Confidential Client engaged ProcurePro to review its procurement practices, policies, templates, processes and systems, with the objective of updating and improving procurement activities to reflect public procurement best practices and systems approaches.

The engagement also required a formal quality assurance approach for reporting on key purchasing activities and contracts, together with observations, recommendations, training guidance and an implementation plan.

This Client had the foundational elements of a centre-led procurement model in place, including policies, procedures, templates and forms. The assessment identified gaps that needed to be addressed to strengthen alignment with public procurement best practices.

ProcurePro conducted workshops with subject matter experts across the organization and reviewed the procurement policies, processes, templates and systems. The resulting assessment identified priority gaps in risk management, purchasing card governance, procurement policy and process clarity, training, contract management, competitive bidding, vendor management and supporting procurement systems.

ProcurePro translated those findings into prioritized recommendations organized by High, Medium and Low priority and by Quick Win, Mid Term and Long Term timing. The engagement also produced a recommended procurement scorecard and next-step implementation actions.

The assessment found that procurement practices were decentralized in several important areas and relied heavily on manual processes, departmental knowledge and individual tools.

Contract management was largely reactive. Contracts were stored in departmental filing systems, spreadsheets and personal calendars were used to track renewals, and there was no unified contract repository. The report also identified uncertainty around contract requirements, retendering compliance, pricing commitments and negotiation practices.

Competitive bidding was manual, and there was a lack of consistent understanding of when to use an RFI, RFP or RFQ. Competitive opportunities were not being posted publicly on the Client website or government tendering platforms.

Vendor management practices were also fragmented. Departments relied on historical vendors and referrals, there was no clearly accessible centralized Vendor of Record list, and the assessment found no indication of consistent market research and due diligence to identify new vendors and solutions.

Policies, processes and templates required greater standardization and clarity. The assessment identified confusion around when purchase requisitions, purchase orders, contracts and competitive bids were required, no formal procurement training, and gaps in risk management and purchasing card policies.

Supporting systems were disparate and only partially integrated. SutiProcure was used for the IT purchase order process, Business Central supported Finance and Accounting, Adobe Sign supported approvals, and manual touchpoints and duplicate data entry remained between systems. Competitive bidding and contract management did not have dedicated systems capability.

The Client engaged ProcurePro to independently assess its current procurement environment and identify the improvements required to align procurement activities with public procurement best practices.

ProcurePro conducted three 90-minute workshops with eleven subject matter experts from IT, Corporate Services, the Office of the Registrar, Finance, Membership Services, Policy & Governance, and Standards of Practice & Accreditation. Two additional meetings focused specifically on the IT supplier and purchase order process and vendor risk management.

ProcurePro also reviewed the policies, processes, templates and forms provided by the Client, including purchasing, Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest and Employee Fraud policies, purchase requisition and purchase order forms, services agreements, third-party IT risk documentation, and RFP and RFI templates.

CURRENT STATE ASSESSMENT

ProcurePro assessed the current state using stakeholder workshop feedback and a review of selected policies, processes and templates. The assessment examined contract management and negotiation, competitive bidding, vendor management, policies and processes, templates and forms, invoicing, and IT systems.

The work identified where existing practices were working, where requirements were unclear or inconsistently applied, and where additional validation would be required through review of historical competitive bids, contracts and system demonstrations.

PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS

ProcurePro developed recommendations to align the Client with public procurement best practices. Recommendations were prioritized by importance and proposed timing, creating a practical sequence for modernization.

High-priority recommendations included standardizing policy templates, updating the Purchasing Policy, creating Risk Management and Purchasing Card policies, clarifying when purchase requisitions, purchase orders and contracts are required, addressing purchase splitting, and incorporating sustainability, small business and diversity considerations.

Process and template recommendations included creating a centralized and accessible Vendor of Record list, developing a risk management process and templates, standardizing procurement templates with usage guidelines, establishing a formal contract management process, and considering centralized contract storage and category strategies.

SYSTEMS & PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

ProcurePro recommended user guides for systems in use and consideration of a more integrated Source-to-Pay environment, including analysis of SutiProcure capabilities and potential integration with Business Central, a centralized contract repository and sourcing software for competitive bids.

To support quality assurance and compliance, ProcurePro developed a recommended procurement scorecard. Initial KPIs included policies created or reviewed, percentage of contracts current, number of category strategies completed and training completion.

TRAINING & IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING

ProcurePro recommended formal training to improve understanding, application and compliance. Recommendations included making key policies accessible to employees, incorporating relevant policies into onboarding, providing role-based procurement and finance training, and requiring new hires to complete applicable training within their first 90 days.

The recommended next steps were to validate priorities and timing, determine resource requirements, confirm the level of ProcurePro support required, create a project plan and action items, and implement the scorecard to track and report progress.

Final Recommendation and Engagement Status

ProcurePro recommended a phased procurement modernization program focused on strengthening policy and process governance, contract and vendor management, competitive bidding, risk management, training, systems enablement and performance measurement.

Moving from Departmental Procurement Practices to a Structured Modernization Roadmap

The central issue identified through the engagement was not the absence of procurement activity. The Client already had foundational policies, procedures, templates and forms in place.

The opportunity was to strengthen and standardize those foundations, close identified governance and process gaps, improve transparency and compliance, and create a practical roadmap for modernization across policies, processes, systems, training and performance measurement.

The outcomes below reflect deliverables and strategic outputs produced through the engagement.

Strategic Outcomes

• Established a documented current-state view of procurement practices, policies, processes, templates and supporting systems.
• Identified and prioritized gaps across risk management, purchasing card governance, procurement policy, contract management, competitive bidding, vendor management, training and systems.
• Created a prioritized modernization roadmap organized by High, Medium and Low priority and by Quick Win, Mid Term and Long Term timing.
• Defined recommended next steps for validation, resourcing, project planning and implementation tracking.

Governance & Process Outcomes

• Defined recommended updates to procurement policies and standardized policy and procurement templates.
• Established recommendations for formal contract management, centralized vendor information, risk management and category strategies.
• Recommended clearer requirements for purchase requisitions, purchase orders, contracts and competitive bidding.
• Recommended training and onboarding practices to improve understanding, application and compliance.

Performance & Technology Roadmap

• Developed a recommended procurement scorecard covering policy completion, contract currency, category strategies and training completion.
• Identified opportunities to reduce manual system touchpoints and evaluate more integrated Source-to-Pay capabilities.
• Recommended consideration of SutiProcure and Business Central integration, centralized contract storage and sourcing software.

Procurement modernization requires more than updating a single policy or implementing a new system. Governance, processes, templates, training, contract and vendor management, technology and performance measurement must work together.

This engagement gave the Client a structured assessment of its current procurement environment and a prioritized set of recommendations for strengthening alignment with public procurement best practices.

ProcurePro helps organizations assess current procurement practices, identify gaps and build practical roadmaps across governance, processes, systems, supplier and contract management, training and performance measurement.

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