Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australasia

UK changes to public procurement opens the door for smaller suppliers

30 Aug 2010

Source:  Supply Chain Digital

Public sector procurement has recently made headlines, in the UK at least, as it works its way up the agenda writes Ellie Duncan in her article on the future of Public Procurement.

The coalition government has committed itself to huge cost savings in a bid to reduce the budget deficit. While there has been speculation that outsourcing public sector services will result in job losses, there is another side to outsourced procurement in the public sector. For smaller suppliers, it could pose a huge opportunity.

Roger West, Global Head of Outsourced Procurement at DHL, believes that there are increasing opportunities in the public sector. “We have been talking to various government departments about how we think procurement can be done differently or better, particularly under the new government, and with the current financial constraints,” he says. “There’s a huge emphasis on saving money at the moment, which is great for procurement because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”

The move to outsourcing public sector services could result in more collaboration between the private and public sector and one example of a public sector outsourcing strategy that has worked is the NHS Supply Chain.

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