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Procurement decisions don’t fail inside procurement. They fail when real-world conditions hit them. That’s what we assess.
If implementing an eProcurement solution could save the government significant money but in the process cost you or others their job as a buyer what would you do?
June 30, 2011
There were a number of other disputes in the public services during the year with several pay disputes across the UK decentralized civil service pay bargaining arrangements. However, the largest industrial action there involved workers in the Department of Works and Pensions protesting at the planned 30,000 job cuts imposed as part of the Gershon […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
Given the focus of this week’s posts, the Contracting To Win Keynote is worth a replay
June 29, 2011
In April 2010 I delivered a keynote on transparency in public sector procurement to senior government executives in Washington, D.C. at the 3rd Annual Business of Government Summit. Given this week’s focus on procurement in the public sector, I thought that a replay of our audio synchronized PowerPoint would be very interesting given the nature of the […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
To what degree does legislation and related policy affect either positively or negatively the government tendering process?
June 28, 2011
I write tenders & oversee tender evaluations for an Australian govt body – and I’ve always included criteria around “innovative” business processes & systems. Sadly the responses to these questions are usually very disappointing and just offer up the industry standard fare… I don’t think that a supplier having a competitive advantage contradicts the concept […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
Are public sector RFPs the equivalent of a pro wrestling match in terms of outcome?
June 27, 2011
Has anyone had an experience challenging a requirement in an RFP as not a true requirement? Using Blake’s “must have completed some ridiculous certification course that I have never heard of” example, has anyone had experience challenging that as not necessary? Would the same results from someone who hadn’t completed the certification couse be just […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
There is no excuse for a buyer to be bushwhacked by a supplier . . . is there?
June 26, 2011
What can you do if you pay on advance and receive 20% of the material you purchased? The seller refuses to refund the money or send the pending material without a new bigger order!! Question posted in LinkedIn Efficient Purchasing Group My response to the above question was succinct and perhaps a little harsh but […]
Posted in: Commentary, Supplier Relations
Is a career in the public sector (re government) a good career choice?
June 26, 2011
The dynamics of a changing world especially as it relates to the economy as well as other factors means that a career in the public sector is not what it used to be . . . if it ever was. Here is the question by way of our Procurement Insights Poll . . . is […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
Recent announcement by UK Government re open source software refocuses attention on PI 2007 post
June 25, 2011
Government departments were told in a Cabinet Office policy note (PDF) dated 31 January that they “should wherever possible deploy open standards in their procurement specifications”. In its note, it defined open standards at those that are “publicly available at zero or low cost” and that have “intellectual property made irrevocably available on a royalty-free […]
A stroll down the Way Forward memory lane . . . good thing I have the movie rights!
June 24, 2011
Small business people claim they face financial ruin and the daily lives of thousands of civil servants are changing as the way the government conducts business is transformed. In the most recent federal budget, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale targeted $11 billion in savings. Of that total, $7 billion will come from streamlining the procurement process, […]
Posted in: Commentary, Public Sector Procurement
Five thought provoking and controversial white papers available when you subscribe to the PI Supply Chain Resource Library
June 22, 2011
Over the years I have been engaged to do research and then write about specific areas of procurement. This has included my government funded work relative to the utilization of an agent-based model in the development of a web-based, on-demand platform back in 1998, to commodity characteristic analysis and ERP vendor studies. Suffice to say […]
Procurement Insights 
2020 Predictions interesting, but are they an accurate reflection of what is to come?
July 8, 2011
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Okay, I admit it! While I had originally planned to write about Free and Open Source Software or FOSS in the public sector this week (a topic that has been of great personal interest), it seems that there are just too many rich stories out there to share that have a much broader appeal than […]