Have you heard of NASPO’s Top 10 Priorities for State Procurement?

Annually, NASPO surveys each member state or districts’ Chief Procurement Officer and asks them to rank their priorities for the oncoming year. The results are combined to produce the Top 10 Priorities in State Procurement for the year. At NASPO, we use the Top 10 to help guide our publications, courses, and resources that we produce throughout the year.

Let’s see how we covered them on Pulse in 2021!

Priority 1: eProcurement

eProcurement and ERP system adaptation, increasing statewide use, and implementing updated systems has been at the top of every procurement official’s list. In this piece, read about steps your office can take to make their eProcurement/ERP solution more sustainable.

Priority 2: Central Procurement Office as Strategic Leader

 Public procurement is changing. No longer should procurement officials operate as just buying. We interviewed retired Chief Learning Officer of NASPO, Dianne Lancaster about the changing face of procurement in light of COVID-19, and how procurement officials can leverage their experience and skill sets to raise the standard of leadership.

Priority 3: Customer Service to Agency Stakeholders

Despite what some in the state may think, procurement officials do not enjoy saying no. If you want to learn how to be a problem solver and work towards symbiotic solutions, you’re not going to want to miss this piece.

Priority 4: Change Management

In case you’ve missed the last year, change is everywhere for public officials and procurement officials are no different. Managing change whether it be process, administrative, or implementing new technologies and ensuring their successful adaptation can be a hard, stressful, and exhaustive process. Did you know there are ways to make it easier?

Priority 5: Analytics for Data-Driven Decision Making

 Are you aware of all of the resources NASPO has available on technology? This piece does a great job of listing out helpful publications, webinars and more.

Priority 6: Continuous Process Improvement

When was the last time you reviewed policies and procedures for efficiencies? Is a reflection period standardized as a part of your internal process? If you don’t take the time to reflect on what you have accomplished and how it can be improved, you will forever be stuck in a world of paradox. For this piece, we interviewed Bart Lemmon, Director of Supplier Development and Global Initiatives at NASPO ValuePoint to discuss new initiatives implemented.

Priority 7: Talent Management and Succession Planning

How is your state ready to tackle all of the challenges in talent management? Have you tried leaning on your internal experience? Mentoring programs are accessible ways to cross-train skill sets and help your office be information-silo free.

Priority 8: Effective Contract Administration

Public procurement knows cost is just what you pay, value is what you receive. Use the framework discussed in this article to learn about how Supplier Relationship Management brings value to procurement.

Priority 9: COVID-19 Response

As states continue to respond to COVID-19, procurement officials have remained agile. In this article, we discuss addressing the element we all missed the most during our virtual life, networking; and how you can still accomplish it in a virtual world.

Priority 10: Training and Certification

Training is not a box that needs to be checked, it’s a tool executive management can use to inspire, motivate and promote. This article discusses how training and certification can be used as major tools to help move your procurement office forward.

It’s a rapidly evolving world out there. To make sure that your office is staying up to date on the newest strategies for moving forward, make sure you subscribe to Pulse Blog.