UC’s P200 procurement program among 10 finalists for international industry award
May 27, 2016 •
UC’s systemwide P200 Procurement Program was selected as one of 10 finalists in the Procurement Leaders 2016 World Procurement Awards’ Public Sector category, vying for the top honor against highly competitive programs in Australia, India, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
The World Procurement Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious award in the procurement industry.
UC’s Procurement Services has transformed how the university purchases goods and services to maximize benefit while improving quality and service to partners and campus colleagues. Launched in 2012 as part of the systemwide Working Smarter Initiative, the P200 program aimed to redirect $200 million in annual benefit toward UC’s teaching, research and public service missions by the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year.
P200 is on track to reach the $200 million annual savings benefit by the end of this 2015-16 fiscal year — one year ahead of schedule.
Winners of the World Procurement Awards were announced Wednesday, May 18 in London and while UC did not win, Associate Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer William Cooper said the nomination itself is an honor.
“We’ve worked very hard to change the way we do business and adopt new practices that allow us to significantly reduce the costs of goods and services, create new revenue-generating agreements, and thus afford millions of dollars to further the university’s teaching and research missions,” Cooper said. “We feel honored to have our efforts acknowledged and to be considered among the 10 best public sector procurement programs in the world.”
The program has won national honors. The World Procurement Award nomination is its first recognition for excellence internationally.
Every year, UC spends about $7 billion on products and services across the system. Before P200, campuses worked autonomously to purchase what they needed, and processes varied from campus to campus.
Through the P200 program, UC has been able to develop collaborative relationships across the campuses to understand local needs and provide high quality procurement services to meet those needs. In addition, the university has been able to leverage the power of their collective spend and redirect savings to UC’s mission; invest in and optimize talent and technologies to deliver more benefit than can be achieved by traditional methods; promote new revenue opportunities; and partner with suppliers to develop solutions that optimize value for the university.
