Local Government Procurement -Ten Years Onby Brian O'Mara, General Manager Welcome to our
first newsletter of the year, with a new look and feel for 2016. This year marks a significant milestone in the life of our organisation. It marks the tenth year of our operations.
Allow me to take you on a small journey. In March 2006 when I received a phone call from a very good friend in Brisbane. She worked for the Queensland Local Government Association and I worked then at the Western Australian Local Government Association. She told me about a role she heard was to be advertised to set up a company to "run tenders for councils in NSW'. I was not really interested in any move to Sydney as Perth was home, family ties and was happy with the role I had at the time. No more than an hour after that conversation, I received a call from someone at the then Local Government and Shires Association letting me know that the role mentioned in the earlier conversation was about
to be advertised and that they “considered me to be an ideal applicant”. No idea why. Anyway I realised someone was trying to tell me something so I hesitantly applied for the role, was interviewed (twice) and was offered the role. I moved to Sydney in May 2006. That’s when the fun began. No office. No staff. No plan. No idea really. But what a journey. We found ourselves an office at 50 Clarence Street Sydney. Perfect. Furnished, including printers, rubbish bins and a dart board! We developed processes, earmarked potential contracts and spoke with lots of people from councils (who incidentally told me that this new organisation had absolutely no chance of succeeding - you know who
you are!). We developed position descriptions and a structure of six people and advertised the roles. We filled them and opened our doors on 21 August 2006. There we were – Brian, Phill, Emma, Margret, Mark and Paul. The start of something we did not know was to be as big as it is.
So ten years on, what have we achieved? Quite a bit on reflection. Here are some highlights: - LGP has developed a series of thirty highly used contracts – incidentally built on the requests we received from councils, not what we thought could make us a dollar;
- Since 2007, every year every council in NSW has utilised an LGP contract – something we were told would never happen;
- Growth in the use of LGP contracts has grown on average 20% per year. Not a bad growth rate;
- When we commenced, a survey of councils indicated that only two NSW council staff had any qualifications in procurement. Today, more than 50 are now qualified with a Certificate IV or Diploma in Government Procurement, built specifically by LGP for staff in NSW councils. A further 2000 staff have undertaken other procurement training modules developed by LGP;
- The appreciation of what sound procurement practices can do for any organisation has gone from zero to 100 over the years. I would like LGP to take some credit for that significant rise in appreciation;
- Our plans to build a network of procurement staff who could confer and guide each other was the princely sum of six in 2006 (meaning just LGP staff). The network now exceeds 1500 participants;
- The development of the highly awarded VendorPanel software system was in fact an LGP concept for councils and contractors in NSW. It is now used right across Australia in a variety of sectors and has paved the way for probity and transparency in calling quotes – something that did not exist ten years ago;
- The Local Government Procurement Conference started in 2007 and was attended by around 30 delegates. Nine years on it attracts over 100 delegates, with internationally renowned speakers and a great reputation as the go to procurement event of the year;
- LGP shares the management fee we receive from our contractors, based on sales made on our contracts. We have refunded back to council users over $2 million since 2007;
- Lastly it has been estimated that LGP has conservatively saved councils in NSW over $1.75 billion since we opened our doors. That is calculated on time savings in not needing to tender and savings on unit costs of goods and services. Significant!
These are just a few of our highlights
– there are dozens more, but let’s not get boring! So why have I taken you on this small journey? Well it is time for change. I have decided it is time to move on and will be retiring on 24 March 2016. It’s been ten years of hard (but very rewarding work). The longest I have held one role in my career is 18 months, so I must have really enjoyed my time to see out ten years at LGP. On reflection I am very proud of what we have achieved at LGP over the last decade. Very proud. Whilst my retirement has surprised many, it is something I have planned for 18 months. I like to think I am leaving the organisation at the top of its game with a long bright future assisting councils. The LGP business model is simple –
work with councils and contractors to meet their needs. Successfully implemented it would seem. My special thanks to every LGP staff member who has taken a role with us. You have all been instrumental in our success. “Employ for attitude not for skill” has worked for us! To the LGP Chairperson Paul Braybrooks OAM and the entire LGP Board, thank you for your support and confidence. Thanks to all NSW councils and in particular their procurement staff. A huge effort being carried by an under resourced group. The biggest thank you goes to my wife Marie for supporting me though the journey. There were many long days and sleepless nights. Perth was looking good after 18 months in
Sydney. Glad I hung around! So this is my last article in LGP News. It’s been a blast. I’m off soon to travel and to enjoy some me time. LGP will be left in the capable hands of Michael Robinson as Acting General Manager for the interim until the position is advertised and filled. Até mais tarde!
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