[An extract from the March/April issue of Public Sector Executive, written by Guilhem Lavabre, K Consulting's MD]

This article covers the important (and sizeable) middle ground of delivering progressive procurement in the Public Sector. At one end of the spectrum one finds mediocre, box-ticking ‘functional procurement’, where compliance with regulations such as OJEU is more important than the delivery of a sustainable commercial relationship that which ensures the desired outcomes; at the other end, true strategic sourcing, where public bodies strive to fundamentally shift their service delivery model through innovative sourcing strategies. However, the cashable savings and improved services that can be secured through increasing the level of sound, if not radical, procurement practices, is something that is often not exploited to its fullest extent in the Public Sector.

As a result of a continuing drive to devolve responsibility, accountability and, ideally flexibility, to the Services or Directorates holding the budgets, ‘Corporate’ Procurement generally only serves the role of both managing corporate contracts such as office supplies, and advising Directorates on the most appropriate procurement procedures to employ, effectively ensuring the procurement box is properly ticked. The issue with this arms-length relationship with Procurement is that the Directorate team rarely engages with the Procurement professionals again in the entire process. The tendering of the goods or services is run locally, in isolation, often with the local staff unaware of the value Procurement could have unlocked from a more comprehensive approach.

The value Procurement can add starts from the proper specification of requirements and ends with the satisfactory provision of the solution by the supplier – all at best Value for Money. Many organisations – both public and private – may preach this, but rarely put it into practice to its fullest extent.

To read the full article, please click here >