Client Problem

This Federal Government Department undertook a significant initiative to standardise procurement activity across all business areas, in line with the revision of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, in line with Government policy changes (including the Australia and United States Free Trade Agreement). The client needed to ensure that procurement was consistent with the guidelines and the business aims, and as such created a procurement advisory unit.

The development of this unit formalised the Department’s procurement procedures to offer clear direction and support to all business units.

SMS Approach

The client needed to ensure effective uptake of the procurement process and ensure all relevant staff were conversant with the client’s procurement principles, policy and procedures.

The client also looked to develop a process support and training resource that could be universally accessed to give staff involved in procurement access to learning, information and transactional materials. The resource was to:
 

• be delivered and accessible online, through the client’s Intranet facility 
• be the sole point for obtaining master templates and pro forma documents required for the procurement process
• provide an online point at which to register a procurement, for the attention of procurement advisory unit 
• provide an online point at which to register the addition of completed procurement information within the clients’ Contracts Register, for the attention of advisory unit 
• develop an online process and learning support resource for procurement
• be effectively integrated into the online environment and maintained
• to reflect changes in procurement policy and process in a timely manner
• meet all government procurement compliance requirements.

Recommendation

SMS designed and developed an online resource consisting of the following three areas:

Steps: These included online procurement instructions. The section 'How to Procure' provided step-by-step descriptions of how to conduct the procurement process and was cross referenced with hyperlinks at appropriate points that linked to: 
 

• procurement templates and proformas for associated documentation
• more information and learning resources to assist information and support decisions
• notifications to the advisory unit advising that procurement was undertaken and concluded with an update to the clients Contact Register.

Rules: These included the guidelines and policies that govern procurement. This section provided online access to Procurement Process Guidelines as well as other governance information resources.
 

Learning: This encompassed a set of short, interactive online tutorials that covered principles and concepts of procurement. They were designed to give all personnel involved in  procurement an understanding of compliance requirements and the procurement process.

Outcome

A single, definitive online nationally accessible reference point was delivered which provided the process support framework required to ensure effective and compliant procurement practice.