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25 January 2012 | Angeline Albert
A major restructure of the procurement
department at Cardiff Council
is under way, with current purchasers applying for new positions in the
function.
The local authority is expanding the
function from 20 to 33 buyers and implementing category management, having been
given a remit from the chief executive to improve procurement and commissioning
operations and faced with a target to save £18.5 million by 2015.
Head of commissioning and procurement Steve
Robinson has 10 procurement roles still to be filled by internal or external staff.
The improved function will have three category teams, and will be made up of
senior category managers, category managers, senior category specialists and
category specialists.
“We are in the process of recruiting
staff,” Robinson told SM. “We have CIPS-qualified
staff and will continue to focus on this but other core competencies such as
decision-making, report-writing and communication skills will help buyers
challenge the business and drive innovation. It’s not just about centralising
activities but changing the way we work to be more strategic.”
To drive his plans forward, Robinson has
been working with the University of Glamorgan to implement the
transformation.
To avoid council departments buying the same
or similar services twice, Robinson is also keen to raise the profile of
procurement and improve the internal business’ understanding of what
commissioning is. He is currently developing guidance for all council staff.
Cardiff council’s third party spend is £316
million a year. By integrating category management with commissioning, and
understanding the needs of Cardiff communities to better inform category
management, Robinson believes the team can more effectively influence spending
decisions.
Procurement and commissioning is one of
seven priorities announced by chief executive Jon House, who was appointed in
October 2010.
