Procurement matters
The goals of central purchasing bodies can vary a great deal when they are arranging tendering processes to acquire products or services. The underlying reason for the tendering may be, for instance, the expiration of an agreement or the need to find a new, innovative product or service to replace an outdated one. Setting clear goals, such as whether the goal is maximum savings or optimal quality, facilitates the creation of the terms and conditions and criteria for the tendering at the preparation stage.
The goals are the foundation and the indicators for the effectiveness of the tendering. Even if the prices slightly increase, the procurement process can be considered successful if the procurement goal was cutting the processing time by half, achieving better durability or a transfer to using products that save energy, for instance.
Looking at the results
The success and effectiveness of a procurement process can often be determined only during the agreement period. Effectiveness comprises a variety of factors in addition to money. Measuring the added value generated by a tendering process is challenging.
In late 2019, Hansel launched a project where the goal is to collect further information on the effectiveness of customer-specific tendering processes. Indicators that can be monitored will be set at the beginning of the project for the effectiveness of each project.
The effectiveness indicators include:
- Project responsibility
- Innovativeness
- Achieved cost savings
- High quality of a procured product or service
- Increased expertise
When the procurement process concludes, the effectiveness is assessed in relation to the set quantitative and qualitative goals.
The first results on the measuring of the effectiveness of customer-specific projects and the achieved results are expected by the end of 2020.