June 3, 2020
OpenLMIS is a powerful, open source, electronic logistics management information system (LMIS) purpose-built to manage health commodity supply chains. It was built in 2011 as an alternative solution to paper-based national supply chain systems, and today it automates logistics processes at over 11,000 health facilities in eight African countries. OpenLMIS is currently seeking a partnership with a private sector company to manage, scale and sustain the platform.
OpenLMIS At a Glance
OpenLMIS is used to manage data and logistics for all major health programs, including vaccines and HIV/AIDS. In response to COVID-19, OpenLMIS has also been configured to offer a flexible, extensible instance that can be rapidly deployed as a cloud-based standalone system or an add-on to an existing OpenLMIS implementation.
VillageReach, a non-governmental organization that transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, has managed the platform since 2015. OpenLMIS has received financial support from several major donors over the last nine years with a total investment of $5.6 million. These donor contributions funded core operational functions including software product development, governance and community management. As a result of continued donor support OpenLMIS enables countries to:
Additional information about OpenLMIS can be found in the OpenLMIS Briefing Document.
OpenLMIS’ Value to the Private Sector Partner
A private sector partner would drive the next phase of OpenLMIS’ evolution, enabling the company to both define and spearhead its future direction and expansion. OpenLMIS has built trusted relationships through its proven expertise in logistics processes. A new owner could continue to grow these relationships and benefit from OpenLMIS’ consistent growth, strong local user base, active global contributors, comprehensive data, effective open source platform, robust partner network and certified system.
Desired Characteristics of the Private Sector Partner
A private company interested in managing OpenLMIS should demonstrate a business strategy that incorporates the software into its portfolio of products and services. We expect this business strategy to reflect and honor the OpenLMIS mission—to collaboratively develop shared, open source software to improve health commodity distribution in low- and middle-income countries. This will require the applicant to be open to working with multiple partners across the public and private sectors.
The company should have the technical capability to manage the product roadmap, new feature development, bug resolution and relationships with software developers. Applicants should be demonstrate interest, and show its ability to make software improvements. We are not considering companies that plan to simply maintain OpenLMIS in its current form. The company should be financially stable, and have the capacity to allocate personnel and resources to support OpenLMIS upon signing of the contract.
The private sector partner will be obligated to:
VillageReach will provide staff support and actively share its knowledge and relationships to guide an effective transition of OpenLMIS’ core activities. This will involve the co-creation of a communication plan, as well as collaboration with OpenLMIS implementation partners and its current customer base.
Procedure for Expression of Interest (EOI)
The OpenLMIS Partnership Working Group, which includes representatives from VillageReach, JSI, CHAI, BMGF, USAID, PATH, and SolDevelo has been given the responsibility to manage the identification and evaluation of private sector partners.
Interested parties are asked to formally submit their interest through the OpenLMIS Expression of Interest online form by no later than July 31st, 2020. Once a submission is received qualified candidates will be contacted to pitch to our Working Group their vision for incorporating OpenLMIS into their portfolio.
If you have questions, please review our Summarized Q&A documentation or send an email to the OpenLMIS Community Manager at Rebecca.Alban@openlmis.org.