The power of purchase: addressing sustainability through public procurement

This article focuses on sustainable development and public procurement and reflects on the significance of questioning the goals sustainable public procurement seeks to achieve. While it is recognised that developing appropriate legal frameworks and regulatory tools for environmental, social and economic quality assurance is important, achieving sustainable procurement nevertheless remains political. With the forthcoming adoption of new European Union Public Procurement Directives, the article provides a timely reminder that for sustainability to be integral to good procurement, the power of purchase must capture a paradigmatic shift from doing things better to doing better things.

Organizing for sustainable procurement: theories, institutions and practice

That construction procurement needs to be re-organized to make it more sustainable implies that there is a problem with the current situation. Starting from this assumption, an overview of construction procurement sets the scene for a discussion of some recent developments relating to organizational frameworks for sustainable construction procurement. Emergent theories dealing with sustainable procurement are considered. There is a plethora of standards and guidance documents for organizing sustainable procurement, originating from a variety of organizations involved. These considerations form the context for approaches being used in practice to achieve sustainable procurement. The Chapter concludes with reflections on why current approaches are insufficient. It seems difficult to persuade clients to spend less money over the life cycle of their buildings. Future directions needed to translate sustainable procurement from rhetoric to reality include the development of suitable incentives and appropriate organizational structures.

Procedural justice in procurement management and inclusive interorganizational relations: an institutional perspective

This paper applies the concept of procedural justice to one of the most important focal points of interorganizational relations: the purchaser–supplier relationship. The few extant studies of the concept in the purchaser–supplier domain have overlooked an important aspect of this key relationship: that is, inclusiveness in procurement. This is despite the fact that interest in the specific empirical context of supply chain links between large purchasing organizations (LPOs) and ethnic minority suppliers (EMSs) from disadvantaged communities proceeds apace on both sides of the Atlantic. Institutional theory is used to examine the form that procedural justice takes in eight case studies of LPOs from the private and public sectors, which actively engage with inclusive procurement management initiatives in England. The guiding question is twofold: ‘What may LPO approaches to installing procedural justice in procurement management entail?’ and ‘How are these approaches shaped?’ This paper identifies specific approaches to installing procedural justice for inclusive procurement and submits theoretical propositions about how these are shaped. The study contributes to a macro-level assessment of procedural justice, i.e. interorganizational procedural justice, as a significant aspect of inclusive interorganizational relationships, which is a domain in need of theoretical development.

Market Prices and Food Aid Local and Regional Procurement and Distribution: A Multi-Country Analysis

To date, no research has rigorously addressed the concern that local and regional procurement (LRP) of food aid could affect food prices and food price volatility in food aid source and recipient countries. We assemble spatially and temporally disaggregated data and estimate the relationship between food prices and their volatility and local food aid procurement and distribution across seven countries for several commodities. In most cases, LRP activities have no statistically significant relationship with either local price levels or food price volatility. The few exceptions underscore the importance of market monitoring. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Timeliness and Cost-Effectiveness of the Local and Regional Procurement of Food Aid

Local and regional procurement (LRP) of food aid is often claimed to lead to quicker and more cost-effective response. We generate timeliness and cost-effectiveness estimates by comparing US-funded LRP activities in nine countries against in-kind, transoceanic food aid shipments from the US to the same countries during the same timeframe. Procuring food locally or distributing cash or vouchers results in a time savings of nearly 14 weeks, a 62 percent gain. Cost-effectiveness varies significantly by commodity type. Procuring grains locally saved over 50 percent, on average, while local procurement of processed commodities was not always cost-effective. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tradeoffs or Synergies? Assessing Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement through Case Studies in Burkina Faso and Guatemala

We compare the impacts across a range of criteria of local and regional procurement (LRP) relative to transoceanic shipment of food aid in Burkina Faso and Guatemala. We find that neither instrument dominates the other across all criteria in either country, although LRP commonly performs at least as well as transoceanic shipment with respect to timeliness, cost, market price impacts, satisfying recipients' preferences, food quality and safety, and in benefiting smallholder suppliers. LRP is plainly a valuable food assistance tool, but its advantages and disadvantages must be carefully weighed, compared, and prioritized depending on the context and program objectives. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cardiac transplantation with hearts from donors after circulatory declaration of death: haemodynamic and biochemical parameters at procurement predict recovery following cardioplegic storage in a rat model

OBJECTIVES: Donation after circulatory declaration of death (DCDD) could significantly improve the number of cardiac grafts for transplantation. Graft evaluation is particularly important in the setting of DCDD given that conditions of cardio-circulatory arrest and warm ischaemia differ, leading to variable tissue injury. The aim of this study was to identify, at the time of heart procurement, means to predict contractile recovery following cardioplegic storage and reperfusion using an isolated rat heart model. Identification of reliable approaches to evaluate cardiac grafts is key in the development of protocols for heart transplantation with DCDD. METHODS: Hearts isolated from anaesthetized male Wistar rats (n = 34) were exposed to various perfusion protocols. To simulate DCDD conditions, rats were exsanguinated and maintained at 37°C for 15-25 min (warm ischaemia). Isolated hearts were perfused with modified Krebs-Henseleit buffer for 10 min (unloaded), arrested with cardioplegia, stored for 3 h at 4°C and then reperfused for 120 min (unloaded for 60 min, then loaded for 60 min). Left ventricular (LV) function was assessed using an intraventricular micro-tip pressure catheter. Statistical significance was determined using the non-parametric Spearman rho correlation analysis. RESULTS: After 120 min of reperfusion, recovery of LV work measured as developed pressure (DP)-heart rate (HR) product ranged from 0 to 15 ± 6.1 mmHg beats min(-1) 10(-3) following warm ischaemia of 15-25 min. Several haemodynamic parameters measured during early, unloaded perfusion at the time of heart procurement, including HR and the peak systolic pressure-HR product, correlated significantly with contractile recovery after cardioplegic storage and 120 min of reperfusion (P < 0.001). Coronary flow, oxygen consumption and lactate dehydrogenase release also correlated significantly with contractile recovery following cardioplegic storage and 120 min of reperfusion (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Haemodynamic and biochemical parameters measured at the time of organ procurement could serve as predictive indicators of contractile recovery. We believe that evaluation of graft suitability is feasible prior to transplantation with DCDD, and may, consequently, increase donor heart availability.

Sistema de e-procurement entre un almacén y sus tiendas asociadas con mensajería SOAP

El propósito de este proyecto es el desarrollo de un sistema de aprovisionamiento electrónico para gestionar los pedidos de las tiendas al almacén mediante mensajería SOAP. El sistema consiste en dos aplicaciones Web, la primera instalada en el almacén y otra instalada en las tiendas asociadas a dicho almacén. Ambas aplicaciones se desarrollarán en Java y JSP utilizando el Framework Spring e Hibernate para la persistencia en base de datos. La mensajería entre las aplicaciones se realizará con mensajes SOAP enviados a servicios Web publicados en ambas aplicaciones. En la primera parte del trabajo se realizará una explicación del Framework de Spring e Hibernate focalizando sobre todo en los módulos utilizados en el trabajo. También se realizará una explicación acerca de la mensajería SOAP y los servicios Web. En la segunda parte se realizarán las dos aplicaciones del sistema. La aplicación de gestión de la tienda permitirá a los usuarios realizar pedidos al almacén, recibir las mercancías y consultar el histórico de pedidos realizados. Además tendrá publicados dos servicios web para recibir las expediciones de los pedidos y los productos nuevos o modificados en el almacén. La aplicación de gestión del almacén permitirá a los usuarios crear / modificar productos, expedir los pedidos recibidos de las tiendas y consultar el histórico de pedidos recibidos. Además tendrá publicados dos servicios web para recibir los pedidos y las recepciones de mercancías desde las tiendas. En esta aplicación también se implementará una tarea programada que se ejecutará cada tres minutos y que sincronizará con las tiendas los productos nuevos o modificados en el almacén mediante mensajes SOAP. SUMMARY The aim of this project is the development of an e-procurement system to manage orders from shops to the storehouse using SOAP messaging. The system consists of two Web applications, the first one is installed in the storehouse and the other is installed in the shops associated to that storehouse. Both applications will be developed in Java and JSP using the Spring Framework and Hibernate for database persistence. The messaging between applications is performed with SOAP messages sent to Web services published in both applications. In the first part of the project an explanation of the Spring Framework and Hibernate will be performed, especially focusing on modules used in the project. An explanation about SOAP messaging and Web services will be carried out too. In the second part of the project the two system applications will be performed. The store management application will allow the users to make purchase orders to the storehouse, receive items and consult the order history carried out. In addition it will have two Web Services published in order to receive the shipping orders and the new or modified products in the storehouse. The management application of the storehouse will allow the users to create and modify products, send the orders received from stores and consult the orders history received. Besides, it will have two Web Services published to receive the orders and receipts from stores. A scheduled task run every three minutes will also be performed in this application. It will synchronize the new or modified products with stores using SOAP messaging.

Variables contributing to regular officer procurement panel scores,

Mode of access: Internet.

Greening operations management:an online sustainable procurement course for practitioners

In the Operations Management field, sustainable procurement has emerged as a way to green the purchasing and supply process. This paper explores issues in sustainable procurement training. The authors formed an interdisciplinary team to design, deliver and evaluate a training programme to promote and develop sustainable procurement in the United Kingdom health sector. Particular features of the project were its engagement with evolving and contested understandings of sustainable procurement and of the underlying concept of sustainable development and its recognition that relevant knowledge in the field is both incomplete and widely diffused through the procurement community. Eight practitioner groups worked together on themes to develop their understanding of sustainable procurement using the Blackboard virtual learning environment. Group interviews were conducted upon completion of the course and again three months later to explore qualitatively participants' experience of learning and implementing sustainable procurement. Although the course was delivered to practitioners, it might be modified for undergraduate and graduate students as it comprised the use of online activities in virtual learning environments, case studies and a broad range of literature. The course was also particularly significant in the context of contemporary policy moves in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to promote the role of higher education institutions in delivering workplace-based, high-skills education consistent with strategic policy considerations (see, for example, DIUS, 2008).

Promoting competitive markets:the role of public procurement

The study presented here examines how public procurement agencies address establishing and maintaining competitive markets; a topic still in its academic infancy. Cases are used to address impediments and improve understanding of strategic priorities in managing for competitive markets. Public policy academics have observed many competing policies in the wider public sector. Specifically, this paper identifies a need for research on supplier incentives at a market level, on the post contract management of suppliers and as an important sub-set, key supplier relationship management, along with professional development.

Procedural justice in procurement management and inclusive interorganizational relations:An institutional perspective

This paper applies the concept of procedural justice to one of the most important focal points of interorganizational relations: the purchaser-supplier relationship. The few extant studies of the concept in the purchaser-supplier domain have overlooked an important aspect of this key relationship: that is, inclusiveness in procurement. This is despite the fact that interest in the specific empirical context of supply chain links between large purchasing organizations (LPOs) and ethnic minority suppliers (EMSs) from disadvantaged communities proceeds apace on both sides of the Atlantic. Institutional theory is used to examine the form that procedural justice takes in eight case studies of LPOs from the private and public sectors, which actively engage with inclusive procurement management initiatives in England. The guiding question is twofold: 'What may LPO approaches to installing procedural justice in procurement management entail?' and 'How are these approaches shaped?' This paper identifies specific approaches to installing procedural justice for inclusive procurement and submits theoretical propositions about how these are shaped. The study contributes to a macro-level assessment of procedural justice, i.e. interorganizational procedural justice, as a significant aspect of inclusive interorganizational relationships, which is a domain in need of theoretical development.

A hazai vállalatok nyitottsága az elektronikus beszerzésre (E-procurement Responsivess of the Hungarian Companies')

A Versenyképesség Kutató Központ 2004-ben a "Versenyben a világgal 1995-97" kutatási program és az 1999-es vállalati versenyképességi kérdőíves felmérés hagyományait folytatva, valamint azok tapasztalataira építve, egy hároméves kutatási programot kezdett el "Versenyben a világgal 2004-2006 – Gazdasági versenyképességünk vállalati nézőpontból" címmel. A kérdőíves felmérés nyomán létrejött adatbázist hasonló témában elemezték a szerzők 2005-ben. A korábbi eredményeken okulva, valamint a kérdőívelemzés kiterjesztésével azt kívánták felmérni, hogy az elektronikus beszerzés iránti nyitottság növekedett-e hazánkban, illetve milyen egyéb összefüggések fedezhetők fel a beszerzési szervezet, a beszerzés vállalati kapcsolatai, valamint az elektronikus beszerzés értelmezésében az egyes válaszadóknál. A kutatás továbbra is eltér a hagyományos megoldásoktól, azaz nem kívánja vizsgálni a hazai vállalati honlapok elterjedtségét, azonban a korábbiaktól eltérően több információtechnológiával kapcsolatos információt kér a válaszadóktól. A cél a belső vállalati folyamatok, a vevő-szállító kapcsolatok, az informatikai háttér elektronikus beszerzéssel való kapcsolatának felismerése. Meg szeretnék tudni, hogy az elektronikus beszerzés milyen hatékonyságnövelési lehetőséget hordoz és a hazai információs társadalmi fejlettség figyelembevételével mennyire nyitottak erre a beszerzők és a pályázók. Az elektronikus beszerzés és versenyképesség kapcsolata különösen a 2000-es évek eleje óta foglalkoztatja a kutatókat. Vita az elektronikus beszerzés beszerzési költségre gyakorolt hatásával, valamint a kormányzati politika hatásával kapcsolatban alakult ki, melyet a közbeszerzés, mint speciálisan szabályozott beszerzési tevékenység és az e-beszerzés kapcsolatára fejt ki. A vállalatok versenyképességének és az elektronikus beszerzés folyamatosan. / === / The Competitiveness Research Center based on the experience of the „ In Global Competition 1995-1997” research program and continuing the company competitiveness survey (1999) has begun a three-year research program with the following title: „In Global Competition 2004- 2006” Our economic competitiveness from company point of view”. The authors had analyzed a database generated on the basis of a questionnaire survey with a similar theme in 2005. Drawing the lessons from earlier researches and expanding the questionnaire, they now seek to find out how far receptiveness to electronic procurement has increased in Hungary and what other relations can be observed in responses concerning the interpretation of procurement organizations, the corporate aspects of procurement and electronic procurement. The new research project continues to differ from traditional solutions insofar as it does not intend to examine the penetration of corporate web pages, but, in contrast to earlier practice, it does want responders to provide information on their IT technology. The objectives are thus to understand how electronic procurement relates to corporate processes, purchaser-supplier relations and IT base, and to see what opportunities of increasing efficiency there are in electronic procurement and how far procurers and bidders are open to this at the current level of information society development in Hungary. Researchers have focused on the relation between electronic procurement and competitiveness since the early 2000s. What is debated is how electronic procurement influences procurement costs, and how government policies influence the relation between public procurement as a specially regulated procurement activity and electronic procurement. The relation between corporate competitiveness and the continually increasing means of electronic procurement is beyond doubt, evidenced by their research findings as well.

Felsőoktatási intézmények közbeszerzési sajátosságai = Public Procurement Characteristics of Higher Education Institutions

A kutatók a 2000-es évek eleje óta foglalkoznak a közbeszerzés és a versenyképesség kapcsolatával. A két terület közötti összefüggés egyértelmű, melyet vizsgálatainak is megerősítenek. Az Európai Unió tagállamainak jogalkotón folyamatos a nyomás, hogy a közbeszerzést különböző célokra használják fel. Mindez segít a közbeszerzés értelmezési körének kitágításában, de felhívja a figyelmet arra, hogy a jogalkotóknak elsősorban néhány kiemelt témára kell összpontosítaniuk, mint az innováció vagy a fenntarthatóság. A felsőoktatási intézmények közbeszerzésben betöltött szerepén túl fontosságuk a konzorciális beszerzések, a közbeszerzés képzés, továbbá az innovatív termékek, technológiák beszerzési gyakorlatában betöltött szerepük miatt kiemelkedő. Hazánkban ez az első alkalom, hogy feltárjuk kifejezetten nagy közbeszerző felsőoktatási intézményeik piaci szerepét és elemezzük közbeszerzési gyakorlatuk sajátosságait, viszonyítjuk eddigi kutatási eredményeinkhez. ______ Researchers have focused on the relation between public procurement and competitiveness since the early 2000s. The relation between corporate competitiveness and public procurement is beyond doubt, evidenced by our research findings. There is growing pressure on the legislators of EU Member States to use public procurement for certain purposes. This helps to widen the scope of procurement, but the regulators have to focus on several priorities like innovation and sustainability. The importance of universities in the development of consortial purchasing, purchasing education, procurement of innovative goods and technologies is unquestionable. It is the first opportunity in Hungary to analyze the role of large contracting authorities, participants of the higher educational market in public procurement and to explore the characteristics of their public procurement practice in order to make comparison between universities and other public procurement market players.

A hazai vállalatok elektronikus beszerzés iránti nyitottsága = E-procurement Responsiveness of the Hungarian Companies’

A Versenyképesség Kutató Központ 2004-ben a „Versenyben a világgal 1995-97.” kutatási program és az 1999-es vállalati versenyképességi kérdőíves felmérés hagyományait folytatva, valamint azok tapasztalataira építve egy hároméves kutatási programot kezdett el „Versenyben a világgal 2004-2006 − Gazdasági versenyképességünk vállalati nézőpontból” címmel. A kérdőíves felmérés nyomán létrejött adatbázist elemeztük hasonló témában 2005-ben. A korábbi eredményeken okulva, a kérdőív-elemzés kiterjesztésével azt kívántuk felmérni, hogy az elektronikus beszerzés iránti nyitottság növekedett-e hazánkban, illetve milyen egyéb összefüggések fedezhetők fel a beszerzési szervezet, a beszerzés vállalati kapcsolatai, valamint az elektronikus beszerzés értelmezésében az egyes válaszadóknál. A kutatás továbbra is eltér a hagyományos megoldásoktól, azaz nem kívánja vizsgálni a hazai vállalati honlapok elterjedtségét, azonban a korábbiaktól eltérően több információ-technológiával kapcsolatos információt kíván a válaszadóktól. A cél, tehát belső vállalati folyamatok, vevő-szállító kapcsolatok, az informatikai háttér elektronikus beszerzéssel való kapcsolatának feltárása és következtetéseink levonása volt annak érdekében, hogy megtudjuk milyen hatékonyságnövelési lehetőséget hordoz az elektronikus beszerzés és a hazai információs társadalmi fejlettség figyelembe vételével mennyire nyitottak erre a beszerzők és a pályázók egyaránt. Az elektronikus beszerzés és versenyképesség kapcsolata különösen a 2000-es éves eleje óta foglalkoztatja a kutatókat. Vita az elektronikus beszerzés beszerzési költségre gyakorolt hatásában, valamint a kormányzati politika által gyakorolt hatás jellegében van, melyet a közbeszerzés mint speciálisan szabályozott beszerzési tevékenység és az e-beszerzés kapcsolatára fejt ki. A vállalatok versenyképességének és az elektronikus beszerzés folyamatosan bővülő és fejlődő eszközrendszerének kapcsolata azonban nem kérdéses, ezt kutatási eredményeink is megerősítik. _________ The Competitiveness Research Center based on the experience of the „ In Global Competition 1995-1997” research programme and continuing the company competitiveness survey (1999) has begun a three-year research programme with the following title: „In Global Competition 2004-2006” Our economic competitiveness, company point of view”. We had analyzed a database generated on the basis of a questionnaire survey with a similar theme in 2005. Drawing the lessons from earlier researches and expanding the questionnaire examination, we now seek to find out how far receptiveness to electronic procurement has increased in Hungary and what other relations can be observed in responses concerning the interpretation of procurement organizations, the corporate aspects of procurement and electronic procurement. The new research project continues to differ from traditional solutions insofar as it does not intend to examine the currency of corporate web pages, but, in contrast to earlier practice, it does want responders to provide information on IT technology. The objectives are thus to understand how electronic procurement relates to corporate processes, purchaser-supplier relations and IT base, and to see what opportunities of increasing efficiency there are in electronic procurement and how far procurers and bidders are open to this at the level of information society development in Hungary. Researchers have focused on the relation between electronic procurement and competitiveness since the early 2000s. What is debated is how electronic procurement influences procurement costs, and how government policies influence the relation between public procurement as a specially regulated procurement activity and electronic procurement. The relation between corporate competitiveness and the continually increasing means of electronic procurement is beyond doubt, evidenced by our research findings.