Local governments are under significant fiscal pressure due to rising inflation, deferred maintenance and infrastructure investments, staffing shortages, and constituent demands for digital services.
Government leaders must develop comprehensive strategies to manage costs and improve efficiency. One of the most effective ways to do that is through smarter procurement solutions.
“Cutting costs won’t solve these issues,” says Tania San Miguel-Bounds, head of local government sales for Amazon Business. “It’s about finding that balance between immediate cost management and long-term sustainability.”
THE ABCs OF STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT
In public-sector procurement, a strategic partner “becomes an extension of the government’s procurement team, helping them achieve both immediate savings and long-term strategic objectives while maintaining the highest standards of compliance and transparency,” San Miguel-Bounds says.
An ideal strategic partner:
- Delivers measurable cost savings by analyzing spend patterns for savings opportunities through better pricing programs.
- Enhances operational efficiency with automations and guidance that improve procurement workflows — from purchasing to reconciliation — freeing up staff time for more strategic work.
- Provides actionable insights with detailed analytics, spend dashboards and reporting capabilities that track and identify trends across departments.
The right partner should help your organization modernize operations by integrating new technology with existing procurement and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. For example, AI and workflow automations can streamline inventory management; improve transparency and compliance with internal regulations; track supplier diversity metrics; and reduce administrative burdens with digital invoicing, automated reconciliation and consolidated billing.
Strategic procurement partners can also share benchmarking data that allows governments to compare themselves to similar organizations and identify areas for improvement.
“Modern procurement is all about embracing data-driven decision-making,” San Miguel-Bounds says. “The real value comes in turning insights into action.”
EVALUATING PROCUREMENT VENDORS
Evaluate procurement vendors to ensure they have the capabilities to support your organization as a strategic partner over time. “Approach this as a long-term partnership rather than just a vendor relationship,” San Miguel-Bounds says.
Use the following questions to assess potential strategic partners:
Capability and Experience
- What experience do you have serving similar government organizations?
- How do you ensure compliance with public-sector procurement requirements?
- What is your track record for on-time delivery and order accuracy?
- How extensive is your supplier network and product selection?
- What specific cost advantages do you offer government customers?
- How do you help identify and track savings opportunities?
- What volume discount programs are available?
- Can you provide examples of savings achieved by similar organizations?
- How do your procurement platform and supporting technologies integrate with existing government systems (ERP, P-Card programs)?
- What automated tools do you offer for purchasing, approval workflows and reconciliation?
- How do you help streamline the requisition-to-payment process?
- What analytics and reporting capabilities are available?
- What level of dedicated account support do you provide?
- How do you handle implementation and change management?
- What ongoing training resources are available?
- How do you measure and report on service levels?
