Any business leader will tell you that the procurement sector has been a stomping ground for innovation lately and this hasn ’ t gone amiss at SNB . Laforest describes how the organization is in the midst of implementing a new enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) system . “ We are investing in a new eERP solution for all of government , so we need to replace the HR management , financial , and procurement and supply chain systems ,” she explains . This is further compounded by the group ’ s strategic sourcing platform used for health sector procurements , Bonfire . “ Vendors use
“ I want to really add value for our clients so that they don ’ t see procurement as a roadblock but rather see it as a valueadding function ”
— Renée Laforest , Vice President , Finance and Strategic Procurement Division , Service New Brunswick
it to submit their proposals and we do all our evaluations within the tool . It ’ s all automated and all our stakeholders have found it beneficial .”
Looking at the wider procurement landscape , Laforest has seen an uptake in innovative procurement practices . This helps to encourage greater collaboration with vendors and promotes new ways of doing things . “ I think the days of listing endless requirements for procurement processes are in the past ,” she proposes . “ In some instances , you may know that the business needs to buy a blue chair that ’ s a particular height , for example , and that ’ s easy to do .
111 www . supplychaindigital . com