The
procurement section of the recent
California Performance Review Report said that "California should drastically modernize its present procurement system that adds additional cost to its purchases and often does not deliver, in a timely fashion, goods and services needed.
Examples of the need for changes included:
- Suppliers with records of poor performance remain eligible to bid
- Non-competitive bid (NCB) process problems interfere with programs and their ability to provide services to the state
- IT procurement is overburdened with process approvals and the process can take more than a year to award a contract
- Delegations are slow to increase and little training is offered to increase user competency
- Costs of procurement (cents per dollar spent or cost of purchase order) are unknown but likely are above the national average
- California pays millions of dollars in late payment fees due to the slow procurement payment process
Among the
recommendations are: Create a new state procurement organizational structure, Implement more strategic sourcing; Create a statewide contract management policy; increase performance-based contracting; Use the GSA schedule; and explore open-source alternatives.
Wayne E. Hanson served as a writer and editor with e.Republic from 1989 to 2013, having worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and Digital Communities. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education.
