Other purchasers of equipment, particularly in the private sector, were reluctant to share information because they did not see any direct benefit to themselves in doing so. A number were also concerned about the potential impact on their commercial and contractual relationships with their suppliers of sharing price information with the Department.
The Department was also unable to share information about the cost of EDS services with third parties in some circumstances. We were told that this was because some EDS contracts with its suppliers prohibited it from sharing that information.
Suppliers bundle products in different ways at different times to different customers, making price comparisons difficult and time consuming.