1. What You Need to know about Procurement- Working together to get Best Value  
Pippa Dooley, Northern Representative for Crescent Purchasing Consortium

2. AGENDA Legislation and Rules for Academies -EU Rules, the basics
-Academies Financial Handbook
Importance of procurement
-Difference between purchasing and procurement
-How to manage the risk of buying the wrong thing/paying too much

3. AGENDA How to achieve value for money
  Both as an individual institution and through collaboration
Benefits of using Consortia
What help is out there
What CPC can offer

4. Rules and Legislation
Public procurement rules and EU Procurement Legislation
Academies Financial Handbook

5. Rules and Legislation Academies must:
Ensure regularity, propriety and value for money in their management of public funds
Avoid waste and extravagance
Ensure efficient and effective use of all the resources in their charge
Ensure a competitive tendering policy is in place and applied

6. Rules and Legislation EU Rules – the basics THEY ARE LAW!
Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/05)
Fundamental principles
Transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality
Public spending is open to competition

7. Rules and Legislation EU Rules – the basics
Contracting Authorities MUST tender via OJEU requirements where aggregated spend for is above threshold
Outcome of OJEU exercise must be published

8. Rules and Legislation Thresholds
Supplies and Services £173,934 (€200,000)
Works £4,348,350 (€5,000,000)
Aggregated spend over contract period or 4 years (maximum framework period).
Change every 2 years on 1st January next change in 2014

9. Importance of procurement
Purchasing vs Procurement
Purchasing is…
The specific activity of committing expenditure
It tends to focus on issues of price rather than of value
It’s placing the orders – doing the buying

10. Importance of procurement
Purchasing vs Procurement
Procurement is…
The entire process of acquiring goods and services
The identification of requirements, specifications, assessment of risk, management of tendering processes, ordering, contract award and the management and monitoring of suppliers‘ performance

11. Importance of procurement
Purchasing vs Procurement
Procurement is…
It takes into account factors such as the cost over the life (whole life costs) of the good or service, and the quality necessary to meet users' requirements

12. Importance of procurement
The Procurement Cycle
Identify the Need
Manage Performance
Specify the Requirement
Purchasing is the ‘buying’
Develop Market
Identify Potential Suppliers/ Procedures
Award & implement Contract
Agree Prices & Terms
Invite Proposals
Evaluate Proposals

13. Importance of procurement
Organisation’s total expenditure
A – Staff Pay
B – Capital
C – Revenue
Sound procurement practices will improve the School or Academy’s overall value for money activities on both these areas of expenditure

14. Importance of procurement
Planning your purchase
Budgets are tight, so you must plan before you purchase
Assess the need
Consider alternatives to purchase

15. Importance of procurement
Planning your purchase
Could you collaborate with other schools to increase your buying power?
Check if there is an existing deal available to you
Estimate the total contract value
   

16. Importance of procurement
Possible thresholds
less than £10K, low value purchase, write a statement of requirement, framework or 3 quotes (written ideally)
£10k to £40K, medium value purchase, write a business case and a specification, framework or at least 3 written quotes

17. Importance of procurement
Possible thresholds
£40K + (but below the EU threshold), high value purchase, write a business case and a specification, framework or tender
purchases with a value above the EU thresholds, write a business case and a specification, must use the OJEU
tendering process

18. Importance of procurement
Business Cases
Regarded as good practice
Adopt for all new projects / initiatives over a specific value
Opportunity to explore alternative sourcing options and truly test out the actual need

19. Importance of procurement
Contract Management
keep copies of all related documents
build a good relationship with your supplier
ensure the goods or service is delivered correctly, meeting your requirements

20. Importance of procurement
Contract Management
manage risks effectively
change control procedures
exit strategy

21. How to achieve value for money
What is value for money?
Achieving financial savings that can then be re-invested in your priorities for driving up standards
Ensuring that the goods or services purchased are fit for purpose

22. How to achieve value for money
What is value for money?
Ensuring suppliers deliver (and continue to deliver) as agreed
Ensuring legal and financial obligations are complied with

23. How to achieve value for money
What is value for money?
Paying less for the same product
Paying the same for a better quality of product
- Where you need the better quality
Getting added value at no extra cost
Reducing the Academy’s exposure to risk
Streamlining your processes
Becoming more sustainable

24. How to achieve value for money
Practical Steps
Analyse expenditure
Review your contracts
Identify opportunities for rationalisation
Deliver admin savings
Collaborate across key spend areas

25. How to achieve value for money
Practical Steps
Benchmark and compare
Use consortia frameworks to access compliant and competitive arrangements

26. Benefits of using Consortia
Compliance with legislation
Use of frameworks that have followed best practice procurement protocols
Terms available that represent collaborative spend, not just your Institution’s spend

27. Benefits of using Consortia
Support from professional procurement team if suppliers are not performing
Reduces time spent on procurement activity and frees up resource for front-line delivery
Freeing up savings to re-invest in
educational priorities

28. Benefits of using Consortia
What is a framework?
A purchasing framework is an ‘umbrella agreement’ that sets out the terms (particularly relating to price and quality) under which individual purchases (call-offs) can be made throughout the period of the agreement.

29. Benefits of using Consortia
What are the benefits of using a framework?
The panel of suppliers has been vetted and approved
Economies of scale, competitive pricing
Where a panel has more than one supplier, the suppliers are engaged in constant and repeated competition for business throughout the life of the framework, which tends to keep them on their toes!

30. Benefits of using Consortia
What are the benefits of using a framework?
‘Calling off’ from a framework is typically a quicker and simpler process than setting up a new contract by yourself from scratch.
Better service levels
Reduced risk
On-going support from the Consortia

31. Who can help? www.buyways.co.uk
Free online training course developed to provide an introduction to procurement for non-procurement professionals working in schools.
Contains information about the procurement process, including useful links to deals, training and further resources.

32. Who can help? Crescent Purchasing Consortium
1500+ Academy and School memberships
Dedicated website for Academies and Schools
Government Procurement Service

33. What can CPC offer?
Free membership (no cost, hidden or otherwise, to join)
75 Framework Agreements
Successful Academies Insurance Framework
Proven value for money on all arrangements
Contract management
Access to free professional purchasing advice

34. What can CPC offer?
Procurement related resource – template policies / procedures / guidance
Benchmarking
Professionally operated consortium web site
E-Newsletters
No obligation to use CPC deals once a member
Low cost Introduction to Procurement training workshop for CPC members in the North East, Sept ‘13

35. And to Finish….

36. And to Finish…. Questions?
Contact information
Pippa Dooley, Northern Representative
Customer Helpdesk