The Government’s G-Cloud initiative to ease public sector procurement processes was first set up in 2012. Nearly five years on and G-Cloud 8 (G8) has now been officially launched. This latest framework has seen Cedar selected as a provider of Specialist Consultancy Services across a range of areas of expertise including: – Procurement and Commercial Services, – Project and Programme Management, – Business Change and Transformation, – Finance Management and Information Technology/Cloud Management.
This is a great result for Cedar and we are in discussions with numerous government departments to provide specialist solutions.
In 2013/14 the annual public sector procurement spend was in excess of £240bn – 33% of the total public sector spend for that year. Commentators are already saying that Brexit could save £1.6bn annually in procurement costs. Moreover, Deloitte’s 2016 CPO survey highlights that the public sector is already slightly ahead of the curve. As an example, the financial services sector feels it doesn’t have nearly enough of the right skills or capabilities to deliver procurement strategy, but government feels marginally better equipped to do so (80% vs 57%) – albeit that both are under significantly resourced. Recruiting new talent and retaining the right people is difficult and getting harder year on year.
Digital disruption is creating the opportunity for new tools and ways of working and the rise of the gig economy are forcing businesses to be far more flexible in their approach to procurement outsourcing. At Cedar, we believe that by 2030, interim and self-employment will account for the majority of procurement placements rather than full-time jobs as businesses look to attract the best talent for their needs.
The public sector is beginning to bring in specialist skills to fill gaps, often from large corporates that have well-defined procurement strategies in place that have proven to deliver effective cost reduction and major service improvements.
Brexit effect Two other areas that are top of the priority list are supply chain risk and ethical supply. Both of these will come under increasing scrutiny as Brexit negotiations get underway next year. The UK was very influential in the drafting of the current EU directive and changing it would be costly and time-consuming.
Working together for maximum benefit Looking at one government department in particular – the NHS – procurement has been chaotic at every level with numerous different strategies put in place to reduce costs and, by extension, the ever-increasing debt burden. The latest strategy is similar to that proposed by the Department of Health procurement policy team two years ago – to seek private sector providers for 11 categories of goods and services – effectively outsourcing procurement.
Both the Crown Commercial Service and the newly set up NHS England could provide good commercial solutions, but it’s important they work together and maximise the use of collaborative opportunities with the rest of the public sector.To find out more about Cloud-based services and how Cedar can assist your business contact us on 0203 002 8050 or email info@cedarrecruitment.com
