Procurement training opportunities: for all staff who buy goods and services
Do you buy goods and services at your university? If so, you might be interested in this range of opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge offered by HEPA, LUPC and SPCE.
Tony Newjem: adding value at Heriot-Watt
The impact of procurement departments on university's spending is well-known. But as Tony Newjem of Heriot-Watt University explains, as well as saving money they can also add value through their work across the university.
G-Cloud: universities can use new online marketplace
G-Cloud is a UK Government initiative to encourage the adoption of Cloud Services across the whole of the Public Sector as well as the higher education sector. It aims to simplify how the Public Sector buys and delivers services by creating a marketplace of pay-as-you-go commodity services that can be easily scaled up or down, based on the changing needs of an organisation and its users.
Three lessons from efficient spending in higher education
Collaborating, upskilling buyers and factoring in social impact are three key ways in which the higher education sector is achieving efficiencies via smarter procurement practices, says Nick Petford, vice-chancellor of the University of Northampton and chair of Procurement UK. Read more of his guest post on ProcurementLeaders.com.
LUPC joins Electronics Watch to counter labour abuses in tech industry
The largest facilitator of electronics purchasing in the higher education sector, London Universities Purchasing Consortium, joins Electronics Watch to take action against labour abuses in the electronics industry.
Develop your procurement skills with HEPA training: 2014-15 dates announced
HEPA (Higher Education Procurement Academy) training dates have now been confirmed, with 10 courses across 5 locations during 2014-15.
The value of a strong procurement team
In the second part of our focus on Coventry University’s procurement service, its head Mike Hanson explains how investing in his workforce has helped the university deliver 30% in savings through more efficient procurement.
Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of porters and cleaners
Benchmarking is increasingly used in the quest for efficiency and most universities have used the Procurement Maturity Assessment, developed by SUMS Consulting and the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia. SUMS has now developed another maturity model that allows easy self assessment and indicates a way forward and has applied it to portering and cleaning services.
Procurement ‘health checks’ inspire high performance universities
Universities seeking ever higher standards in their procurement are benefiting from a comprehensive measuring tool. Susan Wright, head of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium, explains how the Procurement Maturity Assessment programme has inspired real changes in English HEIs.
Finding the right contract caterer for your university
Many UK universities are deciding that catering is an outside job and are teaming up with external providers. This article in University Business looks at the experiences of universities and contract caterers in forming partnerships and working together.
