Tag: state procurement

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 “
Pulse Podcast

Public Procurement During COVID: Parts 1 & 2

NASPO is proud to present our new podcast, NASPO Pulse Podcast!
Every other week, tune in right here to Procurement Pulse to hear the latest podcast. Each episode is hosted by NASPO’s own Media Production Project Manager, Kevin Minor who will be interviewing NASPO leadership and staff, state central procurement officers, and subject matter experts.

Click HERE to download the new episodes!

Read more “Public Procurement During COVID: Parts 1 & 2”

Green Purchasing

Not Another Green Blog

Everything you buy has a story. That story has a profound impact on our planet and community. Imagine, if you will for a moment, the butterfly effect. A pop-culture reference suggesting that a butterfly can flap its wings in Rio de Janeiro, causing a tornado in Kansas. Now apply this effect to a plastic water bottle.  The bottle, seemingly harmless, acts as a vehicle for your water.  Once its purpose is served, you throw the bottle in the garbage (or recycling bin) without much of a thought. But did you know before you even bought that bottle of cold, refreshing H20, it affected your surroundings? “The production of plastic water bottles requires up to 17 million barrels of oil each year. This amount of oil has the ability to maintain up to one million cars fueled for an entire year.” [i] Now, I’m not here to prevent you from buying bottled water or tell you to stop throwing away plastic bottles (although you should recycle them). I want to emphasize the importance that everything you buy has an incredible impact on our environment. More so, the purchasing power that states possess has a great impact on not only the environment, but economy and community as well.

Read more “Not Another Green Blog”

NASPO Events & Education

A Day in the Life: Gary Lambert

This week we caught up with Gary Lambert, the Assistant Secretary for Operational Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Gary Lambert was appointed assistant secretary for Operational Services on March 21, 2011. Prior to this appointment, Gary held a number of leadership positions over his 30-plus years in the public and private sector. During his tenure at the Operational Services Division (OSD), Gary and his leadership team have executed a number of programmatic and organizational changes focused on outcomes that benefit OSD’s customers through the use of The 4 Disciplines of Execution. Gary served as an advisor to the TechAmerica Foundation’s State & Local Government Cloud Commission, and he is a member and past president of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO).
Mr. Lambert is a graduate of Suffolk University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a recipient of NASPO’s Giulio Mazzone Distinguished Service Award in 1998.

Read more “A Day in the Life: Gary Lambert”

Professional Development

Get Your Certification ON!

Public procurement professionals are the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars and are held to a higher standard of conduct, excellence, and integrity. The continuous development of academic degrees related to procurement as well as national certifications are necessary to elevate the public procurement profession as a recognized and highly regarded career path. For procurement professionals who are interested in elevating their career, getting certified, and having fun along the way, where should they go? The answer is the UPPCC! Read more “Get Your Certification ON!”

Technology & IT Procurement

Blockchain: The Public Sector Big Picture

The private sector has invested more than 1.4 billion dollars in blockchain since 2014. To put this number into context, this is on par with the amount of money spent on internet investments during the early 90’s! What do you know about blockchain? Personally, I knew almost nothing besides the fact it was a technology people were excited about and that it had something to do with Bitcoin. Luckily for me, Procurement U recently released a free course entitled “Blockchain: The Public Sector Big Picture”. This course provided me with a basic understanding of how blockchain works and explains it in a simple, approachable way through videos and interactive graphics.  As someone who is not the most technically savvy, I can say that this course helped me understand blockchain and made me excited about its potential uses. This course goes over how blockchain works and how it can be used in procurement. Take this Procurement U course to start exploring blockchain and its uses in your office!

Read more “Blockchain: The Public Sector Big Picture”