Preparing for e-procurement

Many authorities are daunted by the prospect of adopting e-procurement, they are uncertain of how to develop a business case and what impact an implementation will have on the orgainisation. 'Preparing' aims to support authorities in their preparation for e-procurement.  Currently, we have an organisational paper on resourcing for e-procurement and technical papers on data integration, procurement spend analysis and optimising your procure-to-pay processes.  

Summary findings from NePP case studies

We have created three summaries of findings from our case studies:

Download key drivers for e-procurement (PDF, 2 pages, 67 KB)
Download key benefits from e-procurement (PDF, 8 pages, 72 KB)
Download key lessons learnt from e-procurement (PDF, 4 pages, 68 KB)

Thanks to Peter Ripley and his staff at Lancashire County Council for developing the original versions of these summaries

Preparing a business case

General guidance for producing business case for investment projects. 

Organisational Papers

Organisational papers are aimed at managers responsible for building a business case for e-Procurement.  

Resourcing e-Procurement (PDF, 153KB, 14 pages) 
An organisation's resourcing requirements for e-Procurement  

Developing an e-Procurement Policy (PDF, 91KB, 7 pages)
A paper that introduces and discusses the common issues that arise when developing an e-procurement policy  

Technical Papers

Technical papers are aimed at management staff who will be responsible for delivering e-Procurement in the authority.  

Procurement spend analysis (PDF, 230KB, 18 pages)

Procurement spend analysis for e-Procurement 

e-Procurement for schools (PDF, 73KB, 4 pages)
An issues paper for schools

e-Procurement for schools (PDF, 80KB, 4 pages)
An issues paper for authorities

Process Maps

London Borough of Haringey: Purchase to Pay Diagram (PDF, 7 pages, 78KB)
In order to fully appreciate both the work already underway and also the potential for additional improvements Haringey mapped their current process from end to end. The purchase to pay P2P diagram shows each of the major steps of the process with separate diagrams showing the more detailed sub processes, both from a business and a technical (SAP) perspective. Representatives from Corporate Procurement, Accounts Payable, Core Systems and IT services reviewed the process, identifying work already in progress and ideas for additional improvements. This gave Haringey the scope for future improvements and an understanding of the resource requirements and the change management involved.

The mapping gave everyone in the authority a clearer view of the process and the inter-relationships between different aspects; this allowed Haringey to appreciate the impact on different elements of the process. Only by seeing the entire process could they begin to appreciate the improvements that could be made, the impact of those changes and the impact that previous changes had made. The bringing together of business and technical sides of the business ensured all aspects of the process were covered and also increased everyone’s knowledge and understanding of the purchase to pay process.

Bristol Contract Cycle Wallchart (PDF,  1 page, 88KB)
Bristol City Council have mapped their contract cycle process from project scoping through e-tendering to contract review. As a result they have produced a detailed diagram which shows the entire process, including inputs and outputs, in a clear easy to follow format. The diagram also shows how e-tendering, contracts management and e-ordering will be utilised by Bristol City Council.