Inside Public Procurement: Heroic Stories from the Frontlines

Every year, around 3.6 million kids get opportunities to pursue their dreams with the support of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. That incredible impact takes the work of hundreds of thousands of people in more than 5,000 club locations across the country. Among them, hustling behind the scenes at the national office, is BGCA’s hard-working procurement team led by Director of Procurement, Chris...

Procurement departments know that federal grants play an important part in achieving their community goals. The good news is that there’s never been more funding to go around. The bad news? Making sure all that money gets to the right places-and stays there-requires a lot of work in the form of reporting and compliance, and the rules are always changing.    In this week’s episode, we invite you to...

A “one-size-fits-all" solution is not something that applies to the procurement capacity puzzle, as so many factors can influence how your team handles projects: staffing, process, demand, technology, etc. It’s a tough conundrum but it is solvable.  Our guest on this episode of Inside Public Procurement, Danny “Rockstar” Mays , Director of Procurement at Maryland Judiciary, chats with Euna’s...

In the day-to-day of public procurement, things like sound recordkeeping or rigorous compliance checks can often get lost in the shuffle.  Now, with so much grant funding coming to fruition, a lot of heavy reporting requirements are coming with it. If the thought of adhering to these regulations makes you sweat, this episode can help!  This episode of Inside Public Procurement listens in on a webi...

Sustainability is not the buzz word it once was. Nowadays, it’s a tangible initiative. The private sector has been increasingly pushing sustainability in their procurement over the past few years, and it’s now starting to take hold in the public space.  The idea of sustainable procurement has been around for a while, but it’s important to point out that the definition has changed a little bit. It’...

The crusade against paper-based processes is still very prevalent in some cases—and when you think about digital transformation, that’s most likely what comes to mind—but it’s a lot deeper than that. Digital transformation encompasses a lot of the moving parts needed to be efficient, effective, and scalable as a procurement department in a modern digital landscape.  On this episode of Inside Publi...

Procurement is the behind-the-scenes team keeping the show running for end users—whoever that may be in the public sector.  With so many little complexities allowing procurement to function as intended, engaging with your leadership, end users, and vendors makes the process so much smoother.  On this episode of Inside Public Procurement, we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Dr. Avona McHo...

Compliance and internal risk management in procurement is tricky business. A lot can go wrong, landing your team—and sometimes your whole organization—in hot water.    We had the opportunity to host a panel discussion with four seasoned procurement pros during our OntarioTalk event, and they had a lot of great advice on the subject. While this discussion was intended for public procurement departm...

How many procurement pros cringe when they hear “do more with less”? You’re far from alone. Tightening operations budgets, hiring challenges, tech struggles, lack of buy-in—these are all things stressing everyone in public procurement out. We recently had the opportunity to get together with Bonfire clients at our Atlanta, Georgia User Meetup and talk about the concept of “do more with less”. Our...

Public procurement is a team sport, and you know what a winning team prioritizes? Communication! Even a small misunderstanding can mean costly errors and lost trust from everyone involved in a solicitation, so an emphasis on communication is key. No matter who you’re speaking with—your internal requestor, evaluators, or vendors—making sure you’re communicating all expectations early on and quickly...

Over the past few years, we've seen more and more government agencies making vendor diversity a priority in their organizations. While the data we have reflects the steady climb in those initiatives, there are still barriers to driving bid competition with vendor diversity.  Tune in to hear Bonfire’s Mitchell Shim, in partnership with NIGP, take a deep dive into the finer details of how to cr...

Getting everyone on board with procurement is easier said than done. All procurement pros face the stigma of “red tape” at one point or another even though we all know how vital the purchasing process is. What’s the key here? This panel says: education, breaking silos, and good customer service. Collaboration and education were hot topics at Bonfire’s User Meetup in Austin, TX. On this episode of...

After a two-year hiatus we were finally able to get together in person with our amazing users at an Ontario Meetup. After the last few years of isolation, they had much to say about the importance of coming together to share ideas, celebrate successes and challenges, and problem solve together. And on this special mini episode of Inside Public Procurement, we’re bringing the highlights straight to...

The transformative powers of technology on procurement is something we’ll talk about until we’re blue in the face—but hearing from the people who are reaping the benefits really puts it into perspective. On this episode of Inside Public Procurement, enjoy the recording from the case study session we hosted at the NIGP Annual Forum back in August titled “Innovation for Impact”. We sat down with Che...

Public procurement pros are the champions of creating positive, impactful change. Every now and again, take a step back and appreciate the ways procurement has real power to make a difference not just for your team and organization, but your community and peers, too. For Ada County, Idaho, that meant creating a procurement environment that empowered agility, mobility, and a better vendor experienc...

How often have you heard procurement described as the “department of no”? To your internal clients—who want their goods and services purchased yesterday—the systems and processes you’ve put in place to ensure a fair and transparent process sometimes just look like red tape. But forward-thinking purchasing teams, like the one at San Bernardino County, are changing the narrative. In this episode, we...

Have you ever met someone who grew up wanting to go into public procurement? When all of their friends were dressing up as doctors and firefighters for Halloween, they came as a purchasing agent? Us neither. Hardly anyone actively seeks a job in public procurement; you just kinda fall into it. So whether someone is coming to the procurement department from finance, public works, planning, or even...

New technology can be scary to a lot of people which is why digital transformation can be a huge deal in an organization—especially in public sector agencies where tech is notoriously lagging. Leading a new software implementation doesn’t start with technical things, it starts with the very human elements. Getting people on board with change is one of the hardest parts of the implementation proces...

What do public procurement professionals and superheroes have in common? More than you’d think. While we don’t know many procurement pros with super strength or laser vision, we do know a ton who are the driving force behind their agencies and their communities. Every year, we at Bonfire dig through our databases and gather third-party information to create the State of Public Sourcing report. Thi...

The mere mention of the word “audit” can cause the collective palms of public procurement to sweat. The reality is, audits are stressful and it’s not a question of if you’ll get audited, but when . Since there’s so much money that flows through public procurement, it’s high on the auditor’s list of risky activities. With a lot of hands in the pot, external pressures, and an increased chance of mis...

How can we build more relationships with small, diverse and historically underutilized organizations? It’s a question many procurement teams are acting on as they realize that supplier diversity isn’t just a social responsibility — it’s a smart business strategy. Whether you’re launching a vendor diversity program, already have one, or don’t know where to start, this is one episode you don’t want...

Purpose and priorities. They’re two things employees got serious about during the pandemic. Millions walked away from jobs that didn’t reflect their core values and, as the Great Resignation grinds on, employers are still feeling the pinch — procurement included. With a growing appetite for purpose-driven work — and so many myths about careers in procurement — how can under-resourced teams attract...

If you’re responsible for managing and allocating federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), you know it’s an incredible opportunity for communities — and also a massive burden for under-resourced procurement departments. Between the funding structure, the timelines, and the stringent reporting requirements attached to the money, there’s a lot to juggle. And yet, our latest guests s...

“You can’t make a sandwich without going to the grocery store,” says Latanya Figueroa. And if you want it to be especially delicious, you need to know where to find the best ingredients. That’s something procurement professionals do really well. And while sandwiches may be low on their priority list, collectively, public procurement teams source hundreds of thousands of goods and services for thei...

Every day at University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, some of the most innovative patient care and health research in the world happens. While researchers and clinicians make history, procurement professionals work tirelessly behind the scenes to make it all possible. Juli Smyth, Senior Strategic Sourcing Specialist at UHN, is one of those people. Her innovative approach to procurement supports...