Partner Article

5 ways landlords can be better at procurement

Below our Chief Executive, Rod Brasington, looks at five ways he thinks social landlords can be better at procurement.

“I read an article online last week titled ‘Five ways social landlords can be better at procurement’, which discussed the various ways landlords can improve supply chain management to make sure they are getting the best results for their tenants. It was an interesting read and got me thinking about how procurement’s reputation is changing.

Procurement has long been seen as the section of the business that you go to when a new photocopier or more kitchen units are needed or the team who will slap your wrists for buying things out of contract. However, it’s finally beginning to lose its reputation of being a money-saving exercise and is being seen as an activity that can offer real, hard-hitting, strategic contribution. This is great news for procurement teams all over the country who have long been trying to show their colleagues how their procurement activity can positively impact their individual agendas. However, we need to make sure that we can show our colleagues the ‘whole life costs’ our procurement activity can bring, not just the initial savings so that they don’t slip back into old habits.

Procurement is all about ‘adding real value’ and demonstrating this value this clearly. Showing colleagues and stakeholders the obvious procurement benefit is essential, but we must also clearly show them how it will make their job easier or give them more time to pursue other business objectives- basically, how it will make them more successful in what they do. As procurement professionals, we need to be strategic and operational in our thinking. How we deliver this offer can have a huge impact in gaining or losing support and is one of the reasons why we’ve probably not had the most support in the past. Here’s hoping this is the time the tide will begin to change…“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Prosper .