This article is part of a series about large-scale, collective, public-sector procurement. It is written mainly for the technical and managerial people responsible for these procurements. The overall aim of the series is to describe the obstacles in the way, and show how to overcome them. It uses laptops as an example, but the same ideas could apply to other categories.
A previous article set out the scaffolding of the topic, in six parts. This part is the fourth: about organising collectively to carry out a procurement in the public sector. It comes after we consider the technical requirements, user needs and rules of the game; and before we take on the economic case and the organisational arrangements to make it all come together successfully.
Previously, I looked at how to define the technical requirements for a laptop in a way that is product-neutral, meets the full user (or business) need, and complies with the legislative constraints for the public sector. This article adds on top: what happens if we try to do this as a collection of different organisations; what additional problems do we face?
The obvious objection is that even similar organisations want different things. It is true that they buy different things. But this does not mean that they need different things.
A single model of a mainstream laptop has over 45,000 product configurations, depending on how you count them. This may seem unbelievable, but in fact it is obvious. Two or three sizes; three processor manufacturers, with up to five variants of each model of processor; different memory, hard drive, display and battery options, etc. Even if two organisations have the same or very similar user needs, it is overwhelmingly likely that they will end up with slightly different models from different manufacturers. The difference is not evidence of a different user need.
Organisations themselves are usually collections of different groups. Left to their own devices, these groups may have chosen different laptops. But, having their IT organised collectively, somehow they manage to get along with the same model or a small selection.
So, if two police forces, two NHS Trusts, or two local authorities currently use a slightly different specification of laptop, I would not conclude they have different needs. I would conclude that they have arrived at a slightly different solution to a similar need.
Of course, across (and within) organisations, there are genuinely different needs, for example:
- Lighter, for frequent travel
- More powerful, for compiling code, editing video or analysis of large data sets
- With options for pen input, smartcard or privacy screen, depending on the person’s role.
But these needs, too, might be common across different organisations. So, if we allow a range of weights and performance, and various options, within our requirements, we might capture all the needs of all the organisations.
The main problem I see is that organisations need to standardise in order to keep their support effective and efficient. It is easier to support one model well than many. Over time, organisations will have standardised on different makes and models. So, one organisation may have standardised on model X, while another on a slightly different specification for model Y from a different manufacturer. Neither will want to change to the other.
But both may be content to converge, at a future date, on a common model. Even a standard model in an organisation changes from time to time. Way back, it may have been a Toshiba Tecra laptop. Now, perhaps it is a Lenovo ThinkPad, or a Microsoft Surface. But that does not mean in three or four years it will be the same. Even with a current standard, organisations review their choices periodically. Allowing those periods to converge, like waves, allows them to converge on a common standard.
Even when individuals or organisations want to collaborate, it may be difficult. Two different organisations need to agree their own separate business case. If one is not approved, the other may fall apart. The process of agreeing creates delay. So there needs to be some sort of mechanism for organisations to subscribe to a process that performs the procurement efficiently. That will be the topic for a separate article.
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