Technology can help purchasing teams get more agile and reach diverse suppliers

Public procurement teams are enduring multiple changes, says Thierry Jaffry, chief growth officer at mdf commerce, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider in digital commerce technologies. One shift Jaffry has seen: “There is a lot of staff retirement across the board in procurement, and the positions aren’t getting backfilled, so people have to do more with less. That’s also where modern procurement technology will help fill the gap.”

Jaffry adds: “The pandemic has increased the workload and the pressure on procurement departments to acquire goods and services quickly.” At the same time, the pandemic forced agencies to introduce remote work in their operations, and the agencies had to increase overall agility. Governments, he explains, are using digital solutions to facilitate work and communication in many public sector offices. In response to ongoing changes in the workplace, public procurement staffers are now required to develop new skills, to react quickly, and be flexible and creative to meet changing demands, Jaffry explains.

Cities and counties need to embrace technology and be willing to collaborate to help them deal with change, Jaffry believes. He thinks source-to pay technology, which covers steps to acquire goods and services, is worth considering. “Source-to-pay solutions can help government agencies achieve more with less and enable them to drive greater value out of their public procurement budgets. The key to streamlining the government source-to-contract process lies in both updating the technology used and being open to embracing that change.” He adds that governments and technology providers “must work together to help streamline the entire process, not only with the government departments, but also their existing suppliers.” These providers may offer eProcurement, procure-to-pay or source-to-contract solutions.

Jaffry says his firm offers a solution that may boost competition for government supply contracts. “Periscope, powered by mdf commerce’s source-to-pay solutions, has been enabling local and state government agencies to transform their procurement practices by driving increased vendor participation.” He adds that the technology can help agencies generate more value out of their procurement budgets.

He explains that the user-friendly procurement platform that the city of Long Beach, Calif., launched in partnership with Periscope, powered by mdf commerce, has yielded promising preliminary results. The sample set from the platform shows more bids and vendors received per procurement request.

In addition, updated procurement technology can help create a level playing field for diverse suppliers, Jaffry believes. He says his firm’s solutions can help disadvantaged vendors and contractors win government contracts. Vendors from under-represented groups such as Hispanic, Black, Indigenous, people of color and women can benefit, he explains, from his firm’s Periscope eProcurement online marketplace. Jaffry’s company also can create an easy-to-search catalog for these vendors that puts them on an equal footing as big-box suppliers.

He explains: “Often, people just think about the bidding and the award process. However, the real benefit to these diverse businesses comes when agencies are able to shop off their contracts easily, in a guided buying experience—all aligned with a government’s priorities. For example, if a government wants to hit a goal for MWBE (minority and/or women-owned business enterprise) participation and spend, a technology tool could prioritize those contracts to populate first during search results.” Jaffry adds that his company has a strong supplier enablement team that can assist suppliers from under-represented groups.

Jaffry believes cooperative procurement contracts from nationwide cooperatives and elsewhere can be a useful tool. “Using cooperatives allows agencies to optimize the efficiency of the procurement process by reducing the sourcing cycle and saving time by accessing pre-approved vendors while ensuring full compliance.” He adds that local entities, including municipalities, school districts and special districts can often buy off state contracts within the state. Jaffry’s firm has programs in New Jersey, Oregon and Arkansas to help all suppliers compete to get on their state government’s statewide contracts.

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].