What is Procurement?
The terms “purchasing” and “procurement” are often used interchangeably and understood to be the same thing throughout businesses. This confusion may come from the definition of the two:
The Oxford Online Learners Dictionary defines purchasing as “the activity of buying things, especially for a company.” Whereas it defines procurement as “the process of obtaining supplies of something, especially for a government or an organization.” This can be extended as far as the obtainment of a good or services.
To the untrained eye, these definitions seem pretty similar.. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As any Procurement industry professional will tell you, there is so much more to the craft than simply buying something.
Procurement is the end to end process of incorporating planning, market research and evaluation through to disposal and end of life costs. There is intense strategy, organisation and negotiation involved to facilitate the execution of a great deal. Block 5’s procurement professionals understand the importance of value for money and the best ways to achieve it. We recognise that procurement is not a “one size fits all” and endeavour to provide the best solution for each individual project.
Block 5ers are experienced in providing procurement services to a range of clients from not-for-profit organisations to all levels of government. We can provide end-to-end procurement delivered by a single consultant, procurement transformation or outsourcing and management of your procurement function by a Block 5 team (and everything in between!) Block 5’s extensive experience in this field means we can provide all aspects of the procurement process to a high standard as well as educating staff on the benefits of following an appropriate procurement process.
Procurement requirements vary from business to business. This is why we’ve stacked our team with people from a wide range of backgrounds, so we can always provide the services you need – and if we don’t have the knowledge yet, you can bet we’re already on the path to enlightenment!
Published by Nikki Stoddart, Procurement Specialist at Block 5 Consulting