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Procurement decisions don’t fail inside procurement. They fail when real-world conditions hit them. That’s what we assess.
Outsourcing MOD Procurement by Colin Cram
Editor’s Note: With the recent NOGO-GOCO decision (at least for the next year) by the UK Government regarding a proposal to outsource the Ministry of Defence procurement function by way of a government owned – contractor operated model, the following August 2012 commentary from Colin Cram is worth revisiting. There is no perfect model for […]
Procurement Fraud by Colin Cram FCIPS
April 25, 2013
Editor’s NOTE: As a follow-up to my April 23rd post “Where did purchasing go wrong: Businessman sells £50 Million of fake bomb detection equipment to governments around the world,” contributing columnist Colin Cram has by way of today’s post provided his take on the James McCormick case. The recent fraud case where businessman, James McCormick […]
Posted in: Guest Posting, Public Sector Procurement
Where did purchasing go wrong: Businessman sells £50 Million of fake bomb detection equipment to governments around the world by Jon Hansen
April 23, 2013
The ineffectual detectors were used by soldiers and peacekeepers out in the field, putting lives at risk, with McCormick thought to have made an estimated £50 million from sales of his three models to Iraq, Belgium and the UN for use in Lebanon. from the April 23rd, 2013 Telegraph article “Businessman found guilty of selling […]
Posted in: Commentary
The High Cost of Low Costs (Women Pursuing Careers in Supply Chain) by Kelly Barner
April 23, 2013
I have recently become aware of a growing interest in women pursuing careers in supply chain. There are new recognitions for women in leadership roles, and groups being started to discuss the unique issues faced by women in supply chain. Other groups are founded to support the interest of employers to find qualified females to […]
Posted in: Guest Posting
A Canadian view of the NHS procurement controversy in the UK (Part 1 of 2) by Jon Hansen
April 19, 2013
“Of $4 billion NHS spent in 2009 on health service projects and innovation, only $224 million had impact on patient care, chasm must be closed” The above was my response to Bob Hudson, whose article “Annulling competition rules is the most important NHS battleground” appeared in the guardian on April 2nd. It has been suffice […]
Posted in: Commentary
Restructuring Government Procurement by Colin Cram
April 19, 2013
The UK government appears to be moving towards centralising civil government procurement in all but name. It was less than 3 months ago that I proposed* to a UK Parliamentary committee (the Public Administration Select Committee) the creation of a ‘Crown Procurement Service’ for the whole of the public sector. This proposal, based on my […]
Posted in: Guest Posting, Public Sector Procurement
Procurement again in the headlines and at the centre of legal and political controversy by Dr. John Rigby
April 17, 2013
Those keeping their eye on public procurement matters in the UK over the last few months will no doubt have been aware of the controversies surrounding the implementation of the new Health and Social Care legislation which seeks to increase competition in the provision of health services in the UK and which may, some believe, […]
Posted in: Guest Posting
Appetite for Development: How Procurement Departments Differ in Their Desires for Continuous Staff Training by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2
April 17, 2013
Editor’s Note: Charles is founder, president and chief procurement officer of Next Level Purchasing, which offers the SPSM (Senior Professional in Supply Management) family of certifications. Be sure to check out Charles’ Purchasing Certification Blog. In my line of work, I see four types of procurement departments relative to their appetites for professional development. Type […]
Posted in: Guest Posting
Assimilating Innovation (Part 3 of 3): Tracking “The Game Changers” (3D Industri.es) by Jon Hansen
April 16, 2013
Sometimes – and it doesn’t happen often – one’s own rich history and depth of experience in a particular area intersects with emerging market shifts to provide a moment of epiphanic realization. What makes this the more exciting, has little to do with being right or calling the shot. It is instead the actualization of […]
Posted in: Commentary
Margaret Thatcher: An Insider’s Perspective by Colin Cram (Part 2)
April 15, 2013
Editor’s Note: Part 1 of this series was posted on Thursday, April 11th My report on procurement proposed more outsourcing and a team was set up to drive this forward. However, the government was unable to overcome resistance to it. By the time John Major had taken over, in 1991, my estimate was that much […]
Posted in: Guest Posting
Procurement Insights 
April 30, 2013
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