.” Having the ability to house all bids and request for proposals (RFPs) online allows for easy access for both the vendors and the Office of Purchasing, and centralizes the information for reporting and tracking purposes. The Office of Purchasing will benefit greatly from the ability to disseminate information quickly to all vendors, which will enhance vendor relations with the County. “As a result of the Disparity Study, the County Executive, Administration and the Freeholders really went to work to make a difference and encourage more small, women and minority vendors to compete for contracts with the County,” Freeholder Bilal Beasley said. “We now are doing more business with small, women and minority vendors. The Vendor Registration System is so important because it will help us expand our efforts even further,” he noted.   Enhancing Procurement Opportunities In 2002 before entering office, DiVincenzo established an Affirmative Action Committee as part of his 200-member Transition Team. When he took office on January 1, 2003, he created the Office of Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action and appointed Balozi R. Harvey as its Director. The volunteer members from the Transition Team’s Affirmative Action Committee remained involved with the DiVincenzo administration, transforming their role into an Advisory Committee for the Office of Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action. While creating the Office of Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action was a good first step, the County Executive realized more needed to be done to promote equal opportunities within the County and an official Disparity Study needed to be performed. In December 2004, DiVincenzo and the Office of Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action announced the appointment of a 21-member Disparity Study Commission, which replaced the Office of Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action’s Advisory Committee. This volunteer body was charged with selecting a consultant to conduct the Disparity Study, overseeing the consultant’s activities and progress, holding public hearings and making recommendations to the County Executive and Board of Freeholders. On October 31, 2005, the County Executive and Disparity Study Commission made public the findings of the Disparity Study and outlined a course of action to make the County’s public contracting and procurement policies and procedures more inclusive of small, women and minority-owned businesses. Work on the landmark report was started in March 2005 and completed in just eight months. In the past year, since the opening of the Office of Small Business Development and Equal Opportunity, the County has reached out to the community of small, women and minority business owners in a variety of business expos. The various events included the initial Essex County Procurement Expo, the Women’s Business Enterprise Procurement Expo, Reaching New Heights – Professional Services Procurement Expo, and the Annual New Jersey Competitive Procurement Expo. To access the Vendor Registration System and register your business with Essex County, visit http://vrs.essexcountynj.org or go to www.essexcountynj.org and click on the “Essex County Vendor Registration System” link. For more information about Essex County’s procurement process, please contact the Office of Small Business Development and Economic Opportunity at 973-621-2011 or dcollins@admin.essexcountynj.org. ESSEX COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER   # # # For more information contact info@bctpartners.com