The Role of Procurement Organisations in a Data-Driven Era: Are They Limiting Savings Potential?
Introduction
Public procurement organisations are often positioned as an extension of procurement departments, aiming to streamline processes, drive efficiencies, and achieve better value for money. However, with the Procurement Act 2023 introducing stricter transparency and accountability requirements, procurement professionals must ask:
Are these procurement organisations truly enabling practitioners to explore all available cost-saving opportunities, or are they limiting them by focusing only on their immediate networks?
The Reality of Public Sector Collaboration
Many procurement consortia operate by bringing together multiple public sector bodies to aggregate purchasing power. In theory, this should unlock greater efficiencies, but in practice, some organisations limit collaboration only to their internal member base.
For example, our experience with Star Procurement in the North West suggests that their collaborative efforts were confined to their direct members. Despite access to external procurement insights and data, they showed little interest in exploring wider opportunities beyond their network.
Key concerns:
- Are procurement practitioners given the autonomy to explore broader collaboration opportunities?
- Are purchasing organisations truly maximising value for the public sector, or simply maintaining established frameworks?
- Is there resistance to using external procurement data that could identify inefficiencies?
The Impact of the Procurement Act 2023
On 12 September 2024, the Cabinet Office announced that the Procurement Act 2023 will now commence on 24 February 2025—a delay of four months from the original go-live date of 28 October 2024 to allow time for a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) to be produced.
With this new legislation, procurement decisions will be placed under greater scrutiny. Contracting authorities must ensure:
✅ Wider market engagement beyond preferred frameworks
✅ Procurement decisions deliver measurable value
✅ Use of data and analytics to identify inefficiencies and cost-saving opportunities
✅ Transparency and competition in contract awards
If procurement organisations fail to adopt a data-led approach, they risk falling short of these new legal obligations. The Act mandates a shift towards greater accountability and strategic procurement, meaning organisations can no longer justify sticking with internal frameworks without evidence of best value.
Why Data-Led Procurement is Essential
A major issue with some procurement organisations is their reluctance to utilise market intelligence, contract insights, and spend analysis to explore external collaboration. If procurement practitioners only have access to internal network data, they may miss opportunities that could generate significant savings.
This is where platforms like Be Connected and services like Landscape Datasets become invaluable. By providing real-time procurement intelligence, public sector procurement teams can:
- Challenge outdated frameworks and explore alternative contracts
- Identify cross-sector collaboration opportunities
- Leverage spend data for better contract negotiations
- Ensure compliance with the Procurement Act 2023’s transparency rules
Moving Towards Smarter Procurement
The Procurement Act 2023 should, in theory, push procurement organisations to embrace a more data-driven, accountable approach. However, unless these organisations actively encourage procurement professionals to look beyond their immediate networks, they may continue to limit innovation and cost-saving potential.
To truly drive better public sector procurement outcomes, organisations must:
✅ Use external procurement data to identify wider savings opportunities
✅ Encourage partnerships beyond their own member base
✅ Invest in spend analysis tools to benchmark contract efficiency
✅ Ensure procurement decisions are data-driven and legally defensible
By adopting a strategic, data-led approach, procurement professionals can navigate the new regulatory landscape with confidence, transparency, and measurable value for money.
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