Procurement and Contracting

Who should you hire: the procurement pro with excellent skills who seems like a poor culture fit, or the person with weaker skills who fits in culturally? This is a critical consideration when you're growing your team. It can be tempting to overlook culture fit in...

Negotiation is one of the most important soft skills in the workplace today. In the 2019 CIPS Procurement Salary Guide, negotiation was recognised as a key skill from the professional through to tactical level. But there’s a common misconception that negotiation is...

No doubt about it – internal stakeholder engagement is critical to the success of procurement projects and contracts. Around two-thirds of procurement decision-makers globally say that internal stakeholder engagement is a challenge, with 14% saying it is an “extreme”...

How does your procurement salary compare in 2019? What are the trends in procurement jobs in Australia, and how do they compare to New Zealand and the UK?  The latest job reports released by procurement industry associations in Australia and the UK means we can delve...

Social procurement is experiencing incredible momentum with organisations across Australia. However, many organisations are yet to extract its real value.   What’s holding organisations back? And how can we take steps towards a better future of social procurement? In...

It comes down to a few reasons. First, social procurement has become a key part of the Government agenda with policies such as the Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) and the Victorian Government’s Social Procurement Framework introduced just last year. Both of these...

Why aren’t local governments following their own procurement policies and procedures? That’s the question raised by a recent audit of eight WA local councils. The audit found that while the local government bodies have procurement procedures and policies in place,...

In our second article in the Local Government Procurement series, we explore why local governments need better procurement oversight and controls. Are weak controls preventing local governments from maximising value for money through procurement? Yes, according to...

Lack of transparency into conflict of interest considerations are hampering Western Australian councils’ procurement controls, according to a recent audit of eight local councils. Across in Victoria, a March report by the corruption watchdog came up with a similar...

McKinsey’s global survey of chief procurement officers suggests that the role of purchasing at many companies hasn’t evolved much beyond the function’s narrow, transactional roots as a buyer of materials, components, and services. But that’s all about to change.   In...