As the demands on Council budgets rise , local Councils have embraced shared services in procurement to help deliver value for money and enhance return on investment
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P roviding an array of services , from adult social care , housing , environmental and leisure services , education and vocational training , and more , London Borough of Waltham Forest supports more than a quarter of a million citizens in northeast London . Encompassing a multifarious portfolio , its procurement division has subsequently faced a number of challenges amidst a changing economic climate .
Moving from central to local government services , via a quango , Director of Supply Chain , Dave Levy , has been a key figure in the public sector procurement industry for more than two decades . With a passion for delivering effective public services through procurement and supplier relationships and adding value across its services , he has led the borough ’ s procurement service for nearly 10 years . Over the last two years his role has broadened to include contract management , business intelligence , insurance and risk , as well as its corporate complaints team .
“ Procurement takes up the bulk of my time , but I also run a shared procurement service with another London borough , Redbridge . I have had to change the way that public sector procurement behaves ,” he says .
“ Procurement used to be very much focused on compliance , process , following regulations – those days are gone .
NOVEMBER 2018