Procurement People of Tomorrow: placement pack

Thursday (Day 4)

Procurement Challenge

This challenge aims to test and teach you on the value of effective commercial thinking and procurement.

Perhaps now more than ever, the world needs considerate minds at the hearts of communities.

Health & wellbeing has been a key focus, as we find different ways to exercise & eat better, whilst managing our money effectively. Sustainability remains an important factor in our efforts to combat climate change. Social businesses have played a key role in supporting communities, providing ethical & sustainable goods & services.

Your Brief

Imagine that you work for a Social Enterprise which supports local families in getting value for money for their household spend.

However, value for money doesn't necessarily mean finding the cheapest products.

People in our communities want to have good health & wellbeing, to spend wisely & use suppliers who are truly committed to being ethical & sustainable.

They want their spend to make a difference!

Using the shopping list provided, you must identify & recommend the best provider(s) & products, which offer the most ethical, sustainable, healthy & affordable solution.

It is important that you demonstrate the basis for your recommendations. Evidence can include price comparisons, product nutritional value, or supplier commitment to the community, living wage or modern slavery statement.

Earn bonus points by providing a link to the Modern Slavery Statement for your chosen store(s) & an explanation of where modern slavery might be found in a supply chain.

You will need to present your recommendation in a 5-minute presentation to your placement host, explaining how you approached the challenge and why you think your solution is the best. In addition to your presentation, you must also submit 2 key lessons learned by completing the challenge.

Shopping List

Players must find the most environmentally friendly, healthy and affordable shopping for a family consisting of 1 adult and 2 children.

Your shopping must exclude ready meals.

Try to find household and school supplies which are environmentally friendly where possible (e.g organic or renewably sourced raw materials.)

You can use resources such as Eatwell Guide and Scotland's Food Standards to learn about which foods, products and materials are most environmentally friendly and ethical.

Your recommended shopping should include the following food, household items and school supplies:

Food and drinks for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks for one week.

Toiletries:

✓ Shower gel
✓ Shampoo
✓ Conditioner
✓ Toothpaste
✓ Mouthwash

School Supplies – For each child (1 girl aged 8 and 1 boy aged 10):

✓ School uniform
✓ Notebook
✓ Pack of pencils
✓ Water bottle
✓ School bag

Household Products:

✓ Washing up liquid
✓ Pack of 2 kitchen towels
✓ Washing machine powder/liquid/tablets
✓ Fabric softener
✓ Pack of 4 toilet paper rolls
✓ Bathroom cleaner
✓ Multipurpose cleaner
✓ Floor cleaner
✓ Cleaning scourers

Stage 1 – Planning

Time to brainstorm!

Write down whatever comes to mind when you think of 'healthy food, value for money or sustainability'.

Remember there is no single correct answer, so capture what you think.

High Level Plan

• What does ethical, sustainable, healthy & affordable mean?
• What could it include/exclude?
• Where can you find information & resources?
• Who are the suppliers? (e.g stores online)
• Look at how you will compare them
• When will you start to create your recommendation?

Taking your notes, use them to sketch out a rough outline plan of activities, their likely order & possible owners. Don't forget to note any dependencies you may have on each other.

Stage 2 – Plan in Action

You're now ready to start the challenge. Use your plan to manage activities. Research the products, pricing or information you want to gather.

What foods will you recommend for the week?
Which suppliers will you compare?
How sustainable/environmentally friendly are the products?

Plan your approach for your presentation & how to use any tools you will need.

What points will you need to cover in your presentation?
Do you know how to use any software needed?
What supporting info, graphics or props might you use?

Gather & collate information on possible solutions & select your recommended choice of healthy food, supermarkets & products.

Step 3 – Reach Your Recommendation

Review options to determine your recommended solution.

What are the pros and cons of each?
How do they address the challenge criteria?
What makes your recommendation compelling?

Give evidence why they best meet the criteria compared to other options & explain what makes them the right balance of affordability & quality.

Outline why the products & supply chain are sustainable & use any images or props which make your findings easier to understand.

Explain modern slavery & what steps suppliers take to prevent it in their supply chain.

Create & test your presentation – Remember to include your recommendations, approach to the challenge & lessons learned.

Test your presentation with an audience - Is your recommendation concise & easy to understand? Was it impactful?

Stage 4

Capture 2 key learnings to share with your placement host. What went well? What would you do differently? What was the most important thing you learned?

Stage 5

Submit or present your recommendation to your placement host making sure to include your 2 key lessons learned.