It’s been six months since the Procurement Act 2023 came into force, aiming to streamline public procurement process in the UK. Yet in a recent article for Building, RLB’s Head of Industry & Service Insight questions why procurement reform has taken decades and whether anything has truly changed.
The days of sending a site labourer to ask the site manager for a “long weight” may be behind us. What once passed for light-hearted banter is now rightly seen as bullying. That shift proves the industry can change its culture even if it is still waiting for meaningful procurement reform.
I joined the industry in the era of the Latham and Egan Reports taking hold. Everything was ripe for change and change was desirable, possible and imminent. Collaboration, lean construction, client centric approaches – they were all coming and I hoped to be part of them.
So it was with some irony that RLB’s most recent research – our annual Procurement Trends Survey – pointed to now being the time for a shift to outcome-based procurement. It struck me that some of the points raised could have been the findings at the turn of the century, as much as they are now. What’s more the things stopping us from making the shift had solutions available then, just as they do today. There were different solutions, but they were there.
The problem isn’t fundamentally broken procurement processes – it’s a lack of motivation to extract more value from them.
Why does it take decades to turn the industry?
Well there are some good reasons to be risk averse in our industry. The numbers can be large and costs and schedule prone to spiral when things go wrong. Failures can capture the mainstream headlines let alone the trade press. Departing from the norm is hard work and to stand out for not following the well-trodden path and seeing a project fail is bound to raise questions.
Introducing change – be it radical or incremental improvement – in a conservative industry is unlocked by data driven decision making. We may now be in the Data Age, but we’re not great at unlocking the value of built asset data and our research showed that procurement may be part of what is killing it. The industry is crying out for good data driven decision making so that we can use it to deliver better outcomes through procurement process.
Context is Everything
Trying to shift entrenched mindsets can feel like a fool’s errand. But our latest research suggests the tide may finally be turning. And as with any meaningful change, timing and context are everything.
Where Blockbuster failed to adapt, Netflix pivoted its business model. Kodak failed to pursue the digital camera as early as 1975 for fear of cannibalising their core business, but it was not until the iPhone placed a camera in everyone’s pocket that they filed for bankruptcy.
I really do believe that a few changes in procurement practices can lead to significantly better outcomes. The ideas are not new but they feel contextually more relevant. That context is in two parts. Firstly, clients are asking more from their supply chains – not least, but perhaps most obviously, in relation to sustainability. At the same time, the supply chain is facing more volatile conditions leading to greater risk sensitivity.
Stripey Paint
Alongside the long weight is the stripey paint. Whether or not you consider the notion a folly, by looking at what you’re trying to achieve in procurement may in itself unlock the better outcome. We’re after an outcome more inspiring than the decades old magnolia. Whether you achieve it by two paint colours and some masking tape or by cracking open a tin of my stripey paint is up to you, but don’t accept that magnolia is the only way.
The industry has rightly moved on from the days of long weights and stripey paint – but our tolerance for inertia in procurement reform lingers. That must end. We now have the tools, the data, and (crucially) the context to act. Clients are demanding more, and the supply chain is ready to respond. If we embed clear information requirements and use data to drive performance, we can finally shift from process to outcome. The time for waiting is over. Let’s stop painting in magnolia and start creating impact.
This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared on Building’s website.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
