Procurement in the Face of a Pandemic - SUPC Impact Report 2019/20 - SUPC - Southern ...
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SUPC
Southern Universities
Purchasing Consortium
Procurement in
the Face of a Pandemic
SUPC Impact Repor t 2019/20
SUPC works for universities and is owned by Consulting and the Procurement Shared Service -
universities. The HE sector is responding to a sets us apart from others. Our members are part of
turbulent year, with Covid-19 adding to already a unique community that represents over a quarter
challenging circumstances. Procurement teams of university spend across the sector.
are striving to deliver even more with less. We
understand universities and work with finance, We engage actively with organisations across
procurement and other university staff to find the sector including other consor tia and
the right procurement solutions to provide professional bodies. Our strategic par tnership
value for money for the institution, its students, with the London Universities Purchasing
and its wider community. Consor tium (LUPC) has allowed us to reduce
duplication and create new oppor tunities for
Our in-depth knowledge of universities, and joint working across all category areas.
specifically how to engage positively with
academic areas, is our key strength. Our SUPC’s response to the challenges of the past
members know finance and procurement teams year has been to focus on helping members
must work together with other depar tments to deliver efficiencies and meet the rapidly
deliver on university and depar tmental strategic changing demands imposed by the virus.
goals which enhance the student experience We recognised that in these unprecedented
and research delivery – we are our members’ circumstances, pressure was being placed
preferred par tner to make this happen. upon your resources and that you and our
We understand how to connect strategy to HE community needed more timely, agile,
operations to deliver cash and time savings in a way exper t suppor t - not less. SUPC has kept
that provides compliance and reassurance for your our full complement of staff available to
institution. Our knowledge of HE and our wide members throughout the Covid-19 crisis and
reach through our sister business units - SUMS has increased - becoming more agile - our
• 100% of members who responded to last year’s
survey would recommend SUPC to others. engagement with members.
• Over 96% of those who responded to last year’s In the background, we increased our data analysis
survey were either satisfied or very satisfied with resource to provide greater spend insight to
the support they receive through SUPC. inform your decision-making, with the aim of
• The top three benefits SUPC members say they helping you deliver greater efficiencies. We believe
value through SUPC are: high-quality frameworks, in the responsible and transparent financial
commodity group meetings and procurement advice stewardship of your membership subscriptions
from the SUPC Team. and so we worked hard to return your earned
marketing premium to you as quickly as possible.
• SUPC returns the majority of marketing premiums
back to our members each year – this means We would like to thank the SUMS Board, and
roughly 50% of members are able to fully cover the in par ticular Board Chair Mar tin Williams,
cost of their membership fees, depending on their Director of Finance at the University of Bath,
frameworks spend. for their ongoing leadership and suppor t.
Contents About Us
3 About SUPC 12-15 Responding to Covid-19
4 Our Members 16-19 Preparing for Brexit
6 Why Become a Member? 20-25 Delivering Value: Savings and Beyond
8 Our Impact 26-31 Building a Community of Excellence
10 Your Delivery Team 32-37 Providing Advice and Expert Insight
38-43 Acting as Your Critical Friend
2 www.supc.ac.uk
www.sums.org.uk www.supc.ac.uk
www.sums.org.uk 3
Full Members
Associate Members
Affiliate Members
Academy of Contemporary Music Buckinghamshire Education Sills & Dudley College of Technology Harlow College Northampton College Suffolk New College
Training Partnership (BEST)
Activate Learning East Coast College Hartpury College Oaklands College Sussex Downs
Canterbury College
Amersham and Wycombe College East Kent College Havant & South Downs College Peter Symonds College Tresham Institute of F&HE
Central Sussex College
Aston University Engineering Academy East Surrey College Hertford Regional College Peterborough Regional College Truro College
Chelmsford College
Basingstoke College of Technology Easton & Otley College Highbury College Plymouth College of Art & Design Uxbridge College
Chichester College Group
Bedford College Epping Forest College Leicester College Portsmouth College Waltham Forest College
City Academy Bristol
Berkshire College of Agriculture Exeter College London School of Theology Seevic Wednesfield High School
City College Norwich
Birmingham City University Farnborough College of Technology Luton Sixth Form College Solihull College West Herts College
Academy Trust City College Plymouth Gloucestershire College Merchants Academy Somerset College of Art & Technology West Thames College
Birmingham Metropolitan College City of Bath College Greater Brighton Metropolitan College Mid Kent College South Essex College Wiltshire College
Bridgwater College City of Bristol College Hadlow Group Moorlands College South Gloucestershire & Stroud College Windsor Forest Colleges Group
Brockenhurst College Cornwall College Halesowen College Moulton College Strode College Worthing College
New College Swindon Strood Academy Yeovil College
Our Members
*As of 31/07/2020
4 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk
www.sums.org.uk 5
We provide solutions to university procurement demonstrate value through your membership • 100% of members
challenges. SUPC provides access to frameworks and deliver greater value for money based on who responded to
covering a wide range of products and services your institution’s spend profile
to help universities run effectively and deliver • Access to significantly discounted training last year’s survey
a strong student experience. Our unique courses and value-added services, such as would recommend
membership model rewards universities who responsible procurement tools SUPC to others.
direct spend through our agreements by • Discounted access to consultancy support to
delivering time and money savings, as well as help procurement and finance teams get the • Over 96% of those
returned marketing premium every year. most from their activity
SUPC is par t of the wider SUMS Group. SUMS • Discounted access to professional
who responded to
Group membership spans 151 universities, FE development support to help senior leaders last year’s survey
colleges and educational charities – and our operate at peak performance within new or were either satisfied
membership represents 50% of the sector’s evolving roles
student population and 52% of the staff • Knowledge exchange through a series
or very satisfied
population*. With this comes access to a wealth of free publications including an e-Digest and with the support
of insight, best practice and data – all of which case studies they receive
SUMS shares for the benefit of our individual • Access to our accumulated experience and
division members. knowledge of higher education institutions and through SUPC.
developments over 50 years.
SUPC Members benefit from:
‘Our internal
• Access to over 120 collaborative frameworks
to meet the spectrum of procurement needs
• Access to procurement advice and support
from our team of specialists
• Access to our member base of universities, Procurement
representing the breadth of UK mission
groups, for networking and knowledge sharing Team view our
SUPC contacts
• Free member events including an annual
conference, agreement launches, new
member inductions and other events to
learn about the latest insights from SUPC
membership and beyond
as highly
• Commodity and category group meetings
to discuss discipline-specific issues in a supportive
and responsive
collaborative and suppor tive environment with
like-minded colleagues
• Oppor tunities to shape new and
re-tendered frameworks
• Quar terly spend reports to help you manage
colleagues.’
your framework usage HEAD OF PROCUREMENT,
• An annual benefits statement to help you SUPC MEMBER INSTITUTION
Why Become a Member?
*Full-time equivalent populations according to HESA Data 2018/19
6 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk
www.sums.org.uk 7
138
£
£
members
£
12 (1,030)
online and in person
£54.5m
savings (cashable
£386m
spend through
events (attendees) and non cashable) agreements
41.7%
£
% of UK student % of UK staff
£622k
population population
(FTE)* (FTE)*
43.3% returned marketing
premium
288
AA
gre em
gre en
em etnt
1:56 ROI
SMEs on SUPC
agreements
122
agreements
accessible by
members
Our Impact
*Full-time equivalent populations according to HESA Data 2018/19
8 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 9
Bernarde Rob Jayne Dani Gavin Mark Taron Chris Paul
Hyde Johnson Thorn Sweeney Phillips Lewis Smith O’Hagan Sayles
CEO HEAD OF CATEGORY CATEGORY CATEGORY CATEGORY ASSISTANT DATA ANALYST BUSINESS
CATEGORY MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER (ICT) CATEGORY Chris has eight years’ INTELLIGENCE
Bernarde has over MANAGEMENT (CORPORATE (STEMed) (ACADEMIC MANAGER MANAGER
Mark is a skilled experience working
20 years’ experience AND SERVICES SERVICES) SERVICES) Taron brings to his A data visualisation
Dani brings over 20 procurement as an analyst in
working in partnership Rob is an experienced Jayne brings 15 Before joining SUPC, role experience in and insight analyst,
years’ procurement professional with procurement, and
with universities to help purchasing professional years’ procurement Gavin spent over the learning and Paul has more than
experience to over 20 years’ brings a diverse set
them make meaningful with over 30 years’ insight experience to SUPC 20 years working in development sector 10 years’ experience
her role at SUPC knowledge gained of skills to his role
and impactful changes. gained in executive from various industries Higher Education as well as financial working in the HE
and manages the from working in a including, change
Understanding the and consultancy including food, IT and has in-depth services, working sector. Paul uses
Science, Technology, variety of businesses management, data/
complexities and roles throughout the and pharmaceuticals. knowledge of the principally with banks, business intelligence
Engineering and from SMEs to Blue financial reporting,
challenges of Higher manufacturing, service, Jayne’s skills cover library supply chain. insurance firms and and visualisation to
Medicine (STEMed) Chip organisations. He insight analysis and
Education is at the core of finance and aviation category reviews, the Most recently, he mortgage companies enable decision-makers
Category. Before specialises in long- project management.
what Bernarde does – she arenas, and across the tendering process, was the Acquisitions in a procurement and to take informed
joining the team, term cost reduction, He is also responsible
thrives when identifying private, public, third and stakeholder Services Manager supplier management action with impact and
Dani spent over sustainable process for developing SUPC’s
the areas where change and higher education engagement and for Library Services capacity. Taron’s skills accuracy. He is adept at
12 years in both improvement and reporting approach
will have the most impact. sectors. Rob specialises management. Jayne at Imperial College include stakeholder undertaking statistical
the rail and water category management. to ensure the
She specialises in business in the development combines analytical London and was engagement, supplier analysis to identify
industries and has He has responsibility organisation presents
models and benefit and deployment thinking with a focus part of the Contract management the reasons behind
significant experience for the ICT category, insightful information
realisation. Bernarde of procurement on departmental and Management and compliance. trends and patterns
of procurement including leading on to members,
overlays expert consulting best practice, the organisational goals. Group for the Taron is your first and communicating
regulations. Dani several top-used suppliers and other
skills and commercial creation of robust She is skilled at Books Framework point of contact insights to a wide range
brings expertise in national agreements, stakeholders in the
awareness gained from category strategies, the delivering savings and Agreement. His at SUPC for all of audiences. Paul
contract planning and led by SUPC. most effective way.
working in the retail identification and delivery adding value skills include enquiries related to leads SUMS’ business
management, supplier
sector with Debenhams of cost reductions, and for members. member engagement, the Estates Category. intelligence resources.
and stakeholder
plc and in manufacturing. the creation of a supplier management
engagement, and
value-adding e-procurement and delivering
procurement ethos. systems to her role. operational excellence.
Full list of all SUPC staff is available on our website www.supc.ac.uk.
Your Delivery Team
10 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 11
As the global pandemic began to unfold,
institutions were faced with an unprecedented
saving the need for each member to interpret
them separately.
working from home and blended learning.
Increased demand for items such as laptops ‘The team did an
excellent job of
and uncer tain operating environment. At SUPC and headsets led to delays in supply. SUPC
we recognised that our members needed us • Information About the Developing Picture played a pivotal role in highlighting up-to-date
now more than ever. Instead of making use of We shared timely and accurate information information to enable members to plan their
the government furlough scheme, we chose
to refocus our team on the areas where they
about problems in the supply chains for PPE
items and IT equipment. We also highlighted
activities accordingly.
quickly adapting
could add the most value to members dealing
with tough decisions.
potential new suppliers. This information
enabled members to adapt where possible or
• Returning to Campus Working alongside our
UK University Purchasing Consor tia (UKUPC) to the new norm
and enabling
simply to remain informed. par tners, we put together a back to work
Immediate First Crisis document that guided members through key
The Covid-19 crisis affected every aspect of the • Speaking Up on Behalf of Members We considerations for procuring PPE equipment
higher education sector, from staff and student
wellbeing to estate management, supply chains
acted as a single point of contact for members,
suppliers and other stakeholders. Regular two-
in preparation for a return. We also brought
in speakers to share their experiences with
online events.’
and income generation. With the situation way communication meant we could quickly our members, on topics such as repurposing SUPC MEMBER
changing daily, it was incredibly difficult for share updates and relay issues specific to the buildings for socially distanced activities.
institutions to keep track of developments and HE sector. We took part in the campaign to the pandemic will affect our members for many
potential impacts. Our aim was to respond protest against unsustainable price increases • Supplier Impact Where suppliers were years to come. Our suppor t remains aligned
quickly as you reached out for help. in the e-textbook market, joining Jisc and impacted by the crisis, we helped members to your needs, as you plan for uncer tainty and
institutions to call out suppliers and bring to life to deal with the implications. For example, explore what your future could look like.
Example Activities: the impact on the higher education sector. when suppliers ceased trading, we suppor ted
• Practical Help We facilitated discussions for mini-competition processes to replace them Institutions will need to respond with disruptive
members to understand the implications of • More Oppor tunities to Connect, Not Fewer quickly and reduce service disruption. In the and innovative operating models which require
government-issued Procurement Policy Notes, We moved our events and meetings online case of an e-book supplier, we were able to a different use of budgets and spending. At
quickly in March 2020 so that members could identify cost-effective options for re-homing SUPC we are well-placed to keep members
meet remotely with the SUPC team and each of e-book content so that universities did not informed about market developments that
other. We sourced sector experts in topics lose access to content they had paid for. suppor t these new approaches, for example
important to our members and facilitated innovative PPE products and sustainable
sharing of best practice. We also recognised the ongoing need our solutions to the challenges of the high-cost
members had for peer-to-peer suppor t e-textbooks market. The sector experience
• Finding a Way Forward Once it became and wider learning. We continued to offer available through our sister division, SUMS
clear that the effects of the pandemic would this suppor t through informal vir tual coffee Consulting, means we can help members with
be with us for a long time to come, higher mornings and by moving our popular insight and best practice garnered from our
education institutions needed to find new conference and events programme online. efficiency work with universities across the UK.
ways to operate. We provided timely, accurate This year we hosted 12 events, which were
information and support to inform our members’ attended by over 1000 members and wider We know that there will be increased scrutiny
decision-making. sector representatives. of budgets and an even greater need for
efficiency and financial sustainability. Our
• IT Infrastructure This was put under pressure Planning for the Future ongoing contract management will suppor t
due to the twin requirements of increased The wider societal and economic impacts of supplier performance and value for money.
Responding to Covid-19
12 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 13
Case
Study
Who we worked with
The NHS, other public sector bodies and our
own member institutions. ‘The higher education
sector’s response to
The Situation
The need for Personal Protective Equipment the Covid crisis has
(PPE) has increased exponentially around the been tremendous
world during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
With such high demand, the market faced a – from supplying
number of challenges, from supply and logistics frontline healthcare
considerations to quality and pricing variations.
The procurement of these items was an staff, to manufacturing
area where SUPC team members could add PPE, and of course,
considerable value.
creating the vaccine
What happened that will lead us out
In March our STEMed Category Manager, Dani
Sweeney, was seconded to join the effor t to of lockdown. It was
procure PPE items for the NHS. The scale an honour to play
of the exercise was such that the project
was managed by the Ministry of Defence Alongside this involvement in procuring PPE for and lead times. Individual institutions could then my part, on behalf of
on behalf of the Cabinet Office. During the the NHS, SUPC was also working to suppor t conduct their own specific call-offs directly. SUPC, in the national
our members with their needs in relation to
initial stages of the crisis, Dani led one of the
teams who carried out supplier investigations this equipment. Many of them required supplies The difference it made effort and use my
to ensure products were available and met of PPE to carry out their activities, par ticularly The findings of Dani’s team were used by the procurement skills
when returning to face-to-face working. Our Cabinet Office to secure a supply for NHS
the specified requirements on the 20,000+
potential suppliers who signed up on the Assistant Category Manager Taron Smith frontline workers, both in the immediate crisis for something so
government por tal. When PPE procurement conducted an aggregated RFQ exercise with and for a longer-term strategy. Our aggregated important – ultimately
relevant framework suppliers, having asked our RFQ saved time for our members and for the
moved to a longer-term strategic phase, she
took on a more specialist role suppor ting members to provide details of their institutions’ suppliers, who would otherwise have had multiple saving lives.’
the development of a strategy for procuring requirements. This collective approach led to RFQs to respond to. Taron continues to monitor DANI SWEENEY, SUPC CATEGORY
protective gloves. five suppliers confirming appropriate pricing security of supply and pricing for our members. MANAGER, STEMed
Case Study: Responding to Covid-19
An Opportunity to Deploy Our Staff and
Expertise to Benefit the Greater Good
14 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 15
with our members’ procurement teams so they
could under take this exercise with their local
supply networks.
Beginning in Autumn 2020, UKUPC have
under taken more regular reviews which we
shared with members.
‘The additional
benefits of our
SUPC membership
go beyond savings
and also include
regular training,
advice, Brexit
planning, due
diligence and
an opportunity
The impacts of Brexit on higher education services, such as the changes associated to consider labour, supply chain, regulatory and to learn from
procurement activity are likely to be
considerable. While there remains a lot of
with Brexit, can have a huge impact on
an organisation; it is impor tant that teams
commercial risks. We asked them to:
• Identify those risks and align to our
uncer tainty about the details of the changes,
at SUPC we have worked to suppor t our
work collaboratively within and across their
institutions to mitigate challenges.
• Confirm how they are planning to mitigate
identified issues key research
members with information, advice and
guidance to help them prepare. Star ting in early 2020, SUPC as par t of the UK
• Advise what action university procurement
teams should take.
university
Supply Chain Risk
Universities Purchasing Consor tia (UKUPC),
reviewed each of our framework contracts. We We then provided a repor t to members
partners.’
and General Guidance asked suppliers who provide goods or services detailing all results for all suppliers who JAKOB KAUUSBERG, PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
A disruption to the supply of products or which are at risk of disruption due to Brexit responded. We also shared our question set UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY
Preparing for Brexit
16 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 17
To save our members time and make it easier Performance Indicators to help benchmark
for them to find relevant information, we have procurement efficiency and effectiveness. This
brought together sector guidance from a range is combined with data gathered from a decade
of sources on our website. These have covered of delivering the sector-leading Procurement
areas such as impor ts/expor ts, risk mitigation Maturity Assessment, as we under take a
and next steps in preparing for the transition. focussed qualitative assessment of your
university’s procurement strategy and approach.
Events and Community Discussion
While no one has all of the answers, we We are confident that, together, we can help
have provided oppor tunities for members to universities and the sector harness oppor tunities
come together regularly to share experiences, to be more efficient. This will be essential as
questions and solutions in both formal and universities seek to make significant efficiency
informal settings. This has provided reassurance savings while maintaining a strong reputation
as well as answers. within a crowded university landscape.
We have also promoted and raised awareness
of national sector events and used our voice to
help expedite activity on behalf of our members.
‘Information
Dealing with Disruptive
provided by
Forces in 2021
Both Brexit and Covid-19 have been incredibly
SUPC to help
disruptive challenges for the higher education
sector and society as a whole. While there’s
us understand
hope on the horizon, the impact of these
twin concerns will mean universities will
potential impacts
have to focus on efficiency and effectiveness of Brexit was so
useful. It meant
like never before. To suppor t the sector to
identify priority areas, we’ve developed the
Procurement Value Assessment (PVA).
that I didn’t have to
The PVA is an essential tool for universities
looking to deliver savings in non-pay re-invent the wheel
expenditure. It combines SUPC’s in-depth
exper tise in university procurement with SUMS by trying to put
Consulting’s efficiency and effectiveness know-
how. Those who need support, can contact us together my own
directly at supc@reading.ac.uk for suppor t.
interpretations.’
As a star ting point, we use the HEPA CLAIRE CROTHERS, PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
Procurement Value Survey and Procurement UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
18 www.supc.ac.ukAt SUPC we recognise that our members to give you access to frameworks and
face ever-increasing financial pressures. We aim agreements from other organisations, such as
to support you in playing your part in your Pagabo and Consor tium Procurement. The
institution’s success. Delivering support to a long- Travel Management Services framework is
term university strategy requires efficient buying a nationally available agreement which was
processes, cash savings and more. In 2019/20, shaped by members’ input and tailored to
SUPC members spent £386m through framework the needs of the HE market. While the travel
agreements, demonstrating a commitment to sector has been hit hard by Covid-19, we have
collaboration. Despite the challenges of Covid-19 worked with suppliers to expedite refunds
and a decrease in member spend from the and collaborated with sector bodies such as
previous year, SUPC members achieved £21m in Universities UK International and the Business
cashable savings and £33m in non-cashable savings Travel Association on alternative ways of
– representing an average ROI of 1:56. helping UK universities continue to welcome
international students.
Quick and Compliant
Routes to Market Support for Your Changing Needs
Our frameworks and supplier agreements As the world in which our members operate
make it easy for your institution to procure changes, we have continued to evolve our
the goods and services you need. You can suppor t for you. We identify your changing
be confident that you are saving time by not needs through ongoing conversations with
star ting from scratch each time you seek the suppliers and members, enabling the bringing
most suitable, best value supplier for you. together of exper tise.
As an added reassurance you know that your Example Activities:
internal colleagues can use these agreements • The scope of the IT Related Accessories
and remain compliant with all appropriate and Par ts (ITRAP) framework was extended
legislation. Since our tender working groups to include vir tual reality (VR) requirements.
involve individuals from member institutions – Discussions with members on the tender
both procurement professionals and technical working group identified that more
exper ts - these frameworks will often include institutions now use VR in their work, but
suppliers already known to academic colleagues. there was no single source sector agreement. Marketing. We have also created a PMA+ a direct impact on institutions being able to
The renewed ITRAP framework went live in remote, recognising that the service needed fulfil their duty of care to travelling employees
This year SUPC has let frameworks across February 2020. to be delivered in a flexible way – this was in and students.
areas including travel, IT and lab chemicals and • During this year we carried out PMA+ place pre-Covid-19 and has proved invaluable
consumables. Our strategic par tnership with reviews to help universities improve their in the face of ongoing restrictions. Wider Priorities
LUPC has removed duplication, making it even procurement capability. The process has • Our suppor t for internal conversations Institutions are coming under increasing
easier for you to find a suitable, sector-relevant evolved in recognition of the changing role has enabled Heads of Procurement to scrutiny of their wider world impact. SUPC
route to market. of procurement teams. We now gather input demonstrate the strategic nature of their membership gives procurement teams
from senior stakeholders and decision-makers, work. For example, using Travel Management knowledge and confidence in their strategic
We have also looked for oppor tunities such as Directors of Finance, Estates, ICT and Companies (TMCs) during early 2020 had role. We continue to improve SUPC’s internal
Delivering Value: Savings and Beyond
20 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 21• Members spent £85m spend through
efficiency so that we can focus on direct help
for members and activities such as proactive ‘Completing SSSNA framework in 2019/20
scanning for future oppor tunities.
successive PMA’s
Areas this year have included:
• Showing Suppor t for Regional Economies has given Newcastle
and Communities To help institutions
demonstrate their support for local an impetus and a
defined target to
sustainability we now have 288 SMEs on
agreements available through SUPC. We also
assist with best practice in engaging with
SMEs, for example clarifying the ensure continuous
March 2020 Procurement Policy Notes on
payments which had a bigger impact on improvement is
smaller suppliers.
achieved in our
• Supplier Contribution to the Global
Sustainability Agenda Many of our framework Procurement Services
team. The assessment
TMCs are improving their booking systems to
provide information on carbon footprints and
criteria are clear
sustainable routes. Travellers will be able to
make more informed choices.
• Student Experience Librar y budgets are and the pathway to
Superior performance
central to teaching. In a digital world, students
need new ways to access librar y resources. Our
is mapped out. The
metadata special interest group has led to
improvements in this area.
• Suppor ting equality, diversity and inclusion PMA+ is particularly
(EDI) In 2019/20 we started work on our
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy to provide well placed to drive
further improvement
members with assurance that SUPC upholds
these important values. We are now working
and stretch across
on EDI training and guidance for members to
support greater inclusivity within tenders and
the sector.’
supply chains. We are also hoping to support the
development of the procurement profession as
one that welcomes and supports a dynamic and NEIL ADDISON, PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
diverse community. NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
22 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 23Case
Study
Who We Worked With The Difference it Made
University of Por tsmouth, a TEF Gold-rated The team has been able to make optimum use
university suppor ting an undergraduate of their time by taking the input from SUPC
student population of over 25,000, and ranked and applying it to their institution’s context. ‘Thanks to the leg-work
among the top 30 institutions in the UK in the This has allowed them to increase their ROI
National Student Survey 2020. through SUPC membership over previous years. carried out by SUPC, I
They have been able to have better quality
conversations with colleagues and to proactively
have been able to pull out
The Situation
The procurement team at Por tsmouth already influence senior level decision-making. the information I need to
managed a high volume of work to suppor t
their institution’s activities. The addition of a Hearing from peers at other universities has
provide timely input to the
global pandemic and the need to prepare for helped the team to identify successful ways senior team at Portsmouth.
Brexit increased their workload still fur ther. • Oppor tunities to get involved in forward for Por tsmouth. Contributing to the
activities, such as the IT software licence collective voice of HE sector procurement has This has really helped
What Happened retendering group and par ticipation in the been beneficial to themselves and others. to proactively influence
During the year, Claire Crothers, Procurement post-Brexit Public Contracts Regulations
Manager, and her team made use of the full range reform consultation. There has been a direct impact on decision-making and raise
of SUPC membership benefits, including: oppor tunities to increase understanding of procurement’s profile at
• Access to timely, accurate and trustworthy Outside of membership, Por tsmouth procurement internally. This has come from
information on the complex issues caused by under took a Procurement Maturity providing strategic overviews at senior levels the top table. Our PMA+ was
Covid-19 and Brexit, such as Procurement Policy Assessment (PMA+) in 2019. and from involving subject-exper t colleagues, also critical in developing
Note interpretation, supply chain issues and The PMA+ looked at the performance such as the IT team, in tendering groups. SUPC
compliant routes to market of the procurement team in the broader has worked with the procurement team to the procurement team’s
• Accessible, relevant webinars and conferences – context of the institution’s strategy and clearly demonstrate the efficiency and value capability and impact. I am
in-person and online performance and provided a road that the University gets from its non-pay
• Learning from peers and expert speakers to map for making improvements. spend – a strategic imperative during these relatively new to the HE
improve their own activities Through the process, they were able to challenging times for the sector.
identify areas to improve the procurement
sector and have found SUPC
• An increase in return on investment (ROI) from
1:72 in 2018/19 to 1:88 in 2019/20, despite the operations and strategy to deliver long-term Being able to position themselves as a colleagues to be welcoming
challenges of Covid-19. benefits and having a third-par ty repor t with more proactive, strategic function has raised
• An expected return of over £19,000 in supplier recommendations gave additional weight to the profile of procurement at the University. and their support invaluable.’
marketing premiums for the 2019/20 year, more influencing senior decision-makers and then This has in turn enabled more effective spend CLAIRE CROTHERS, PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
than covering the cost of SUPC members. delivering change. and ROI. UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
Delivering Value: Savings and Beyond
Information and Support for Proactive
Decision-Making in Difficult Times
24 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 25Reassurance and and special interest groups. Drawing on the
Learning from Others exper tise and input of members is vital to
Bringing members together to communicate ensure solutions are fit for purpose.
and share experiences has never been more
impor tant. Whether in person or online, Collective input is vital in shaping the next
SUPC has continued to provide oppor tunities iteration of the frameworks, such as the
to connect. Servers, Storage & Solutions National
Agreement (SSSNA). The spend level through
• Informal coffee mornings have provided the this framework remained high in 2019/20,
chance for members to check in with each demonstrating the ongoing impor tance of
other during a difficult, uncer tain year. This infrastructure in digital learning. The re-
has proved invaluable for wellbeing, practical
advice and suppor t.
• Meeting online as commodity and special
interest groups meant that members
‘The membership
continued to learn from each other, hear
about best practice and gather ideas for their
gives access to
own future plans.
• Information webinars on topics ranging from
a consortium
repurposing buildings for social distancing that I see as an
to the future of business travel and
understanding software licensing models. The important catalyst
for collaborative
subjects for these sessions were developed
by listening to members’ needs. These
webinars were opened up across all HE
procurement consor tia. working, be that
Listening to the collective discussions of
directly with
our members also helped SUPC to identify
common themes and issues that were wider
the SUPC team,
than at individual institution level. For example,
when a problem with an IT supplier pricing
via commodity
was identified, we were able to work with groups or from the
that supplier to find a way forward that was
fair to all. networking with
Get Involved other universities.’
A wide range of institutions and individuals HOWARD GOFFIN, HEAD OF PROCUREMENT,
have taken par t in our commodity, working UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
Building a Community of Excellence
26 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 27tendering working group enabled those
involved to discuss future tech developments ‘The value for
to address.
our institution
is the access
During this year, SUPC has facilitated
oppor tunities for a wide range of internal
to robust
colleagues to be involved in procurement
activity. Members have been represented on
frameworks,
IT tendering groups, STEMed working groups
and library special interest groups by their own
internal IT teams, researchers and librarians -
not just procurement teams. This has in turn
enabled better understanding and internal
information,
conversations. and a network of
Wider Collaboration
At SUPC we work hard to reach out to a
knowledgeable
wide range of new and existing par tners for
our members’ benefit. These relationships
and relevant
give members access to more exper tise,
perspectives and arrangements. colleagues
Example collaborations include: in other
• The National ICT group, involving all HE
procurement consor tia, Jisc and ucisa, institutions.’
is chaired by SUPC. Together we work SUPC MEMBER
collaboratively on data analysis, systems
and processes for the sector. Issues can • A member of the SUPC team was
be collectively raised with the market and seconded to the NHS programme for PPE
information quickly shared with members. procurement, par t of the effor t to efficiently
• SUPC teamed up with BUFDG and Jisc and compliantly deliver the equipment
to suppor t members’ needs in relation to needed by frontline workers.
the zero-rating of VAT on e-publications. • The national UK Universities Purchasing
Subsequent refunds for members have Consor tia (UKUPC) Communications Group Events for members
totalled £4.5m. is chaired by SUPC and has developed a • SUPC New Member Induction Event
• We have begun conversations with other central website and regular e-publications.
interested par tners in the world of
• Travel and Temp/Perm Recruitment Services Launch Event
These provide advice and guidance for
accessibility for digital platforms, in order to members on a range of procurement topics • Two Council Events and Networking
develop forward-thinking specifications for including Brexit, tender working groups and • SUPC Labs Agreement Launch
potential suppliers. working with SMEs.
• LUPC & SUPC Conference - Covid-19 Webinars
• LUPC & SUPC Conference - On the Day Webinars
• Developing Personal Resourcefulness in HE, During
Covid-19 and Beyond
• LUPC & SUPC - Back to Work Webinar
• LUPC & SUPC - Efficiencies Webinar
• Cartel Dangers in Higher Education Procurement:
What You Need to Know
• PCR Consultation with the Cabinet Office
28 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 29Case
Study
Who We Worked With
Librarians and metadata exper ts from
across our member institutions, responsible
for approximately £55 million in annual ‘Books are there to be
sector spend.
read. If a student or
The Situation other member of the
More and more resources for students’
learning are now provided online. The global university community
pandemic has accelerated this digital provision
of books and journals. The metadata held can’t find a book, they
within university library catalogues is vital to
ensuring students can find and use critical
cannot use it.
resources. It makes the books, journals and Members have told
other resources searchable and easy to locate,
which is a fundamental requirement for me how valuable our
meeting students’ expectations. metadata special
What Happened
This special interest group has enabled
interest group is
Metadata is a complex, niche area of 70 librarians and data professionals. We have
librarianship. It enables sophisticated continued to host these conversations remotely member institutions to learn about this for developing their
changing area and share their experiences.
connections to and between online works
so that they can be easily discovered and
during the pandemic. The next stage for this group
is to look at ways we can enable collaborative They are able to improve their own online practices to ensure
used. We realised that we could add value projects between member institutions. librar y catalogues and provide a better
experience for their students and staff.
a high-quality
by suppor ting our members to discuss this
evolving area together. The Difference it Made In this safe space with their peers, they library experience
Metadata improvements underpin value for feel able to ask questions and seek
Our Academic Services Category Manager Gavin money for institutions. If a resource cannot reassurance when required. Given the and value for money for
Phillips, who came to SUPC from a role as a be found, it will not be used and the cost to growing impor tance of digital librar y
provision – especially in light of Covid-19 -
their students.’
university librarian himself, set up a metadata acquiring it will have been lost. The group
special interest group so SUPC and LUPC therefore gives our members the oppor tunity this best-practice sharing network is already GAVIN PHILLIPS,
members could learn from each other. The to ensure ongoing value beyond SUPC’s helping to shape the future of learning in UK SUPC CATEGORY MANAGER,
network we have created is made up of around framework in this area. higher education. ACADEMIC SERVICES
Building a Community of Excellence
A chance to Share, Learn and Add Value
to the Learning Experience
30 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 31At SUPC we aim to join the sector dots
by identifying cross-sector needs and ‘The SUPC
membership
helping you to find solutions that work
for your institution. We employ the tools
and exper tise available to us to provide
efficient insight for you to use in your
decision-making.
is much
Insight more than a
We continue to add to our team’s strengths
in HE procurement by bringing in individuals subscription
to a service,
with experience of working within institutions.
In a changing world this has given us the
perspective of procurement needs beyond
frameworks and agreements. it is access
We recognise the vital impor tance of
evidence-based decision-making to our to a range of
members’ success. We have therefore
invested in data insight and analysis for you procurement
professionals
to use. We are working with members in the
coming year to develop our repor ting and
with a breadth
insight tools.
Throughout the year, we maintained suppor t
for our members with insight into complex
and evolving markets. For example, we
of knowledge,
provided regular updates in relation to:
• PPE supply and development of relevant to the
innovative products
• Pricing changes for e-textbooks
• The rapidly changing travel markets.
HE Sector.’
HOWARD GOFFIN, HEAD OF PROCUREMENT,
UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
This information shaped your response to the
scenarios you faced.
Example activities:
Advice and Guidance • The global pandemic enforced a pause
Our team’s exper tise provides a balance of to travelling. Many institutions have taken
category management and consultancy in advantage of this situation to re-think their
response to members’ needs. travel policies and processes.
Providing Advice and Expert Insight
32 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 33We provided the latest information on the practice, to suppor t each other and our
ever-changing travel landscape and potential wider procurement community.
future scenarios. This helped institutions • We collaborated to put together a back-
to identify what to consider during their to-work document that guided members
review. Our insight into the role TMCs can through key considerations for procuring
play in providing data for environmental PPE equipment in preparation for a return
sustainability has also proved helpful. to campus. This pooled a wide range of
• We created and distributed a central experience in a single source of guidance.
repositor y of consor tia frameworks in the • Since SUPC is par t of the wider SUMS
estates categor y. This requirement had been group, our members can take advantage
identified by the SUPC Estates Group. We of the exper t briefing papers written by
also included frameworks from the wider SUMS consultants. These cover a range of
market to create a single point of reference topics, including the impact of Covid-19 on
for our members. university finance, digital education and the
• We suppor ted members to understand changing university culture, all of which can
changes to Microsoft’s licensing model help inform procurement activities. Events
so that you could select the right option such as the SUMS Conference have also
for your staff and students. We facilitated been opened up to SUPC Members to give
conversations with other members who you perspectives beyond procurement.
had already taken actions and with suppliers
who offered free suppor t. As a result, our Our resources and working groups can be
members could be confident that they had made available beyond the procurement teams
the correct licences and were not paying at member institutions so knowledge and
higher fees than necessar y. insight can be shared more widely internally.
‘SUPC
Wider Access
It’s not just SUPC’s advice and exper tise
that our members benefit from. Our
par tnerships and relationships with others
mean that you can access a greater range of provides an
information and perspectives.
excellent
• We work closely with other HE consor tia
through UK Universities Purchasing service [that]
I am very
Consor tia (UKUPC). UKUPC is a
par tnership between eight UK consor tia
who created a formal entity to suppor t
collaborative procurement within higher
and fur ther education. All eight consor tia happy with.’
work together to share knowledge and best SUPC MEMBER
34 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 35Case
Study
What Happened
The first thing the Travel Management
Companies (TMCs) did was to locate
passengers who were currently travelling and ‘SUPC’s expertise
make arrangements for bringing them back
to the UK. They also worked with universities brought a range
and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
to repatriate travellers who were stranded of benefits to our
by border closures and airline cancellations.
In the face of ongoing uncer tainty about members, helping
whether booked travel would go ahead or be
subject to last-minute cancellations, the TMCs the sector to
provided exper t advice on the best course of
action for university travellers. understand and
SUPC worked with Clive Wratten, navigate a number
the CEO of the Business Travel Association
(BTA), to raise with the government the of very complex
unique position of the HE sector in relation
to the need for cash refunds, not travel
issues through
vouchers. This relationship with the
BTA also helped us to share up-to-date
the pandemic.’
Who We Worked With both research collaboration and student information with our members about the JAMIE ARROWSMITH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,
Member institutions, representing over £200m recruitment. The global Covid-19 pandemic current travel environment. POLICY AT UNIVERSITIES UK INTERNATIONAL
in buying power across the UK HE sector, has stopped this trend in its tracks, with
along with other sector consor tia, travel international travel all but shut down. The issue of bringing international students The Difference it Made
management companies and the Business During the initial stages of the pandemic, to the UK also created problems as time In a fast-changing travel landscape, our
Travel Association. there was a direct impact on individuals who went on. SUPC worked with the TMCs and relationships with the TMCs, the BTA and UUK
were on a trip and caught up in the race UUK International to develop a collaborative, International helped us to keep up-to-date with
The Situation to get home. As the crisis continued, travel innovative solution which addressed legislative the latest picture and share that information with
British universities have been increasingly disruption, HE funding models and the needs and risk concerns, enabling universities to our members. This not only kept them informed,
reliant on overseas travel in the last 30 of international students caused fur ther issues char ter flights in order to bring their students but also meant that the TMCs were not facing
years as internationalisation has boomed in for our members. to campus. multiple queries with the same questions.
Travel Requirements in
an Unfamiliar World
36 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 37The higher education world is a complex environment with many sector-specific needs. The resulting procurement-related challenges need to be viewed through the lens of this complexity, something that is fully understood by the SUPC team. Part of Your World We save our members time by building and maintaining relationships with suppliers, procurement consor tia and sector bodies and other stakeholders in the supply chain. Bringing appropriate par ties and perspectives together to discuss topics avoids having to reinvent the wheel. We help procurement teams to make their processes relatable to end users and buyers within their institutions. The data and insight we have helps them to make the case for compliance. For example, during the Australian bush fires of 2020, TMCs quickly located travellers and brought them home safely without extra effor t for them. Procurement teams could clearly show how booking travel through the official route was beneficial to the individual traveller in a difficult situation. Our PMA+ reviews are designed to help you assess your performance in a way that is aligned with the specific challenges of the sector. The process has evolved in recognition of the changing role of procurement teams and the contribution you make to your institutions’ evolving strategies. Acting on Your Behalf SUPC provides a single point of contact in relation to HE sector procurement. Our Acting as Your Critical Friend 38 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 39
‘I am particularly
• Policy-Makers We were able to leverage our long-term viability, connecting with them We continue to add to our team’s
relationships with TMCs and the Business also speaks to universities’ civic responsibility strengths in HE procurement by bringing in
agenda. SUPC has been able to keep individuals with experience of working within
pleased with
Travel Association to ensure the Home
Office heard about our members’ challenges suppliers and members informed of activities institutions. In a changing world this has given
in relation to travel refunds. The unique and developments. us new perspectives.
how SUPC’s impact of HE funding models was
collectively represented. Bodies like
sustainability Universities UK are also able to look at
collaborative work undertaken within HE to
and social values
present to Government.
In addition, we use information members give us
take centre- to influence others. We have recently suppor ted
the grass roots campaign for change to pricing
stage and is structures in the e-books market, using insight
from stories our members have shared.
aligned to our Stakeholder Perspectives
own values.’ A key strength of higher education suppliers
is their understanding of the unique conditions
in which our member institutions operate.
JAKOB KAUUSBERG, PROCUREMENT MANAGER,
UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY Our positive, ongoing relationships with
them ensure that their perspective and
members trust us to speak and act on their exper tise can be easily brought in for the
behalf because we demonstrate time and again benefit of members.
that we understand what you need.
• Student Experience Changes in the
We connect with: travel mar ket have impacted on student
• Members You come to us for up-to-date, trusted group travel, with the loss of a significant
information, such as the timely and accurate supplier in the market. We knew how
information about problems in the supply chains this would affect our members and
for PPE items and IT equipment that we shared suppor ted them to find suitable alternative
during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. suppliers to provide quality experiences
• Suppliers They can talk to us once instead for their students.
of holding multiple meetings with separate
institutions. This is hugely beneficial at a time • STEMed Suppliers Many of these suppliers
when they are also negotiating the impact on have switched to supplying the NHS during
their businesses of issues such as Brexit and the pandemic. As well as a strategic
climate change. decision that contributes to their
40 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 41Case
Study
Who We Worked With
One of the largest universities in the UK with ‘Time and again
international campuses and a global reputation
for excellence. our members tell us
The Situation
how invaluable it is
An over-reliance on time-consuming manual to have an objective
processes and an outdated operating model
were impacting on the procurement team’s review carried out by
ability to use their full exper tise. Working someone who really
remotely due to the global pandemic made
manual processes even more problematic. understands the world
Changes to the make-up of the team provided
an oppor tunity to review how they could add
of HE procurement.
greater value to their institution. In this case our
What Happened consultant made
The University approached SUMS Consulting,
a sister division of SUPC and par t of the
recommendations that
SUMS group for suppor t in making process processes into existing systems, to improve the procurement and finance, as well as the end clearly demonstrated
efficiencies. Consultant Graeme Sloan carried
out a review of current activities, tools and
organisational design for procurement and to
update tendering and contract-management
users whose form-filling activities
will be more efficiently and compliantly
the strategic benefit
systems. He discovered that the traditional systems. These suggestions were provided in managed. There will also be an associated to the University of
procurement operating model in use meant the format of quick wins and a longer-term financial cost-saving.
that team members were firefighting and roadmap to assist with implementation. making changes. He
unable to proactively add value. As well as
taking up a lot of time, the manual processes The Difference it Made
The improvements to the organisational design
and working practices will suppor t a move
also provided a tactical
often led to missed steps and/or duplicate Automating the manual processes will to a more strategic procurement function, road-map to assist the
information and effor t. significantly reduce the number of hours
taken, with an estimated annual saving
contributing to the University’s wider goals.
This will also provide more enriching roles for team in taking the work
Graeme provided the Head of Finance with
a series of recommendations to digitise
of approximately 400 person hours. This
will benefit the back-office functions of
individual team members, where they are able
to fully use their procurement exper tise.
forward themselves.’
BERNARDE HYDE, CEO, SUMS GROUP
Objective Insight – Target
Operating Model Review
A Lean, Mean, Efficiency Machine
42 www.supc.ac.uk www.supc.ac.uk 43SUPC is an operating unit of Southern Universities Management Services, a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No. 02732244 Charity Number 1042175 Registered office as above. Financial Statements Copies of Southern Universities Management Services audited Directors’ Report and Financial Statements are available from supc@reading.ac.uk or on our website at www.supc.ac.uk. For More Information SUPC Reading Enterprise Centre University of Reading Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road Reading RG6 6BU W: www.supc.ac.uk E: supc@reading.ac.uk T: 0118 935 7081
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