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The Changing Face of Procurement in 2021 – Keeping you informed

Back in December, the Government published their Transforming Public Procurement Green Paper, with the goal of speeding up and simplifying procurement processes, placing value for money at their heart and enabling innovation in public service delivery. But what does this mean for UK buyers and suppliers and what challenges lie ahead in the coming months?

Here at BiP Solutions, we are delighted to announce an all-new series of monthly briefings and webinars specifically designed to help buyers and suppliers navigate the challenges which may arise in light of the proposed changes to the current procurement framework. Both the briefings and the accompanying webinars have been specifically tailored to help these organisations to ensure they can work effectively, compliantly and responsively in what is a dynamic and fast-changing environment.

We will also be hosting live events and creating other assets throughout 2021 and beyond, making sure we are supporting our clients through what will be one of the largest set of changes in the public sector procurement landscape for decades.

As well as the upcoming briefings and webinars, our research arm, BiP Inform will soon be releasing the report from our inaugural research project, aiming to give us a better understanding of the thoughts of public sector buyers and suppliers regarding the latest proposals.

‘The proposals within the Transforming Public Procurement Green Paper represent the largest changes to procurement process and practice in the UK for decades. At BiP Solutions we are tracking developments closely and have committed to ensuring our customers are the best informed about what these changes mean and how they should prepare for them. Exciting times lie ahead, but buyers and suppliers should engage with our campaign to ensure they have the information and insight they need to stay compliant and competitive as the proposals become policy and then practice’ (Grahame Steed, Content, Research and Communications Director, at BiP Solutions.)

For all updates and announcements regarding the Green Paper and other key developments in 2021, please visit our dedicated site: www.bip-inform.com

ENDS

LGPE 2016 Review

LGPE

Leading the way in local government procurement, LGPE (Local Government Procurement Expo) returned for a second year at London Olympia on 2 November 2016.

Opening the event, Public Sector Consultant Colin Cram said:

“Local government is going to be at the heart of public service delivery transformation; it is getting more and more devolution from Whitehall, so local government will be responsible for more and more public services.”

Reflecting on this change was Tower Hamlets Council CEO Will Tuckley, whose LGPE keynote explained the importance of devolution in reshaping UK healthcare.

Mr Tuckley said:

“Devolution creates lots of opportunities to use the best expertise we have in local government and the NHS – across the public sector – to get better value.

“In these hardened times we still spend a lot of money ensuring that people have better chances in their lives and one of the ways people have better chances is by being healthier; so it is all of our responsibilities to work together to produce better outcomes. Devolution enables us to do this by taking decisions closer to these communities.”

Also keen to improve local government spend was Malcolm Harbour CBE, who outlined his hopes for the future in the LGPE keynote ‘Innovation in Procurement’.

He stressed:

“Public sector procurement people should be more ambitious, not too prescriptive; they should think about the big problems they want to solve then bring big ideas together to solve them. This is the way that we are going to get better public services that are more efficient at a better cost, doing a better job.”

While Mr Harbour recognised the importance of budget efficiencies, he added that procurement reform required more.

He explained:

“Procurement tends to be seen as a technocratic and bureaucratic exercise, whereas actually it is far more important than that; so procurement leaders need to ensure that they combine innovation in their strategy for the communities that they serve.”

Echoing this sentiment was Eastleigh Borough Council CEO Nick Tustian, who spoke at the LGPE Adding Value Training Zone.

Mr Tustian said:

In recent years I have noticed how you have to go through quite a massive cultural and organisational change to get to be commercially minded in procurement and I don’t think most public sector organisations really appreciate the level of change needed.”

He added: “Events like LGPE are essential to help people share their knowledge; everyone is on the same journey, just at different points along the way. I love coming to these events because I love listening to others; there is a lot of good practice out there.”

Best practice tips were shared in the LGPE keynote as well as in the Adding Value, Professional Procurement Skills, Social Value and Supplier Training Zones. Between training sessions, both buyers and suppliers took to the conference floor to network.

Peter Marshall, Professional Services Director at Commerce Decisions, said:

“I hosted a talk at LGPE about the development of appropriate evaluation criteria and after hosting the talk I got lots of people coming up to my stand, looking to chat about their projects and organisations.”

He continued:

“Partnering at an event like LGPE is a very important part of starting to understand your supply base and partners. If you want to ensure that you are getting the best value for money out of your bidders then you need to engage with them as early as possible.”

Reflecting on the conference, Social Value UK’s Communications and Membership Coordinator Christina Berry-Moorcroft commented in a similar vein:

“We managed to chat to people who are in charge of procurement as well as businesses that are tendering bids.”

Echoing this sentiment was Sims Recycling Solutions Business Development Manager, Guillaume Maricourt.

He said:

“I have most enjoyed networking at LGPE; sometimes we have talked to people in procurement who are not in IT but have helped us get in touch with the IT procurement department for their companies.

“If you want to get involved with procurement in the public sector then LGPE is definitely a good show to be at.”

Register your interest in next year’s event by visiting the LGPE website

 

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