NAEP Pulse
 

Innovators Forum Corner

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Higher Education procurement has been in a state of transformation. Over the past several years, there has been considerable movement from tactical operations to more strategic activities in many of our institutions. As a result, procurement professionals are becoming strategic partners to their campuses. And yet, many departments and institutions struggle with how to move from the tactical to strategic.

NAEP recognized the need to discuss critical topics at a deeper level than was possible at regional or annual meetings and created the NAEP Innovators Forum to improve the knowledge base of our membership and facilitate a move towards strategic planning and innovation.

The purpose of this forum is to create a space that engages NAEP members in discussion and analysis of major procurement issues impacting colleges and universities while seeking to better inform our members on alternative ways to deal with these challenges. To do this effectively and successfully, we pull together a team of senior institutional officers, outside stakeholders and procurement leaders to consider the significant trends and driving forces affecting our ability to make a strategic impact and increase our level of contribution.

One of the outcomes of this yearly forum is a white paper that contains 8-12 key strategies and actionable steps that provide individuals and departments with a roadmap to help them accomplish their campus objectives in a meaningful way.

In 2016, the focus of the Innovators Forum was Enhancing Supplier Value and Performance. Can a change in mindset about keeping your suppliers at arms-length to partnering with a select few to achieve strategic goals (for you and them) be beneficial? Strategic Supplier Relationship Management (SSRM) is using your limited resources to build a relationship with a select group of key suppliers to move beyond the tactical framework of enforcing and working with your contracts. SSRM helps you to extract value beyond price and builds strong relationships that can turn into partnerships. Our Innovators Forum panelists and experts developed a framework for SSRM including a procurement vision, strategy, engagement, and supplier performance. An article in the Fall issue of the Educational Procurement Journal covers the first point - Procurement Vision.

NAEP members can sign into the website to download the full research paper.

Many of the topics introduced in the Innovators Forum series weave into each other and as you implement ideas and best practices in one area you can branch into other procurement hot topics.