Clifford said that this also opens up the market to SMEs, as they are not only visible alongside big suppliers on the marketplace, but they are also being transacted with in a very efficient way.

Procserve is also currently running a pilot in Wales with MasterCard to introduce e-payments through the marketplace, which Clifford also hopes will encourage SMEs onto the service, and encourage buyers to select SMEs.

He said: "E-payments will provide a tight loop between being able to find a supplier, find a product, transact with that supplier, and use all the same information to pay - all within a tight transaction cycle."

However, despite the flurry of activity over the past 12 months, Clifford believes that most government procurements are still done via a 'pen and paper' approach and Procserve faces a big challenge in encouraging all areas of government to use technology to become more efficient.

He said: "We know that there is still an awful lot of activity that can and should be progressing through our network - particularly in the fields of health and local government. There are many organisations that could benefit and that we should be engaging with.