PEZA’s Digital Marketplace Launch Initiative: Improving Local Sourcing and Changing Business Dynamics

According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), it intends to open a digital marketplace to enable direct business-to-business (B2B) exchanges between PEZA companies and foreign purchasers.

While the organization is mapping out industries that might be covered by the e-marketplace, PEZA director-general Tereso Panga stated that it has begun onboarding businesses onto the platform.

“What we really want is for local providers to be integrated to the economic zone value chain. We would like to learn how we can enhance local sourcing more than international sourcing,” he said.

The core for the transaction and completion of material procurement between buyers and suppliers will be the digital marketplace (DMP). PEZA is working to simplify applications and systems, and one of those attempts is the DMP.

Process reengineering, integrated information management systems, and data analytics have been identified as some of the activities that PEZA needs to improve business processing. These activities will guarantee that registered business enterprises (RBES) comply fully and improve decision-making regarding the digitalization of PEZA documents.

PEZA announced that it would also enhance the online VISA system and automate financial transactions via an online integrated financial management system (IFMS).

In order to handle the design and construction of a web-based system that would oversee and manage the issuing of engineering permits, the agency is attempting to replace current systems.

According to the agency, efforts to enhance systems and procedures will help it achieve its target of producing up to P250 billion in investments by 2024.

PEZA reported that investment approvals reached P175 billion in 2023, up 24 percent from P140 billion in 2022, above its 10-percent growth target.