More efficient procurement
Efficiency in the pursuit of high quality is to be valued in any circumstances. But for procurement managers across the public sector, it has never been such a prominent focus of Government policy.
How standards can streamline procurement
Procurement efficiency means a range of things - from streamlining operations and eliminating waste in your organisations, to ensuring the quality and reliability of the goods and services you buy from your suppliers.
Standards are ideally placed to help you deliver in these areas. A standard sets out the expert view on best practice on a given question. It's a simple idea, but a powerful one.
For example, you can use standards to improve the efficiency of your working practices, and you can ensure the quality of your purchases by stipulating that your suppliers must conform to relevant standards.
As Ros Aird, Head of Hertfordshire Business Services, puts it: "Compliance with standards gives you added confidence in your suppliers."
Other advantages of using standards as part of your procurement process include:
- a shared set of clear specifications to help buyers and sellers communicate more effectively
- a resulting decline in supply-chain errors
- the ability to pursue other policy objectives through your procurement activities (for example, by only buying from suppliers that have complied with an environmental-management standard)
View the Improving the efficiency of public procurement publication (PDF, 2.70MB)
A wider range of benefits
Procurement is only one area where standards can help you deliver a balance between quality and efficiency in the public sector. We've produced a guide highlighting a wide range of benefits, which you can download here.
