Jess Talks August 2023

Jessica Jones, Executive Director Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

The last few weeks have been action-packed from an engagement perspective, with the team out and about running workshops, summits and providing updates to councils and suppliers about what’s happening at Local Buy. 

Before I get into that, we have some exciting news to share. Local Buy have been shortlisted for AUS/ANZ CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards in a number of categories. If you're wondering ‘What is CIPS’, it is the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply, it is similar to the local government professional bodies such as IPWEA and LGMA. However, CIPS is broader than local government and public sector; CIPS is a global network of procurement professionals driving change across all industries. Being shortlisted as a finalist is a huge achievement, and reflective of the incredible work the team have done over the past year in driving change in government procurement in Queensland.

The categories we have been shortlisted as finalists for;

• Public Procurement Project of the Year

• Best Initiative to Build a Diverse Supply Base

• Best Procurement Transformation Program

We will find out the result on Wednesday 30 August and we have all our fingers crossed. In the meantime, I think the team at Local Buy all deserve a big pat on the pack, they are already winners in my opinion. Well done everyone! 

Back to engagement . . . we have been everywhere over the past month – from the South West to the North West and a little in between. The Procurement Summit in Blackall was a success with lots of great discussion and learnings from the session. Our last Summit for the year is being held in Rockhampton on the 13 September and we are currently finalising the agenda. Keep an eye out for the communications on this one and if you haven’t managed to get to one of the Summits around the state, this is your last opportunity to do so. 

Through the various workshops across the state that the team and I have been running, it is evident that there are some misnomers about how councils can use Local Buy. Over the coming months, I am going to address some of these points because it is important to understand how Local Buy is designed to work. 

The first of which is “Can I put my own scope out through a Local Buy Arrangement to get a quote?”.

The simple answer is “Yes”. 

Local Buy provides a vehicle of flexibility in terms of how you might approach the market (see my tips below). It is up to council officers to determine the most appropriate method of approaching the panels and this should be in line with your council Procurement Policy. The underlying driver should always be ‘what is the best approach to ensure I am getting value for money’ and ‘are there other factors that could influence the evaluation of these activities i.e. local economic development outcomes’. The answer to this lies in the detail of what it is you are procuring. Remember, you can put as little as $1 and there is no upper limit. The higher the value, risk and complexity the more you should consider what your procurement strategy for that activity looks like.

The absolute fail-safe method is seeking a quote via VendorPanel from a Local Buy Arrangement.

Determine who and how many on the panel you would like to seek a quote from and put your scope out for a response. 

Remember, the VendorPanel Marketplace is like the Yellow Pages; suppliers are not pre-qualified, have not been through a tender to be appointed, there is no management of compliance i.e. insurances etc, and there are no associated contract conditions. 

I've outlined a few of tips below:

There are lots of suppliers on a panel and if you are not sure who may have the capability, capacity or the project is time critical, perhaps consider running a quick (3 day) EOI to the panel to see who has the capability and capacity to meet the required timeline of your project. Then run the RFQ to those shortlisted. Remember, our suppliers are busy as well and don’t always have time to put in prospective bids if they don’t have a decent enough chance of winning. 

Don’t duplicate the Local Buy process, you're not running a tender. Local Buy has already done this, and this is where the value lies in creating efficiency. Recognise that council is simply seeking quotes and the degree of information needed is dependent on what it is you’re procuring. This efficiency is as much about supporting the supply chain as council and asking pre-qualified suppliers to provide the information they have already provided in the tender process. It is time consuming and it ultimately costs money because of the duplication in processes. 

You can insert your own special terms and conditions for the specifics of the activity you’re running. More on this in our next newsletter. In the meantime get in touch with your Senior Engagement Manager or relevant Category Manager if you're unsure. 

The key to ensuring the VFM outcomes through Local Buy is leveraging the competitive tension that sits within our panels. Generally, apart from electricity, when Local Buy approaches the market we are doing so without committed volumes or specific scope of the requirement. The purpose of this is to establish panel arrangements for councils to then buy from. Therefore, whilst pricing under the arrangements will be competitive, council needs to provide their scope of requirements to allow the pre-qualified suppliers to respond to the specifics of the requirement including providing a price. 

If you have a question about Local Buy you would like me to answer, send me a quick email or give me a call.

Next week I will be getting some dust on my boots when we head off on our 2023 Long Drive for Drought. This year is bigger than ever, kicking off in Goondiwindi on the 24th August and finishing in Birdsville on the 1st September. Our charity partner is Drought Angels, supporting Queensland farming communities doing it tough from the impacts of living in rural and remote communities – not just drought but fire, flood and plagues to name a few more. This year’s target is $100k and we are well underway to get there. A big shoutout to some of our Local Buy suppliers who continue to support this event; Ampol (as our naming rights sponsor), Telstra, Hastings Deering, Toyota Fleet Management, and a few newcomers this year with Komatsu, Manage My Fleet and Oly Homes joining the cause. And a special thanks to all the councils supporting us along the way. 

Lots more happening and more exciting news in the pipeline so watch this space. And be sure to  follow Long Drive For Drought on social media as our 50+ convoy of Toyota 40 Series travel through outback Queensland.

Jess