Scottish procurement policy handbook

16 Management information and best practice

16.1 Use of management information

Management information is key to making informed decisions in procurement related activities. SPD has developed a management information tool (the Scottish Procurement Information Hub) which analyses spend by organisation, type of goods, services or works procured and the geographical location of suppliers. Organisations should use this information to develop appropriate national, regional and local sourcing strategies and to identify opportunities for collaborative buying.

Public sector procurement organisations can access the management information tool via
http://www.spikescavell.net/

16.2 Performance measurement and reporting

The Review of Public Procurement in Scotland set out a vision of increased efficiency and professionalism through structured collaboration and a national effort to adopt best practice.

To track progress with the reform programme, procurement organisations will need to monitor, manage and report on their performance in a consistent way. A common, core set of National Procurement Best Practice Indicators ( BPIs) has been developed to ensure that public procurement in Scotland operates according to identified core values, and to monitor national progress against the priority areas of efficiency, collaboration, compliance, skills and e-procurement.

Best Practice Indicators for Public Procurement In Scotland: Guidance sets out the definition, rationale, calculation method, and expected trend for each BPI. The document is available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/29141216/0

The BPIs are not intended to replace any local performance measures that may already be used by individual organisations. Contracting authorities may find it useful to gather additional management information on their business practices in a variety of ways. The BPIs are intended to allow organisations to monitor their progress against the national vision for excellent public procurement practice over time, against their peers, and against national trends. To make reporting and analysis as easy as possible for organisations, a web based reporting tool has been developed alongside the Scottish Procurement Information Hub.

16.3 Best practice

The Scottish Public Procurement Toolkit provides best practice guidance and downloadable templates to assist in the development and implementation of market-facing commodity strategies, which in turn can help deliver improvements in financial, supplier relationship and contract management, priority areas of the Best Practice Indicator project.

The Toolkit provides guidance on the following areas:

• project start-up and initial analysis, including pre-contract risk assessment;
• commodity profiling;
• developing commodity strategies;
• guidance on EC procurement rules;
• supplier selection and pre-qualification questionnaires ( PQQs);
• tender preparation, issue and analysis;
• post tender clarification;
• contract award and debriefing; and
• contract and supplier management.

The Toolkit can be found on the SPD website:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/Resources/SPDToolkit