Latest news with #ScotlandExcel
The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
How Scotland Excel strives for excellence in prudent procurement
It aims to help local councils source whatever they need to deliver high-quality services within their communities, and it focuses on delivering a range of benefits through its procurement services and carefully designed contracts. These benefits include community benefits, climate mitigation and supply chain risk mitigation. Carr explains that councils face a variety of supply chain risks. These can include local issues with potential suppliers' non-compliance with environmental policies to geopolitical instability with, for example, the war in Ukraine. Simply trying to ensure that, given current budgetary constraints, councils maximise the value they get for every pound they spend, is a challenge in its own right. One of the biggest problems faced by councils today concerns dealing with both escalating labour costs and the difficulty of finding appropriately skilled staff in the first place. 'Our portfolio of contracts stretches from the provision of school meals and school materials to new-build housing and the care sector,' Carr says. 'About two-thirds of the value of what we do is service-related, and the rest is goods-related. With council service contracts, labour costs are a huge consideration. The social care sector for example amounts to around 45 percent of all the procurement activity Scotland Excel manages. And within social care, staffing costs amount to 75% of the total contract costs. So, this is a huge area for us.' (Image: Scotland Excel's Head of Strategic Procurement Hugh Carr) Carr points out that there are a whole host of challenges associated with staffing costs, and Scotland Excel works hard to mitigate these challenges and provide solutions. Brexit, he points out, greatly exacerbated staffing problems in Scotland's care sector. A lot of European nationals returned home and that created all kinds of pressure in filling vacancies. More recently, the increases in National Insurance contribution costs have exacerbated the problem. Trying to contain staffing costs while facilitating value-for-money procurement has become a significant challenge. Similarly, in the construction sector, labour costs can easily amount to 50% of the budget, with councils facing the risk of cost overruns. 'What we look to do here at Scotland Excel is to give councils certainty as to the costs they are going to incur, allowing them to plan the staffing levels that they are going to need to fulfil the services they deliver,' Carr explains. Because Scotland Excel works across 32 local authorities, its team of procurement specialists have a very good idea of what the labour component is likely to be on any particular council service offering. 'In this way, we can enhance and sharpen a council's understanding of labour demands in any area. 'Our market research can give a good degree of certainty as to what the labour costs are likely to be in that service area, be it health care or construction. Obviously, with the difficulties in today's post-Brexit labour market, it is important to drive cost controls and diminish the risks of budget overruns,' he comments. Also, by focusing on market indices, Carr's team can adjust its analysis of past labour trends to show what is likely to happen going forward. There is never 100% certainty, he points out. As always, when using historical data to predict future trends, there is a risk that unexpected events, be they driven by market events or geo-political risks, will impact predictability. But this approach goes a long way to de-risking estimates of labour costs. 'If we can support councils by predicting what is likely to happen, they can adjust their buying patterns to fit with what the market is likely to be doing,' he says. Managing inflation risk is another case in point. 'Two years ago, inflation was at its peak, with food inflation running at 17%. This is very disruptive for councils who have to cater for around one and a half million school meals every week. With predictive analysis, we can show which foodstuffs are likely to increase the most in any period. Pre-planning food purchases and adjusting school meal recipes accordingly can have a very significant impact,' he notes. Right now, food price increases are running at around 4% and are increasing, so this is an area that Scotland Excel is watching closely. Inflation has also played havoc with the construction sector. 'Materials supply is much more stable now than it was two years ago. However, this is a sector that can be rapidly impacted by events,' he notes. If anything leads to a widespread delay in building projects being started, it means that the builders' merchants sit with a lot of stock on their shelves. Building materials manufacturers in turn cut back on their production and prices start to move about. Carr points out that this is one of a number of areas where AI tools are likely to be able to add considerable clarity in the near term. 'We are not quite there yet, but AI is known to be very good at taking a whole host of factors into account when doing predictive analysis. It can really improve on human modelling, so we are monitoring developments in this area.' He says Scotland Excel helps councils to understand the likely impact demographic changes in their areas will have on demand across a range of services. This is particularly impactful in the care sector and in council efforts to generate a sustainable care programme across all areas of the country, including the less densely populated regions.
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
A flexible way to harness the power of procurement in Scotland
Paisley-based Scotland Excel, established in 2008, is the Centre of Procurement Expertise for the local government sector in Scotland, working with all 32 local authorities. It is a non-profit-making organisation funded by the councils with a remit to work collaboratively with them and its associate members, from the wider public and third sectors, to secure the best value for money and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector procurement in Scotland. One particularly effective route to achieving this best practice is Scotland Excel's Flexible Procurement Service, set up five years ago, that uses a model which allows organisations to source procurement expertise as and when they need it. For example, the Flexible Procurement Service team can provide expert consultancy services or manage projects and provide tendering on their behalf. As Shelly Kilgour, Scotland Excel's Category Manager for the Flexible Procurement Service explains, her team supports the essential services across various aspects of an organisation's business. 'The key word is 'flexible' and this allows us to step in if an organisation finds itself needing support because of a staff shortage at a particular time or if they need a 'quick fix' due to time constraints,' she says. 'Whether they require short-term or long-term support, we can offer that,' Mrs Kilgour continues. 'We take the pressure off. We can help them bridge a gap while they get people on board. Every business owner will experience times when they need support and the public sector is no different. 'The Flexible Procurement Service was established in 2020 at a time when the world changed because of Covid and now, when transparency is so important and all of the organisations we work with have an obligation to the public purse, offering value for money and adopting the most cost-effective procurement practices are crucial.' Working with Scotland Excel's 32 councils and 172 associate members, the Flexible Procurement Service has delivered procurement work covering a range of areas including social care case management, legal services, outdoor event management, local planning and town investment consultancy, national IT systems and data platforms, as well as engineering, estates management and construction works. The team uses each client's standing orders and templates, making sure every procurement aligns fully with their internal processes and legislative requirements which, as Mrs Kilgour explains, maintains consistency and quality and means when clients undertake future procurement exercises, they can easily replicate the process. As the Flexible Procurement Service marks its fifth anniversary, and after awarding its 135th contract – bringing the total value of contracts it has handled to £39 million – Mrs Kilgour reflects on the fact that it has been involved in 200 projects for 26 Scottish organisations, ranging from councils and housing associations to leisure trusts, arm's-length external organisations (ALEOs), and universities. 'We have delivered successful projects across a diverse range of category areas, including information and technology, construction, facility management, and environmental maintenance among others,' she points out. 'We are versatile and remain committed to expanding our offerings based on the evolving needs of our clients. Over the past five years, our team has grown and evolved, continually expanding our capacity and reach to better serve our clients,' she adds. 'We have established strong, lasting relationships and to date, we have nine repeat clients, including our very first flexible client.' Repeat users of the Flexible Procurement Service include Crown Estate Scotland, assisted by the team on 45 projects, and Dumfries and Galloway Council which worked with the team on 18 projects between 2022 and 2024. The team has also worked closely with Dundee City Council on 61 projects which the council described as 'invaluable to the sustainability of service delivery.' Recent projects have seen the team delivering two urgent direct awards from national frameworks and tendering for a Microsoft licencing agreement, securing a 3% saving against the client's budget. Fifteen contracts have been awarded in the first three months of 2025 alone. 'When you consider that we are still a relatively new service and quite a small service – just a team of seven right now – I think it's fair to say that we've made a big impact,' she says. 'And we are growing and evolving as those we work with grow and evolve. We have amassed a range of experience allowing us to support our clients and streamline their processes. 'Our unique point of difference over procurement consultancy support, which can come with a hefty price tag for organisations, is that our team becomes embedded within the organisation we are working with – when you come to us, we are a full service and your project gets all the support that comes with that, not just one point of contact. Our clients tell us how reassuring that is – and this model also ensures value for money, compliance, transparency, and real value for money for the taxpayer. 'It's well-documented how difficult the environment is for public sector organisations at the moment, so everyone is looking for ways to operate more efficiently. For example, some housing associations may not be in a position to justify having a dedicated procurement team – that's where we can step in.' Looking ahead, Mrs Kilgour expects the Flexible Procurement Service to develop more partnerships with housing associations. 'We see potential in that space and are looking to expand our team,' she says. 'We are a respected and reliable procurement resource with a proven track record. 'That we can step in at any point in the procurement cycle also gives peace of mind to organisations that their procurement contracts are delivered on time, and essential services are in place.'
