Pride in Procurement
Gillian Askew • May 1, 2020
Pride In Procurement
On Thursday 23rd April, I attended a COVID-19 supply chain workshop which explored some of the challenges the health service has faced and is currently facing, as well as lessons learned. A line from one of the speaker’s opening address particularly resonated with me: ‘Public service is what you do, not who pays your salary.’ I couldn’t agree more.
We explored two main actions:
1. Action for now
– to continue the drive to support our country through the pandemic with critical supplies
2. Action for the future
– to prepare for a second wave if there is one, or preparation for if another pandemic hits us in the future
We need to make sure we can use the valuable learnings and experiences from crisis management and future-proof; to make sure we’re as prepared as we can be for any future crises
Using data to predict and prepare
We also heard a lot about data and the usage of it. This was doubly interesting to me as I know it is a key area of focus in the rules reform when looking at what public procurement could look like post Brexit. In terms of a pandemic, being able to better predict the disease path and what will be needed where, when and for how long is crucial to the supply management of something like this. It plays a crucial role into asset usage, because data can tell us where the best place for a product is based on a set of needs and priority parameters. Some may argue that asset utilisation isn’t a new concept and they'd be right, it's not. But doing something like that on a national or even regional basis, especially when you're under this much duress, is incredibly difficult.
Streamlining supply and demand
That being said, the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP) talked through some great examples of how they’ve been doing exactly that in their region. They have in effect, acted as one joint region when looking at product need and provision. It can be complicated to navigate critical need versus comfort stock, but the GMHSCP has been moving supplies around to where it’s needed most, streamlining supply and demand. To give this some context, in terms of PPE, they’re using three or four times as much as they would normally, so in addition to good quality asset utilisation they have had to think creatively about product sourcing.
Think local
One of the outcomes has been around local sourcing. Neil Hind from GMHSCP says that now more than ever it’s absolutely critical to be able to access and optimise your local supply chains or develop new local supply routes. For example, GMHSCP are supporting new manufacturing lines in Manchester. In addition, there’s improved management information and a much more dynamic decision-making processes at play. It’s not lost on me then that in the midst of all the crisis management has come an absolute recognition of the power of procurement. If I may be so bold as to suggest, perhaps another group of unsung heroes in this are those who have been, and continue to be, tireless in their pursuit of product that will help treat this disease and ultimately save lives.
Inundated with support
As a career procurement professional focussing on developing small businesses within the public sector, the ask from Neil at GMHSCP was interesting. Whilst they’ve been successfully procuring from new entrants including managing the required checks and balances; such as agreement builds, product checks etc they also acknowledge that they can be and have been inundated with offers of support. Whilst this is brilliant, there needs to be some thought given as to how this support can be used efficiently. This is definitely something for me and the Federation of Small Businesses Special Interest Group to give careful consideration to.
All in all, I came away from the workshop with a renewed sense of pride and gratitude to all my fellow procurement professionals in the public sector, many of whom are performing an impossible task in the most challenging environment our generation has ever faced.
Procurement Isn’t Becoming Less Human — It’s Becoming More Demanding
In 2019 I approached the Federation of Small Businesses asking if I could work with them on trying to make it easier for small businesses to access and work in the public sector. They invited me to set up and Chair a Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG is made up of small businesses and public sector organisations and our one exam question is centred around that widening participation agenda. We have 4 activity streams in the SIG, one of which is SME/VCSE development program. We've called it Go4Growth and it's a free (forever) program and community. Go4Growth as a team is made up of several small businesses working together to help other SMEs and VCSEs to navigate the sometimes complex world of the Public Sector. We have a built a program that we believe can help any smaller business, regardless of type. Here are just a few of our current focus areas: 1. Helping businesses to grow in the Public Sector 2. Building relationships or taking the first steps to supply the Public Sector 3. Collaborative working or consortia/partnerships 4. Building greater economic resilience for the future 5. Recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 6. Dealing with Brexit, environmental or other issues Our program offers support in various ways; our aim is to ensure it's accessible to everyone, personalised to your business so support is given in a way that makes the most sense and adds the most value to you. I'm really proud to be Go4Growth, I'm proud of the program, how quickly we have developed it and how only a few weeks in we are seeing more and more businesses get involved so already we're identifying barriers and helping businesses to overcome them. For any small businesses or VCSEs out there reading this blog, give me a shout. The program is there to help you grow in the public sector and connect you with a fast growing business community. Gill gill@go4growth.co.uk www.twitter.com/Go4Growth_UK www.LinkedIn.com/Company/Go4Growth www.facebook.com/Go4GrowthUK www.facebook.com/groups/Go4Growth