9 December 2010 | Sue Morecroft
The launch of specifications for sustainable procurement and collaborative working offers a powerful strategic weapon for purchasers and suppliers, as Sue Morecroft explains
Standards can be powerful tools for business. Lord Jones, former director-general of the CBI, believes they should form part of any organisation’s strategic weaponry. UK businesses operate in a highly competitive global environment where agility, efficiency and innovation are the watchwords of success and standardisation plays an important part in that.
Businesses that comply with standards often have a competitive advantage as buyers will often use compliance to choose between comparable suppliers. Standardisation also promotes interoperability along the supply chain and provides the competitive edge that is necessary for effective worldwide trading.
Purchasing and supply chains are built on many processes and the application of standards can support the identification of best practice by making a clear statement to all stakeholders of commitment to excellence.
BS 8903:2010, launched this summer, sets out the principles and framework for sustainable procurement. The new standard has been developed with the help of a
wide variety of participants including
central government, the private sector and pressure groups.
It gives guidance on how sustainable procurement principles and practice can be embedded in an organisation and its supply chain. It also offers practical advice to support the implementation of these practices.
Each stage of the procurement process is covered, from recruitment and training to processes, supplier engagement and results measurement. This standard is closely aligned to the five themes of the government’s sustainable procurement flexible framework.
BS 11000-1:2010, published in October, provides a strategic framework to improve collaborative relationships by effectively sharing knowledge, skills and resources to meet mutually defined objectives. The standard explores partner selection, working together, value creation and relationship maturity. It provides a structured approach to collaborative working where emphasis is placed on harnessing collective capabilities that deliver additional value to all stakeholders.
This standard is based on an eight-phase model. The relationship management plan groups the phases into three high-level components: awareness, knowledge and internal assessment. Partner selection and working together form the engagement level, and value creation, staying together and exit strategy form the management level. Each phase is broken down into five levels of activity and together they form the principle components of successful
collaborative relationships.
The standard was developed with input from many industries. It provides a platform for self-assessment and development, as well as a basis for benchmarking the collaborative capability of organisations with potential for accreditation. The longer-term objective of the standard is to move to an ISO standard in recognition of the multinational nature of today’s business community.
☛ CIPS members can buy British Standards at discounted rates through the CIPS bookshop
* Sue Morecroft, product development manager at CIPS
