1. Procurement Journey
20 November 2014

2. What is the National Procurement Journey?
The Procurement Journey is designed to support procurement activity at all levels of the spectrum from simple tactical, low risk/ low value purchases, to the most complex high value/ high risk/ highly visible procurement exercises.
Launched in October 2010, it was developed by a cross sector project team
Its purpose being to; grow and improve procurement capability across all Scottish public sectors
Encourages and facilitates best practice procurement, standardisation and compliance
It is recognised as an informative aid to procurement excellence both within Scotland, and further afield
Used as a reference/ benchmark of excellence across wider geographies.   
The Procurement Journey is designed to support procurement activity at all levels of the spectrum from simple tactical, low risk/ low value purchases, to the most complex high value/ high risk/ highly visible procurement exercises.
The Procurement Journey (PJ) toolkit has existed largely in its current form since it was launched in October 2010, its purpose being to; grow and improve procurement capability across all Scottish public sectors by encouraging and facilitating best practice procurement, standardisation and compliance. It is considered an informative aid to procurement excellence within Scotland, and as a reference/ benchmark of excellence across wider geographies.

3. Accolades
Unprompted feedback from Scottish Government Legal Department: “Catherine Barnard, a Professor of Law at Cambridge University, recently started teaching an LLM in relation to procurement and was complaining about the dearth of really useful accessible material available in relation to procurement. She had come across the Procurement Journey and couldn’t praise it highly enough – so much so that she refers her students to it constantly to help them understand the procurement process and the various stages.”
Referenced by the UN
Referenced by British Universities Finance Directors Group / HEPA (Higher Education Procurement Academy)
Referenced by the Human Rights Commission

4. Procurement Journey One web location for procurement activity support
Standardised Approach
Standardised Templates
PCS-Tender workflow mirrors Procurement Journey cycle which Health sector committed to use
New Assessment Regime will mirror Procurement Journey cycle
3rd most visited Scottish Government webpage > 100,000 hits per year
Procurement Journey training module in use by Health
Project has commenced to enhance the Procurement Journey over the coming months, with a user survey which is currently live
Buyers should be using source guidance and it is not sensible for them to develop their own guidance. When the PJ changes they will duplicating effort by having to make changes themselves. There is also a risk that when legislation changes and the PJ is updated, local documentation is not updated and procurement exercises are not legally compliant.
Health sector has committed to using PCS Tender which mirrors the PJ
New assessment Regime currently being created mirrors the PJ
3rd most visited web page
Health has already developed a training module on the PJ
We are currently looking at ways to improve the PJ

5. Decision Matrix
Not just based on value but on risk and advertising requirements

6. Route 1
Low RISK and below £50k

7. Routes 2 and 3
Routes 2 and 3. Route 2 medium RISK and value. Route 3 high RISK and value

8. Develop Strategy Route 2 Route 3
Route 3
Only difference between route 2 and 3 is the develop strategy stage. Route 2 is a much lighter version of Route 3. We have deliberately front loaded all the planning and strategic thinking to the beginning of the Journey to ensure buyers are as pro-active as possible. There is also a substation on Route 2 Develop Strategy for Profiling the Commodity with other stations and content.

9. Quick Links
Quick links on the LHS of page. Giving you easy access to further guidance. Each main station emphasises the importance of the need for planning and RISK

10. Procurement Journey Survey
Purpose / Overview
To engage with end users and canvass feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the PJ
To consider the feedback and incorporate (as appropriate) into an enhanced solution, driving best practice and improving the user experience
The survey 17:00 Nov 21st, and the preview below was extracted on Wed Nov 18th
At the moment, other than identifying the number of NHS respondents, an NHS specific analysis is not possible. The summary below is based on all 232 respondents
High Level Summary – Emerging Findings
232 respondents, of which 13.8% (32) identified themselves as working in the NHS
45% of respondents claim the PJ is totally embedded right across their organisations
71% of respondents claim the PJ if fully embedded within Corporate Procurement
The ‘station’ concept received 89% validation
Overall the PJ is well received and valued as a helpful tool, but is in need an upgrade
Hopefully you will be aware we currently have a survey to establish feedback on the PJ

11. Procurement Journey Survey
Emerging Requests for Enhancements
Although the purpose and value of the PJ comes across strongly, there are a number of aspects which could be improved, for example:
Navigation: difficult to navigate to a specific page or document
Interaction: Not interactive or intuitive enough
Documentation: Would benefit from a central documentation\template library
Templates: Would benefit from populated examples as opposed to only blank templates
Search Facility: Would benefit from an internal search facility
Training: It is evident that the users would appreciate PJ training across key stations , particularly:
Route 3 Develop Strategy & Develop Documents
Post Tender Evaluation
Contract and Supplier Management
This will be highlighted to Professional Practice and Development Forum

12. Other Changes to Procurement Journey
Procurement Act has been passed by Parliament
New EU Legislation to implement
Consultation on both
New requirements will be built into the Procurement Journey
Currently enhancing the guidance on C&SM
Reviewing how the PJ can be enhanced for:
Fraud Awareness
Innovation
Continuous Improvement
Risk that if the PJ is not used, changes will not be implemented by public bodies
Best Practice Forum is currently working to revise C&SM content
Other areas we would like to explore are raising fraud awareness, innovation and continuous improvement.