1. Procurement – A Help or a Hindrance?
Ask a typical staff member to go to Procurement and they will often reply ‘where are
they based’? Why do I need to go there? And these are often the polite replies.
Traditional Public Sector Procurement Departments are often seen as places that
staff don’t venture to, don’t know where they are even and a place of last resort
when calls are not responded to. We are often cited as ‘back office’ functions. Of
course, there are many examples no doubt that compound this stereotype but is it
fair anymore?
In all of my time in Procurement, I have never met anyone that grew up wanting to
become a Procurement expert, Doctor, nurse, actress, airline pilot, footballer, train
driver even but Procurement Expert, never! An old saying is that if you can you do
and if you can’t then you teach (a gross slight on that profession) so do Procurement
get what everyone else has not wanted? Are we a back office function with staff
unable to move quickly and effectively?
Staff and Perception
In my career, I have had the privilege to have worked with some highly intelligent
people. People that are able to understand complex situations, configure them and
get outcomes that at worst are status quo and in many examples deliver benefits that
are simply outstanding. People that have attended some of the Procurement Award
Dinners will see many examples of substantial good work conducted by teams up
and down the country.
While it is a fantastic and necessary opportunity to praise good work, the majority of
people in those rooms are Procurement Staff, where are the CEOs, the FDs? They
are often notable by their absence. So we pat ourselves on the back and turn up for
work the next day with the same stereotype baggage hoping that someone
somewhere will recognise what we bring – or could bring.
Procurement in many Public Sector organisations have little or no chance of working
to their true potential. Organisations work for the here and now rather than for the
medium to long term. The mantra is savings, savings, savings. It is expected that
Procurement can, or should be able to re-negotiate contracts and remove upwards
of 10% of the costs.
This, in my experience, is completely unrealistic as to begin with we are (often)
negotiating from a high price with a stakeholder group that is unwilling to change
product or supplier, ie we have no weapons. When there is talk of Strategy, people
look to the Clinical side, the Estates side, the IT side etc. A notional Procurement
Strategy (and Policy) document is often cobbled together in order to satisfy Internal
Audit.
In many supply organisations, sales (and R&D dependant on the organisation of
course) are the prime department with regards to development, resources and so on.
Sales staff are trained in skills in order to maximise the profitability of the
organisation that they work for. Boards debate and decide on the best way of
marketing and selling their goods and/or services.

2. This function takes up a lot of thinking time by intelligent people and it pays off.
Typical multi-national global after sales profits are in the order of 20 - 30%. They
think through strategies that are expected to deliver in time periods of years, not
months.
On the other hand, staff in Public Sector Procurement Departments get little of no
training. I should know, I train Procurement to these very people. A set of 1 day
courses which they soak up as that is all they will get. They are given a role and
often are shown how to ‘do it’ by the staff leaving – good or bad. Often this just
perpetuates bad practice, not best practice.
Thinking again on the achievements made by Procurement, on the case studies
described in the awards dinners. What Procurement achieves against the backdrop
of all of this this is simply stunning. We do all of this in spite of rather than because of
everything and the teams up and down the country should be applauded and
encouraged to develop and move forwards.
Development
Staff within Procurement teams need to feel that they are valued and need to be able
to have input into their area of work. This is not rocket science but in organisations I
have worked for it seems that everyone can have a say about Procurement except
for the Procurement Department.
Systems and processes get stuck in a rut and a continual cycle of failure is not only
endorsed but allows for an effective scape goat for the ills of an organisation. Of
course buyers etc can get things wrong, that is life but in order for there to be a true
way forward experienced Procurement staff need to have their opinions listened to.
Organisation often replace, change and sometimes outsource Procurement only to
have the same issues whoever comes in. Repeated cycles of failure will only
succeed in driving out good staff.
Staff need proper development, they need to be trained in developing their skills. It
would be unheard of for Clinicians to ‘just get on with it’ or ‘learn from the other guy’
which is needed no doubt. Why though do we expect that to be the case in
Procurement which should be strategically close to the Organisation’s objectives?
Influencing, listening, presentation and reporting skills are of paramount importance.
Sales staff are trained in all of these areas and more so that they can see from clues
such as body language and so on where a buyer’s position is. They create and
manage relationships with key influencers within organisations to further put barriers
between Procurement and their stakeholders. It is a game which many Public Sector
organisations buy into.
Everyone believes that they are a good negotiator. It brings a certain amount of
kudos and recognition. What people do not realise is that this is exactly what sales
staff want us to believe. It means that they do not need to work hard when it comes
to negotiations.
Market research is another area where the Public Sector just does not begin to
explore. In all of the organisations where I have worked, none have anyone that

3. analyses the market. Negotiators are expected to do this without the time, resource
or skills necessary to undertake it. So when we go to the market, we are hoping
rather than driving the required benefits from the exercise.
Procurement to make a difference
If organisations truly want to create an effective Procurement Department then
above all they need to understand what an effective Procurement Department can
do. There needs to be an effective plan regarding spend areas that is aligned to the
Corporate strategies, this must include input from Procurement. We need to
influence the requirements as well as driving the outcomes. Projects in many
successful Private Enterprise organisations do not start until multi-functional groups
have looked at everything including the costs of the project.
Systems and processes need to be reviewed so that they add value instead of
becoming barriers. There needs to be a balance between governance and simplicity.
Often processes are so complex that only one person can understand them. A single
point of failure is never a good thing and often it is individuals blocking change as
they see it as a slight on ‘their’ process.
Above all, Procurement teams need time to develop, they need time to put strategies
in place that will deliver in longer timescales than months, they need time to change
processes and procedures to be a help and not a hindrance. Often there is precious
little time to go round but without it repeated cycles of failure will continue. Repeated
cycles of inefficiency will endure. All of the teams I have worked in or managed have
often come up with ideas, good ideas to improve things only for those ideas to be
lost in the mists of time. Staff become disillusioned and stop thinking about doing it
better. We become what people accuse us of being, a hindrance.
Procurement can be very good, it can help organisations achieve and it can become
a ‘business partner’ to stakeholders but in order to do so, organisations need to start
taking it seriously. It is a worry that often the only good procurement departments are
in organisations where Senior Executives have come through Procurement or
Procurement related areas.
John Baglivi
MCIPS