Category: Procurement Methodologies

Procurement Methodologies

4 Steps for Dealing with Price Volatility in Commodities 

It has been over a year and a half since Covid-19 hit our borders. As a procurement professional, you have had a front-row seat.  You’ve stepped up despite sometimes having little to no experience in procuring specialty items like masks and gowns.  Now, with new variants emerging, supply chain disruptions, and a shortage of goods and services (i.e., meats, cars, and employees), state procurement offices continue facing volatile commodity pricing. As we enter the holiday season, how can state procurement officials best navigate these uncertain markets?   Read more “4 Steps for Dealing with Price Volatility in Commodities “
Procurement Methodologies

Just Released! Reverse Auctions: A Roadmap for Success

Online reverse auctions have been around for a few decades, especially in the private sector and federal government. Many states have statutory or regulatory authority to conduct reverse auctions. However, many public buyers don’t use them on a regular basis. Moreover, some states that conducted reverse auctions haven’t always achieved the expected savings or outcome. Read more “Just Released! Reverse Auctions: A Roadmap for Success”

Procurement Methodologies

5 Things You Should Know About Reverse Auctions

Are reverse auctions a win-win for both parties? The answer depends on who you ask, and as always, “the proof is in the pudding”. If done right, they can be a win-win for both buyers and suppliers. The online reverse auction is a cost-effective way in which a single buyer procures goods or services from multiple bidders using an online bidding platform. In this article, we will share a few tips to help demystify reverse auctions and maximize mutual benefits for both parties.

Read more “5 Things You Should Know About Reverse Auctions”

Procurement Methodologies

Is Agile the Answer?

“We used waterfall to put a man on the moon, so it can’t be that bad,” said Aldila Lobo, Principal with Deloitte Consulting. This line certainly got a laugh from the crowd at NASPO’s Exchange conference in New York City – but it holds a fair amount of truth as well. “Waterfall” is the non-modular procurement methodology that originated in the construction and manufacturing arenas and became popular as a method for software development and procurement. The process of development literally flows from one stage to the next. Agile, on the other hand, focuses on flexibility, continuous improvement, an embrace of change, speed, and satisfied customers. Agile comes not in stages that build on one another, but in sprints, where pieces of the larger puzzle are developed one at a time.
While Agile development and procurement methods have taken hold as an elegant solution to decades-old problems, the simple truth is what Aldila alluded to – that sometimes, for some types of procurements, waterfall is still best. However, Agile and other modular procurement methods do two things that make it easier to manage large developments: they segment risk and increase transparency. While Agile and modular procurement aren’t just for information technology procurement and software development, those are the most popular applications.

Read more “Is Agile the Answer?”

Procurement Methodologies

Effective Sourcing Strategies: How Innovative is Your State Government?

Public procurement professionals often need to ask themselves, “Should we innovate, or can we use our traditional sourcing methods more effectively?” Many state central procurement offices have answered “Both!” to this question with much success.
Innovation continues to be a buzzword. We often hear calls for government innovation and rethinking public procurement, especially due to budget constraints or to keep up with the fast pace of innovation in technology.
Innovation can mean implementing new or better solutions. These could include changes as simple as a facelift to a traditional procurement method, adopting a new approach such as modular procurement, simplified multi-step bidding, communications with the supplier community prior to issuing a procurement opportunity or allowing the state to test new technologies before procuring them. Sometimes, the most innovative ideas come from procurement professionals in the trenches who work closely with stakeholders and can offer helpful feedback.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of hosting a webinar highlighting innovative and effective ways of procuring goods and services in state government. Read more “Effective Sourcing Strategies: How Innovative is Your State Government?”
Procurement Methodologies

Top Five Ways to Make Modular Procurement Work

If you’ve ever been faced with the frustrating situation of having a Phillips head screwdriver in hand when you actually need a flathead, then you know what it’s like to not have the right tool when you need it. To deal with the myriad of issues they face on an almost daily basis, state procurement officials need all the tools they can get their hands on, and modular or iterative procurement is a key addition to the toolbox.
Modular and Agile methods can be game-changers in procurement offices, especially when it comes to IT procurement. Recently, NASPO and NASCIO joined forces by bringing State Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs and State Chief Information Officers (CIOs) together to talk about how to improve IT procurement. One of the key recommendations of the task force of CPOs and CIOs was to “use iterative/non-waterfall procurement methodologies when appropriate to improve procurement cycles, add flexibility, and reduce risk.” Everyone agrees that Agile and other iterative procurement methods are the future of state procurement… but how do we get there from here?
The road to true iterative procurement can be a rocky one, and if a state procurement office doesn’t plan well, those rocks can turn into boulders. It is key to think through the switch-over to non-waterfall methods, communicate with staff and key stakeholders about the changes being made, and constantly re-evaluate whether what is happening is working toward the betterment of the procurement process.
Here are five tips to making modular and iterative procurement methods work in your state office: Read more “Top Five Ways to Make Modular Procurement Work”