New esa-star modules for enhanced industry collaboration
ESA will launch three new modules as part of its esa-star online eTendering suite of tools. All areas of the system will be accessible by the end of March via a single point of entry portal called Doing Business with ESA.
ESA and economic operators will benefit from a faster, simpler, more efficient system which provides access to procurement processes and is also aimed at strengthening working relationships.
Over the past five years, esa-star has become the main ESA system for receiving and evaluating bidders’ proposals in response to the Agency’s Tender Actions. Introduced in 2016, esa-star has evolved to provide additional features and functions, including some significant changes planned for this year.
At the end of March three new modules will be introduced: esa-star Publication, esa-match and esa-star ECM (Entity Capability Mapping).
EMITS will be replaced by esa-star Publication. As the platform where tender documentation is published and consulted, EMITS has been the primary point of contact between economic operators and ESA for many years. Now its sections and documentation will be available through the Publication module, making it easier to peruse and download tender documentation, clarifications, news and other ESA reference documents.
The esa-match module is ESA’s new matchmaking platform, allowing economic operators to showcase their competences and capabilities, find potential partners and opportunities, and establish business relationships.
All entities registered and validated by ESA in esa-star Registration from ESA Member States, Associate States, Cooperating States and EU Member States will have their own profile in esa-match. They will be able to use the directory to search for partners, browse current tenders or place a Marketspace ad to find collaborators or consortium members. Entities can also contact each other directly through the platform and manage their profiles.
Finally, esa-star ECM is a tool aimed at supporting the European Space Technology Harmonisation Process for entity competences and products. Capability data is entered and managed by entities in the esa-star Registration and esa-match systems. This part of the Harmonisation Process is then handled digitally within ECM.
Another major benefit for economic operators will be the ability to access the entire esa-star toolset via a dedicated portal, Doing Business with ESA. All applications will be connected, making access and information retrieval simpler and quicker for entity users.
Learning materials will be available to help users familiarise themselves with the tools, and a user-support service will be in place to provide assistance during the roll-out.
Further details on the new modules can be found here.
