Tayside Procurement Consortium To Deliver Annual Savings Of £2 Million By 2011

The Tayside Procurement Consortium is an efficient government initiative to develop joint procurement, including electronic procurement (eProcurement) across the Tayside councils of Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross.

Dundee City Council Administration Leader Kevin Keenan said: “By working together to buy goods and services, we can achieve better value for money for council tax payers.

“Our combined expenditure on goods and services is about £250 million each year and our collective buying power will bring economies of scale and lower prices. This joint procurement initiative will deliver savings of £2million across the three councils by 2011.”

The Tayside Procurement Consortium will also be looking at improving organisational structures, skills and practices. This will include the setting up of a Central Procurement Unit led by experienced staff from all three councils to develop better ways of working.

Angus Council Leader Bob Myles said: “In our drive to achieve better value for money we are always looking for smarter ways of working that can be used to save time and money and the new joint procurement arrangements will deliver on both of these.

“By improving our organisation and systems, we are committed to making sure that every pound spent provides value for money and that every pound saved is being directed back into front line services that people rely on each day.”

The Tayside Procurement Consortium is also encouraging private sector organisations to work better with local government.

Councillor Ian Miller, Leader of the Administration at Perth and Kinross Council, said: “We are determined to make the best use of public resources but we also want to foster good relations between public sector buyers and local and national suppliers of all sizes.

“We are particularly keen to make sure that we continue to treat small local suppliers fairly as they remain important to all three Tayside councils. We have been talking to them about the procurement process to ensure that they have the opportunity to compete for business.”

The Tayside Procurement Consortium has a combined annual addressable expenditure for all three councils of £250 million. The programme has identified potential cost savings of £2 million each year by 2011.

Initial areas of procurement that will be addressed include vehicles, information computer technology, building construction materials, furniture, catering and cleaning supplies.