DEVELOPMENT agency One NorthEast has chosen information technology company Sage to put it at the forefront of e-procurement.

Sage, of Newcastle, and its partner Ascent Technology, will provide the agency with financial and workflow management systems.

Sage Line 500 will provide financial management and detailed project costing while Ascent Workflow will work with Sage to provide management of purchase order requisition, authorisation and payment processing.

The systems will put the agency in a strong position to meet the needs of the region for the next decade.

Malcolm Page, director of finance at One NorthEast said: "The agency is involved in a diverse range of programmes and initiatives throughout the region. We are running between 5,000 and 10,000 individual projects and account for some 60,000 sales ledger transactions and 40,000 purchase orders annually.

"These new systems will improve efficiency and speed workflow throughout the agency, benefiting both programmes and our own administration."

Graham Wylie, managing director of Sage UK said: "Sage is a global software supplier with customers worldwide, but we, as a company that has always been based in the North-East and a significant local employer, are delighted to be supporting One NorthEast in fuelling further growth and development in the region."