{"id":9108,"date":"2025-08-08T13:58:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T17:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/?p=9108"},"modified":"2025-08-15T13:32:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T17:32:47","slug":"fulton-county-modernizes-procurement-and-survives-a-cyber-attack-with-sovra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/success-story\/fulton-county-modernizes-procurement-and-survives-a-cyber-attack-with-sovra\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulton County Modernizes Procurement and Survives a Cyber Attack with SOVRA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Situation:<\/span> A System Held Together by \u201cBand-Aids\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>

Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, was managed through a bid board on its last leg. Mark Hawks, Chief Assistant Purchasing Agent for Fulton County, described it frankly: \u201cIt was held together with Band-Aids, scraps, and everything else,\u201d said Mark Hawks. Solicitations were downloaded online, but all submissions had to be delivered in person, an unfeasible model when the COVID-19 pandemic made physical interaction impossible.<\/p>

\u201cThe pandemic hit, and we realized we had to do something,\u201d said Hawks. \u201cWe needed a solution where we could post bids as well as receive bids online.\u201d<\/p>

Solution:<\/span> Starting in the Middle and Expanding Full Circle<\/strong><\/h2>

Fulton County\u2019s modernization journey began where the need was most urgent, sourcing<\/a> and bidding. During the height of the pandemic, paper-based bid submissions were no longer viable, and the County needed a digital solution that could be deployed quickly. SOVRA\u2019s sourcing module provided exactly that: a way to post solicitations, receive responses electronically, and continue critical procurement operations in a remote environment.<\/p>

But what started as a crisis response evolved into a full-scale transformation. As the County\u2019s procurement team saw the benefits of digitizing one part of the workflow, they quickly realized that true modernization meant addressing the entire Source-to-Contract<\/a> lifecycle.<\/p>

\u201cWe started in the middle, sourcing and bidding, and then we said, \u2018We need to do more,\u2019\u201d said Mark Hawks. \u201cWe went to award, contract management<\/a>, vendor performance, then circled back to the requester module. We made it full circle.\u201d<\/p>

Each phase of adoption brought new efficiencies: awards were tracked and communicated more quickly, contract documents were digitized and made auditable, vendor relationships were actively managed, and intake requests were finally structured and trackable. The modular nature of the SOVRA platform allowed the County to expand at its own pace, layering in capabilities based on priority and readiness.<\/p>

By the time the requester module was implemented, bringing the intake process online, the County had a connected, end-to-end procurement platform that improved transparency, speed, and internal coordination across all phases of Purchasing.<\/p>

Outcomes for Fulton County<\/strong><\/h2>

Visibility and Accountability<\/strong><\/h3>

Procurement requests are now easy to track and verify, giving clear, real-time insight:

\u201cWith the requester module in place, we can track legitimate requests. That was the biggest difference. And our senior managers love reports. With SOVRA, we can show them exactly where a request is\u2014no more shell games,\u201d said Hawks.<\/p>

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Cleaner Bids and Better Vendor Relationships<\/strong><\/h3>

Since switching, vendor participation has improved dramatically:<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019re getting better bids. They\u2019re cleaner, better structured, and on time. Vendors love that they don\u2019t have to print and hand-deliver anymore. It\u2019s more cost-effective and saves them time,\u201d said Hawks.<\/p>

Dramatic Reduction in Administrative Burden<\/strong><\/h3>

SOVRA replaced time-consuming tasks with automation:<\/p>

\u201cPublishing bid results is now a couple of clicks. We automate communications using templates. Before, we had to write each one manually,\u201d said Hawks.<\/p>

Procurement Continuity During a Cyber Attack<\/strong><\/h3>

When the County\u2019s ERP and communication systems were knocked out in a cyberattack, SOVRA kept procurement operational:<\/p>

\u201cEverybody was down, phones, emails, financial systems, but Purchasing kept going,\u201d said Hawks. \u201cWe used SOVRA to help Finance process invoices. At the end, departments didn\u2019t want to give their system access back; they loved it that much.\u201d<\/p>

The crisis also forged stronger relationships with the Finance Department, which became newfound champions of the platform.<\/p>

Favorite Features:<\/span> Functionality That Delivers Real Impact<\/strong><\/h2>

Bid Evaluation Module<\/strong><\/h3>

SOVRA\u2019s bid evaluation module replaced Fulton County\u2019s manual Excel-based scoring process with a fully digital workflow. The system enables custom evaluation templates by solicitation, automates scoring, and facilitates simplified collaboration among evaluators.<\/p>

This feature didn\u2019t just modernize the process; it transformed it. \u201cIt eliminated so many errors and hours of Excel work,\u201d said Hawks. \u201cEvery solicitation can have a customized evaluation form, and the ease of changing it from one RFP to another was just awesome.\u201d<\/p>

Collaboration Module<\/strong><\/h3>

Before SOVRA, collaborating on solicitations involved emailing documents back and forth between procurement, departments, and technical reviewers, often resulting in chaos due to version control issues. With SOVRA\u2019s built-in collaboration tools, stakeholders can co-author documents in real time, track every change, and control permissions.<\/p>

\u201cNow we can give everybody access, keep track of changes, and once collaboration is finished, publish directly to the sourcing page,\u201d said Hawks. This eliminated the need to manually reconcile edits or worry about departments unintentionally modifying procurement language.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cNow we can give everybody access, keep track of changes, and once collaboration is finished, publish directly to the sourcing page<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mark Hawks<\/strong>, Chief Assistant Purchasing Agent \u2013 Fulton County, GA<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Vendor Performance Tracking<\/strong><\/h3>

Fulton County is required to evaluate contracted vendors quarterly\u2014a process that was previously unmanageable with their legacy system. SOVRA\u2019s vendor performance module enabled procurement to automate reminders, store supporting documentation, and notify vendors in a centralized and auditable manner.<\/p>

\u201cOur board mandates quarterly evaluations, and this system lets us meet that mandate efficiently,\u201d Hawks explained. \u201cSenior management loved it because it gave them what they needed, without the administrative headache.\u201d<\/p>

Requester Workflow<\/strong><\/h3>

Request intake has also undergone a dramatic improvement. What was once managed through sprawling Outlook inboxes is now streamlined through SOVRA\u2019s requester module. Departments initiate procurement actions through a centralized form, and Purchasing can track, reject, or request clarification without ever losing a paper trail.<\/p>

\u201cThis has been the biggest difference,\u201d said Hawks. \u201cWe can now track legitimate requests, explain rejections clearly, and stop wasting time on unclear asks. It\u2019s changed everything.\u201d<\/p>

Conclusion:<\/span> A True Partnership, Built to Last<\/strong><\/h2>

Fulton County\u2019s journey with SOVRA didn\u2019t end with implementation; it evolved into a trusted and strategic partnership. As the County expanded its use of the platform, the relationship deepened. SOVRA\u2019s team didn\u2019t just support the software; they took the time to understand Fulton County\u2019s people, processes, and priorities.<\/p>

\u201cThey know me. They know my staff. They understand my staff… It\u2019s great that they have that personal feeling, that personal touch with Fulton County.\u201d<\/p>

That familiarity has translated into more than just technical support, it\u2019s created a foundation of trust, speed, and mutual respect that continues to grow. Whether navigating a systemwide transformation or responding to unforeseen events like a cyberattack, SOVRA has consistently delivered solutions tailored to Fulton County\u2019s needs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Situation: A System Held Together by \u201cBand-Aids\u201d\u00a0 Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, was managed through a bid board on its last leg. Mark Hawks, Chief Assistant Purchasing Agent for Fulton County, described it frankly: \u201cIt was held together with Band-Aids, scraps, and everything else,\u201d said Mark Hawks. Solicitations were downloaded online, but all submissions had to be delivered in person, an unfeasible model when the COVID-19 pandemic made physical interaction impossible. \u201cThe pandemic hit, and we realized we had to do something,\u201d said Hawks. \u201cWe needed a solution where we could post bids as well as receive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-9108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-story"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9108"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9898,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9108\/revisions\/9898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9108"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovra.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=9108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}