Performance analysis, benchmarking and opportunities identification
The Procurement Value Assessment (PVA) is your essential tool for driving savings in your non-pay expenditure. It combines SUPC’s in-depth expertise in university procurement with SUMS Consulting’s efficiency and effectiveness know-how. A key element of any university efficiency programme, the PVA will help you target and prioritise procurement savings
opportunities.
How does it work?
The PVA blends an unparalleled understanding of university procurement best practice with detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of your University’s non-pay spend to create unique insights. At the outset of any engagement, we will take you through a short question set, that draws upon our experience of many years leading the sector’s Procurement Maturity Assessment programme, designed to gain an initial understanding of your University’s approach to procurement. We will then work closely with you as we guide you through the PVA Process.
Drilling Down Into Your Spend
SUMS’ unique access to HE benchmarking sources including Hunter and Heidi+ provide the context for a deep dive into your university’s purchase ledger data. We analyse and benchmark your spend at category and sub-category levels to identify potential improvements through aggregation, rationalisation and better compliance. We look at a range of factors including funding source, spend by category in each department, spend by supplier and transaction by sub-category, and P-card spend.
Understanding Your University
It is essential to look beyond the numbers when trying to identify savings opportunities. We do this in a number of ways to gain insights into both how your university operates and how it compares with sector best practice. As a starting point, SUMS uses the HEPA Procurement Value Survey and Procurement Performance Indicators to help benchmark your procurement efficiency and effectiveness. This is combined with data gathered from a decade of delivering the sector-leading Procurement Maturity Assessment, as we undertake a detailed qualitative assessment of your University’s procurement strategy and approach.
Your Pathway to Savings
Having identified potential savings, SUMS will work with you to create a realistic and actionable Savings Delivery Plan. This will prioritise the key areas to focus on for the greatest savings and quick wins. We will recommend improvements to processes, structures and training to get the most out of your existing resources, and where relevant, develop a business case for investment in your team or technology to reap rewards longer-term.
What do our clients say?
” [The] VfM Assessment helped Surrey to better identify how much spend we impact today and, more importantly, how much spend we do not!”
– Colin Davies, Procurement Director, University of Surrey