COOPERATIVE PROCUREMENT: GREAT VALUE (GREAT CONFUSION)

Cooperative procurement” is defined by NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement as “the combining of requirements of two or more public procurement entities to leverage the benefits of volume purchases, delivery and supply chain advantages, best practices and the reduction of administrative time and expenses.” Cooperative procurement solutions offer resource challenged agencies the opportunity to gain needed operating efficiencies as well as hard dollar savings.

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NEGOTIATION: Lost Art or Core Competency?

To negotiate means “to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter.” In procurement, negotiation is indeed about arriving at settlements between buyers and sellers, taking the form of binding contracts. NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP) supports the use of negotiation in public procurement and has reflected that support through many educational courses and presentations covering various aspects of negotiation.

Still, is negotiation a lost art? Or is it a core competency deserving of even greater attention?

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BEST VALUE IN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

Since the early 1800’s, government organizations have often relied on the relatively simplistic lowest-bid process of publically-advertised competition as the primary method for getting value from its purchases. In contemporary thinking, the drawbacks of over-reliance on the low-bid method are well recognized, particularly around potential shortcomings in quality, reliability and service. Alternative procurement methods that consider and balance multiple issues regarding costs, service and risk have evolved in response to the limitations and risks of the low-bid method.

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OUTSOURCING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Examining the role of the Chief Procurement Officer in the outsourcing decision and process

In the public sector, outsourcing is the “contracting out” of functions that historically have been provided by public employees. The belief that there are functions which are best performed by the private sector is not new. Moving these functions from the public to the private sector requires a fair and open process in the public’s best interest.

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TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT: TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

A position paper from NIGP on the importance of transparency in public procurement

Procurement in the public sector plays a unique role in the execution of democratic government. It is at once focused on support of its internal customers to ensure they are able to effectively achieve their unique missions while serving as stewards of the public whose tax dollars bring to life the political will of its representative governing body. The manner in which the business of procurement is conducted is a direct reflection of the government entity that the procurement department supports.

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