Harnessing Management Information: A #PracticeMatters Approach in Procurement
Management Information (MI) in procurement refers to the collection, analysis, and presentation of data related to customer purchasing activity with awarded framework suppliers. This process of information gathering is designed to support strategic decision-making and future framework planning. Ensuring that we can offer our customers access to the solutions and suppliers they need.
MI plays a crucial role in helping to optimise customer purchasing activities, and is regularly used by our specialist procurement team, to drive cost-effectiveness and efficiency within the market.
Using Management Information
- Understanding Purchasing Patterns: By analysing this data our procurement team can establish what goods and services are being purchased, the volumes they are being purchased at, and how regularly they are bought. This data helps our team to identify trends, forecast demands, or catch any irregularities.
- Monitoring Savings: MI enables us to track the savings achieved through the use of our framework agreements, further supporting discussions with existing and future suppliers when negotiating contracts or pricing structures.
- Evaluating Supplier Performance: This data can be used to measure a suppliers performance against key metrics, from which insights can be shared directly with suppliers during Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) activity. Helping to manage risks and supporting informed decision making about ongoing framework management, future renewals and sourcing.
- Strategic Sourcing: The long term objective of capturing MI is identifying opportunities for future strategic sourcing that will meet the needs of NHS and public sector organisations. Enabling our team to make informed decisions about what frameworks to develop or product ranges and service requirements to procure; to help achieve the best possible value.
- National Reporting: High level information from the data we obtain in this process can be shared with central teams at NHS England when required. This sharing of information will add to the national spending profile. Harnessing the purchasing power of the entire NHS to help shape the future of the NHS.
Accurate Capturing of Data
NOE CPC has built a bespoke system called MI Online (MIO) for the collection this data and suppliers are contractually required to provide their relevant contract’s sales data using this portal. Ensure data accuracy and consistency and helping to streamline procurement processes. Giving suppliers a transparent and effective way to communicate their activity with us.
Although our MIO system was developed for the capturing of spend data from suppliers, customers also play an integral role within this process. Find out how you can ensure your spend stays within the NHS, by correctly referencing our frameworks by reading: Ensuring your spend stays within the NHS.
Supplier Guidance
Following feedback from our suppliers we have created a video guide, which provides suppliers with a step by step walkthrough of how to submit data using the MI Online Portal, simply visit: NOE CPC's guide to submitting MI Online.