Procurement Strategy

Purpose

To assist the University in achieving its objectives by improving and advancing the consistent application of best Procurement practice across the University to achieve best value for money. The Procurement Office holds responsibility for Procurement processes across the University. This encompasses strategy, policy, procedures and adherence to legislation.

Some key areas for the Procurement Office to focus on are: -

• Raise awareness of the Procurement function to ensure legislative compliance
• To encourage Procurement involvement at the earliest stages of projects
• Implement standard procurement processes and procedures to promote best practice across the University
• Increase understanding of Sustainable Procurement as part of best practice
• Ensure appropriate contract coverage for the University's requirements, either through collaborative contracts nationally and regionally or as an individual organisation
• Developing efficient online procurement systems and processes, including eProcurement and Procurement Cards
• Monitor supplier performance and develop the supplier base
• Identify and improve communication and training for Collegiate and Departmental buyers
• Identify and implement process savings initiatives such as consolidated invoicing
• Improve data gathering and reporting
• Develop improved communication tools, including webpages and shared directories

Objectives

The Procurement Office's main objective is to positively influence non-pay expenditure in an ethical and transparent manner.

In order to achieve this, the following have been identified as key objectives: -

• To reduce costs and increase value for money when the University has requirements for goods, services and works. This includes whole life costing, consideration of sustainability of supply and legislative compliance.
• To update procurement documentation as required, particularly with regard to new legislation, the Scottish Government's Procurement Policy Handbook and the Scottish Government's Procurement Journey
• To continue Procurement training across the University
• To actively seek feedback from University end users
• To produce Procurement reports that allow analysis of expenditure, transactions and suppliers to better inform Procurement strategy and direction and make best use of resources
• To increase the level of orders going through the University's eProcurement system (Pecos)
• To increase the level of supplier content available for end users on Pecos
• To increase the use of Procurement Cards across the University
• To work with suppliers to reduce the number of invoices submitted to the University
• To actively seek collaborative partners for University contract priorities in order to maximise best value