Procurement Intelligence Unit

I recently acted as lead analyst at a PIU Facilities Management Workshop in London. Bringing together some of the leading FM talent, the PIU aimed to condense some of the cutting-edge thinking in the field of facilities management. With members of the PIU community, and other blue chip organisations, category managers from some of the largest companies looked at the step-changes necessary for maximising the impact of procurement on FM.

The group shared some of the strategic problems that they frequently encountered over the course of running their FM purchasing, and the group attempted to solve these issues on a collective level. The solutions ranged from particular, practical issues to broader, strategic problems. For instance, the delegates discussed the best approaches to developing a specification, to understanding the causes and consequences of poor communication, and how this can stop procurement from carrying out its role.

The participants examined the need to ensure that specification is fit for purpose. Generally, this ensures that the spec fits the requirements of both procurement and operational sides, and includes all the appropriate information. However, one must be wary of creating a specification that is too narrow, as it may preclude previously unconsidered options. Or, in the words of one global FM manager, "if the specification is too clear, or too constrained, it loses the creativity of the market." 

The workshop also identified the misalignment between procurement and operations as a key driver for organisational under-performance. The group found that a lack of engagement between the FM procurement and operational teams was an issue in aligning these functions. The procurement team needs to demonstrate its expertise within securing the best deal, but also encourage transparency and communication between teams, and share the successes. The PIU today publishes its Executive Report on organisational alignment, which also emphasises procurement's need to clearly show how it understands business needs and how it can help meet those needs.

Many of these issues stemmed from problems within these organisations' communication – or the lack of it. Clear and two-way communication between procurement and supplier, or procurement and internal actors, is essential to implementing improvements in FM. Often without effective communication, other aspects of FM management are undermined, or, in the words of one delegate, "If you have a stakeholder management plan in place, you need to communicate it." 

The final report, including solutions and case studies of implemented changes and FM best practice, will be published by the PIU later this year.