Competition - Leads to Effective and Efficient Results for the Public

John (Jack) M. Pellegrino, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPCM, Director, Department of Purchasing & Contracting at County of San Diego

Most of the time, government procurement operates out of the line of sight of constituents and taxpayers, and too often, procurement is not always viewed as an essential function of public agencies.

However, two things have changed since the pandemic. First and foremost, disruptions in the supply chain and shortages have brought procurement professionals to the attention of every public agency and have given the function a seat at the leadership table. Post-pandemic, every type and size of the organization has realized that procurement professionals are critical to the effectiveness and efficiency of buying the necessary supplies and services that are essential to their organizational success. Visibility and transparency of sources of supply, and the logistics of where and when their goods and services are being produced, shipped, and delivered have never been more scrutinized. Secondly, transparency of pricing and ensuring that prices paid are not exorbitant require a new level of visibility in every organization, with renewed public interest.

The best practice to address both challenges is accomplishing all procurements via a full and open competitive process. Establishing a thorough and robust competitive process will allow organizations to ensure they are securing the best goods and services available in the marketplace and that their pricing is “fair and reasonable” for their stated requirements. Also, an unrecognized positive benefit of maintaining a full and open competitive process for periodic contract renewals is that existing contractors/providers will remain focused on their current contract performance to ensure they remain in good standing for future re-competitions. This often includes existing contractors offering innovations and cost efficiencies that may not be considered if they were in a sole/single-source procurement situation.

It may not be easily appreciated, and sometimes not internally supported, that for these two fundamental reasons, COMPETITION is the best public procurement practice - ensuring organizations can not only afford themselves the best available products and solutions but also that pricing is not artificially inflated by a single or small set of providers.

Overcoming some old thinking, competitive procurement does not take too long or needs to be overly cumbersome.

On the contrary, with today's information technology and access to real-time market research tools, procurement professionals are able to ensure that contracting is done effectively and efficiently and protect the organizations' and taxpayers’ interests.

Although not frequently acknowledged, procurement professionals are an essential part of any successful organization, securing goods and services in the amounts and quality needed, when they are needed, and at fair and reasonable pricing. Next time you see your procurement official, say thank you for their support, it will make their day because that’s why we all come to work each day!