Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

Smarter procurement in universities: five steps to improvement

The 2011 Diamond Review set a challenging agenda for procurement in higher education. So what's happened since then? Quite a lot actually. Here are five important steps the higher sector sector has taken to achieve smarter procurement in universities.

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.
HEPA procurment e-learning

Raising the status of procurement in higher education

Procurement has the potential to play a major role for universities by maximising investment and supporting the strategic objectives of institutional leaders. Emma Keenan describes how the Higher Education Procurement Academy (HEPA) is helping to raise the status of procurement within universities.
Jules Pretty and Day Nursery Graduates, University of Essex

‘Insourcing’ is the new ‘outsourcing’

Creating a wholly-owned subsidiary company to house the commercial activities of a university is fundamentally about cultural change rather than cost saving. If the focus is placed firmly on stripping out payroll costs through reducing rates of pay and associated staff benefits, then the project is doomed to failure, says Peter Church Director of Campus Services at the University of Essex.
Strong procurement

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.

£14.8m cash efficiency savings for NEUPC members

Following the publication of the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium’s (NEUPC) annual report, Maria Langham describes the consortium’s recent achievements and how it plans to support universities in their mission to deliver world-class education in the future.

SUPC – supporting sustainability procurement

While sustainable procurement is no easy task, it is becoming increasingly important to higher education institutions in the UK. As a key service provider of collaborative procurement solutions to the higher education sector, SUPC is exploring ways to support members in the procurement of goods and services that provide value for money, benefit society and the economy, while also minimising damage to the environment.

LUPC launches new contracts database

A contracts database developed jointly by the regional higher education purchasing consortia is now live. HE Contracts replaces the previous database, uniBuy, and includes a host of new features and easier access for consortia members looking to find information about the sector’s collaborative agreements. Members can find resources and information about training on their local consortia website.
EAUC logo

Why reuse beats recycling for efficiency

Universities are saving tens of thousands of pounds in procurement costs by reusing and repairing equipment rather than throwing it away or recycling it, according to a network promoting the reuse of business assets.
Michael Duffy, procurement manager at Coventry University

The promises programme – becoming a ‘no hidden extras’ university

Coventry University has sought to become a “no hidden extras” university by providing core textbooks to undergraduates. Michael Duffy explains how the university’s procurement team rose to the challenge of giving students more for their investment.