State Procurement Officers Release Priorities for 2017
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Fundamental growth of centralized procurement leads the way.
The National Association of State Procurement Officers released a ranked list of their members' top ten priorities for 2017. It's perhaps not surprising, “the strategic role of central procurement” is ranked No. 1—including “creating an enterprise vision for the state” and “an elevated role in the hierarchy of the executive branch.”
The list paints a broad-brush picture of procurement officials focused on the growth and maturation of their agencies as a core statewide function, with workforce development, measuring performance, e-procurement / enterprise resource planning solutions, and effective sourcing strategies rounding out the top five.
Also of interest on the latter half of the list, a focus on information technology, including how to deal with “emerging technologies” and cloud-based platforms. Over the past two decades, states have had trouble keeping procurement regulations on pace with the rapidly changing technology market. Earlier this month, NASPO teamed up with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers to release “an action plan for navigating the ever-changing terrain shaping state procurement efforts and information technology (IT) updates.” That report specifically looks at agile procurement and development, along with cloud solutions—two areas that have been particularly difficult for many state governments to easily procure due to existing procurement laws and regulations.
NASPO is made up of the directors of the central purchasing offices in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States. The top ten list “sets the agenda for thought leadership and programming for the profession.” In releasing the list, NASPO’s executive director commented: “State central procurement offices across the nation operate in complex environments where multiple factors are at play, including rapidly changing markets and specific state needs."
Mitch Herckis is the Senior Program Director at Government Executive’s Route Fifty and is based in Washington, D.C.
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