Strategic Procurement Service Redesign in Barking and Dagenham

• Lead Member Peopletoo
• Categories Finance
• Assets Download Case Study

Peopletoo, and their partners Human Engine, were engaged to design and implement a new Target Operating Model (TOM) for the Procurement Service across the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD). Central to the introduction of a new TOM was the full re-design of the governance process, including the creation of new thresholds, supported by a risk-based approach. This, combined with the coaching of team members to act more commercially, has led to effective and long-lasting transformation to the quality of business cases, decision making, and outcomes for LBBD.

In 2020, the Council undertook a Strategic Procurement review which established baseline performance of the outsourced procurement function. The review highlighted that there was a perception that many key functions were charged back to front-line services as ‘additional’ and not covered by the lump sum. Recognising this, the Council acted to bring the procurement team back in-house to improve control and oversight and reduce costs. Peopletoo were commissioned to design and implement the recommendations of the programme with the key focus of ensuring that support from the procurement team directly added value to the process of procurement and commissioning. This includes delivering benefits for communities through increasing opportunities to local SMEs and through timely support to major strategic contracts.