Page 33 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2021

JUNE 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE BUSINESS BEST PRACTICE 33
START AT THE VERY BEGINNING
According to recent research, public sector organisations could save 15 per cent of their budget if they adhered to procurement best practice – that equates to a staggering $1.5 trillion globally.
PETER MARSHALL | CANBERRA
WHILE the long lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains is still to be seen, one thing’s for certain – there is more emphasis than ever on the need to demonstrate that what’s being spent is being spent wisely. If the last financial crisis back in 2008 taught us anything, it was that in times of economic uncertainty, there is more scrutiny on public spend than ever, combined with a great- er focus on transparency.
With this in mind, taking a fresh look at how you manage your procurements to ensure you achieve the best possible value for money has never seemed a more valuable exercise.
Having spent the past 20 years supporting global procure- ment teams and witnessing first-hand the challenges that come with managing strategic complex procurements, our biggest tip for getting best possible outcomes (including value for money) on your projects is to begin with the end in mind. Over the years, we’ve seen the pitfalls of going straight into the evalua-
tion stage without thinking carefully about what comes before. It’s the familiar cliché, of ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.
Our proven and successful approach to strategic pro- curement places firm importance on this planning stage, and it’s this that assures the delivery of the best possible outcomes for our clients. Having a clear understanding of what success looks like from the start helps you test your assumptions and technical requirements to help you make informed decisions and ensure your procurement objec- tives are achievable. Key considerations include:
Clarity among stakeholders around what the requirement is, and how that evolves to become the basis of your decision Appropriate mandatory and differentiating criteria, for
each individual procurement
ABOVE: Many maritime sustainment programs are being given fresh eyes under Plan Galileo for example.
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