https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Procurement


Readers’ Responses

Readers’ Responses

Editor's Note: In the October 2002 issue of Government Procurement, contributing editor, Paul R. Ghere, wrote of the similarities and differences in procurement
  • Written by Null Null
  • 1st December 2002

Editor’s Note: In the October 2002 issue of Government Procurement, contributing editor, Paul R. Ghere, wrote of the similarities and differences in procurement communities in the article, “Public and Private Sector Purchasing: One Purchaser’s Perspective.” Following are readers’ responses to the article plus a rebuttal from Ghere.

I enjoyed your article in the October issue of Government Procurement. The difference (and similarities) between private and public purchasing is an interesting topic and one that is often discussed concerning many different issues. Unfortunately, all of my 30-plus years of experience are in public procurement. However, I have a couple of comments from my perspective.

I’m discouraged when public-procurement officials blame the law for their poor performance. The laws can be changed. This is reflected in the ABA’s Model Procurement Code and efforts of many jurisdictions. Increasingly, CEOs (e.g., city managers, county administrators, etc.) are demanding that public-procurement officials be more responsive to value-based purchasing and customer needs, less process driven, more proactive, etc.

As you know, we (the National Purchasing Institute) are trying to capture many of these issues in the criteria of the Achievement of Excellence (AEP) in Procurement award program. Mr. Ghere’s organization, East Bay Municipal Utility District, is a three-time winner of the AEP.
—Wayne Casper, C.P.M., Dept. of Procurement, City of Tucson, AZ


Speaking as a colleague with 30 years of experience, certified by UCLA, and a former employee of East Bay M.U.D., I would like to congratulate Mr. Ghere for his accurate representation of the nuances between the public and private sectors.
—Paul L. Como, Procurement and Materials, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (TX)


If you believe that the “public sector simply makes decisions based on selection of the lowest responsible bid,” you are badly misinformed and I question the appropriateness of this article in a public purchasing magazine. For your information, most public purchasing sectors are heavily involved in best-value procurements and various other negotiated requirements that are far beyond simply selecting low bids that you may have been accustomed to during your career in public contracting.

By the way, when were you last in public purchasing—the 1890s?
—Johnny Richardson, CPPO, CACM, Orange County (FL) Government Purchasing and Contracts Div., Orlando, FL


Paul R. Ghere’s Rebuttal: Mr. Richardson is right on target. Many public agencies are not confined to “low bid” purchasing decisions. Such decisions are just not appropriate as they relate to professional service contracts, agreements that involve significant technology expenditure, and many other areas. Unfortunately, as it relates to material and supply acquisitions, many municipalities, school districts, special districts, cities, counties, etc. are subjected to laws and ordinances that continue to require this decision standard.

This is why, as noted in Mr. Casper’s comment, that I encouraged my professional peers to continually fight to change laws that hinder us from protecting the public interest and trust as efficiently as we might otherwise be able to do if such laws did not compromise our professional competency.

I’m sorry that Mr. Richardson failed to recognize the point of the article, which was to identify some of the reasons public and private sector purchasing are different by nature, while recognizing that neither is more or less difficult than the other. He chose rather, to focus on one comment and value the entire article accordingly. This is his right, and I respect that.

Tags: ar mag Procurement

Most Recent


  • hybrid technology
    Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making
    There’s one kind of technology that state and local governments covet, says Rob Carey, president of Cloudera Government Solutions. “While supporting multiple state and local government agencies, our team has noticed an increase in the need for hybrid cloud solutions.” A hybrid cloud is the combination of both public and private cloud deployment models. In […]
  • purchase
    Buying smart solutions: Technology is now part of (almost) every government purchase
    When municipalities first moved toward automation, early purchases concentrated on delineated silos between technology and non-mechanized purchases. With today’s purchasing trends, there seems to be a computer chip or automation component involved in almost every government purchase. Changing apparel industry Whether it’s uniforms for safety personnel, custodians or park rangers, work apparel is a long-standing […]
  • procurement IT
    The beauty of the beast: Why the pandemic & cybersecurity might actually improve procurement and IT collaboration
    For well over decade, IT managers have listed cybersecurity as their number one concern. Both the CompTIA Public Technology Institute (PTI) and the National Association of State Information Officers (NASCIO) have been tracking top trends in IT management, policy, governance and operational issues as they relate to state and local government. Only recently has “procurement” […]
  • procurement
    De-siloing procurement: Empowering purchasing with new data and perspectives
    While private sector companies leverage community, partnerships and knowledge sharing to drive growth, their ability to do so is limited by the competitive landscape. The number and scope of their partnerships are limited by the need to maintain competitive advantage. For governments, and specifically procurement departments, the rising tide of shared perspectives—and ideally information—lifts all […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Public procurement can be transformative for stakeholders in a community
  • The pandemic has led to big adjustments in procurement staffing in governments
  • Adapting procurement priorities for a post-COVID environment
  • IT infrastructure in government is getting a post-pandemic makeover

White papers


How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022

Hand Hygiene: Compliance Matters

23rd May 2022

What it Takes to Build a Winning Esports Program

23rd May 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Seamless Cooperative Experience Saves Indiana City Exponentially in Time and Money dlvr.it/SSxp95

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 best large cities for fishing dlvr.it/SSxbSZ

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Generational differences present an opportunity to reinvent public sector service delivery dlvr.it/SSxbN7

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Local and state governments are facing a retention crisis; the worst could be yet to come dlvr.it/SSnmS7

24th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships dlvr.it/SSkGBn

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making dlvr.it/SSk3H0

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Infrastructure highlighted by city leaders as top priority in analysis of 60 mayoral addresses dlvr.it/SSgBck

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Oklahoma City puts the focus on employees when implementing changes in office technology dlvr.it/SSfyns

22nd June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X