Obviously the profile is displayed on the esd-suppliers site first of all. Visitors can browse the supplier register by searching for companies who supply a particular type of product or by searching for companies who have previously worked with one of the various types of Local Authorities or Government Agencies.

Did you also know that your supplier profile will also be shown in our sister product, esd-toolkit? The esd-toolkit is a web based application that is used by Government to benchmark progress against targets and to share resources between authorities.

At the moment esd-toolkit has over 85% of all English local authorities who are ‘subscribed’ (paid-for version), the other 15% are still represented as ‘registered’ (free users). We have just launched a new project with the backing of the Scottish Executive to roll out esd-toolkit in Scotland.

esd-toolkit also has large numbers of fire, national park and transport authorities (somewhere around 75% of the total). The majority of central Government departments are also represented.

Tree Views

At the heart of esd-toolkit is the nationally agreed and recognised list of Government services (the 'LGSL'). All information is linked to one of the services in this list. Users of the esd-toolkit can navigate the list in a 'tree' structure.

If, for example, your company manufactured recycling boxes you would tag this product as being applicable to the service 'Recycling - bags and containers' and as such, this product, and a link to your company profile will be shown when users of esd-toolkit are navigating this part of the tree.

Projects

The esd-toolkit is the recognised repository of project information. A project may be something that’s done on a national level (like the new NHS IT system), or a small project like a collaboration between two local authorities to better integrate their web sites.

Currently the esd-toolkit has hundreds of projects, and more are being added all the time. As a subscriber to esd-suppliers not only are you able to enter new projects, but you can also list your company as a project supplier. Once this has been done your company's products and profile will be shown to all users browsing this project.

Documents

There are literally thousands of documents shared between authorities in the esd-toolkit. A subset of these documents has also been shared with suppliers. There are literally hundreds of process maps available and ready to download now by subscribing esd-supplier companies and independent consultants.

As a subscriber to esd-suppliers you are also able to upload and share your own documents with authorities.

News

As a subscribing esd-supplier company you can submit RSS news feeds, or manually key in news articles on the site. These will not only appear on the esd-supplier front page, but they will also appear in the ‘News’ section of the esd-toolkit web site.