Procurement professional practices go global

Governments and procurement departments around the world face real challenges in delivering good quality products and services, including challenges of mounting debt and budget cuts. In some areas of the world, immaturity or corruption in purchasing departments compound the difficulty.

Good practices do exist, however, despite media reports of waste and inefficiency. Excellent results are being achieved around the world using best practice principles. Capturing these best practices and sharing them more widely with anyone responsible for procurement in the public sector can have a real impact on standards and change.

To that end, NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement and the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) have jointly released Ten Global Public Procurement Practices. Part of a larger shared initiative to define and formalize global professional standards for government procurement officials, these ten standard practices provide high-level guidance across the following procurement activities: Strategic Procurement Planning; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Use of Cooperative Contracts; Transparency; Risk Management; Ethical Procurement; Procurement Policy Manual; Performance Management; and Performance-Based Contracting.

In addition, NIGP and CIPS will continue to jointly develop and release additional practices while maintaining an ongoing review process to ensure that the body of practices remains relevant and supports the evolving needs of government procurement practitioners over time.

Public entities at all levels of government perform many of the same procurement activities, yet their methodologies and outcomes differ because each entity’s practices have been defined based on their unique operating environments. Creating a reference of formalized standard practices, established through the collaboration of public sector professionals around the world, provides agencies an authoritative resource to define professional standards of practice across critical public procurement functions.

As political leaders draw increasing scrutiny and voter pressure to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, procurement professionals must ensure that they maximize the value of every tax dollar. U.S. governments spend a combined seven trillion dollars, Canadian governments 360 billion dollars, and U.K. governments more than 500 billion pounds. Consistent and professional procurement practices across governments can positively impact the effective expenditure of public funds.

It is a mistake to see procurement policies as a mere set of rules governing practice and not as a crucial strategic approach on which true capability can be built. Smart procurement teams formalize policy and process development and train their teams to have a thorough understanding of process design and to decide what is appropriate for their organization. Smart procurement teams:

• have a developed set of procurement policies and procedures.
• ensure that the procedures easily accessible, indexed and cross-referenced.
• have a high-level procurement policy in place
• have clear procedures to inform staff about changes in legislation.

CIPS and NIGP have both been involved in the public sector for decades, each working in their own sphere of influence, until now. Both organizations share a common understanding and view of procurement, so it makes sense to combine their expertise. The partnership’s aim is to work together for the public good, bringing professionalism and best public sector practice to governments all over the world. A lofty ideal maybe, but a simple one and a way of extending the reach of good procurement practice to public sector groups on a global scale. Also, there will be real and tangible deliverables and not just a list of intentions. The results should change how individuals and organizations work, and the activity can be quantified and measured to highlight the progression and improvements.

Since 1944, NIGP has been developing, supporting and promoting public procurement practitioners through premier educational and research programs, technical services and advocacy initiatives. With more than 2,400 member agencies representing more than 15,000 professionals across the United States, Canada and countries outside of North America, the Institute is international in its reach. NIGP’s goals is recognition and esteem for the government procurement profession and its dedicated practitioners.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) is the world’s largest procurement and supply professional organization. It is the worldwide center of excellence on purchasing and supply management issues. CIPS has more than 65,000 members in 150 different countries, including senior business people, high-ranking civil servants and leading academics. The activities of purchasing and supply chain professionals have a major impact on the profitability and efficiency of all types of organization, and CIPS offers corporate solutions packages to improve business profitability.

The joint global initiative is a significant milestone for the public sector and has the potential to contribute significantly to the public good and global economies. Establishing and leading adoption of a set of principles and practical documents, and a common procurement language around the world, is ambitious. Support of the initiative throughout the public sector can help to achieve worthwhile and sustainable change.