| Thames Valley Police, the largest non-metropolitan force in England and Wales has received a Procurement Excellence Programme award from The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, the global professional body for supply chain management. The force was commended at standard level, for their levels of leadership and organisation, strategy and policy, process and systems. Thames Valley Police manages £140m of spend on procurement for goods, services and equipment. PEP is a globally-recognised award presented to those organisations demonstrating excellence in their procurement and supply chain activities. The award drives regular improvements, value across supply chains and highlights procurement’s role as a fundamental part of an organisation’s strategy and effectiveness. The team at Thames Valley Police embarked on the programme and audit of its activities, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money and to support the needs of modern policing methods. With a focus on transparency across its spend, the procurement team sought a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to all its expenditure, managing relationships with other departments, awarding fit for purpose contracts, and ensuring the efficient management and support of suppliers to the force. The department chose a respected, independent body to review and audit the procurement team’s structure, the capabilities of individuals in the team and performance of procurement systems. The standard award took a year to complete. Richard Fowles, Head of Procurement from Thames Valley Police Procurement team said, “We have a huge responsibility of doing more with less. Combined with the challenges from the pandemic, the need has become greater, so this couldn’t come at a better time. “The findings of the PEP audit have now been incorporated into the team’s overall objectives, to ensure that not only do we learn now, but improve our individual and team performance in the future. We wanted to demonstrate to our colleagues in the force, the local community and other stakeholders what efficient procurement practice looks like in a policing environment. Allyson Hughes, Procurement Business Partner from Thames Valley Police Procurement Team and Project Lead “The process was comprehensive, and allowed us to really think carefully about what we do, and why, and the whole team got behind this approach along with the ethos behind the programme. It has been a real team effort which has not only built morale, but also helped build the confidence of each individual team member, their ability and knowledge along with developing the profile of the whole department. I’m so proud of everyone.” Alan Martin, Head of Procurement Excellence at CIPS said, “The team threw themselves wholeheartedly into the programme and to cement the good reputation of the team’s activity with colleagues in other departments. “They had very clear and professionally-based objectives to benchmark past progress and develop strong plans for more improvements to come. To manage this as well as the demands of the pandemic deserves high praise indeed. I hope that they continue on their PEP journey to ever higher standards.” For more information about CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme: https://www.cips.org/en-gb/cips-for-business/supply-assurance/procurement-excellence-programme/ -ENDS- Press contacts Lauren Potter, Assistant Digital Communications Officer, Thames Valley Police; M +44 (0) 7970145533 Trudy Salandiak, CIPS Public Relations Manager; T +44 (0)1780 761576; M +44(0)7554400731 Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the largest non-metropolitan police force in the country and covers the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, an area of 2,200 square miles. We serve a population of 2.1 million people, plus six million visitors who come to the Thames Valley each year. The Force is broken down into 12 Local Policing Areas, each with its own commander and deputy commander. The Chief Constable is John Campbell and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley is Anthony Stansfeld. https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/ About the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply: The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) is the leading international body representing purchasing and supply management professionals and has over 70,000 members in 150 countries. It is the worldwide centre of excellence on purchasing and supply management issues. The activities of procurement and supply chain professionals have a major impact on the profitability and efficiency of all types of organisations. CIPS offers corporate solutions packages to improve business profitability. www.cips.org, @CIPSnews. |
Contacts
Trudy Salandiak
Trudy Salandiak
trudy.salandiak@cips.orgEaston House, Easton ojn the Hill
Phone: 01780756777
www.cip.org