With the current climate of rising costs, tightening public budgets and increasing scrutiny over public expenditure, efficiency in the procurement supply chain has never been more important.
For public sector organisations across the UK, procurement plays a vital role in ensuring that every pound of taxpayer’s money delivers maximum value, not just in terms of cost, but also in outcomes and sustainability.
Effective procurement is not just about purchasing goods or services to deliver whatever is needed; it’s also about managing supply chains that are agile, transparent and capable of responding to both opportunity and disruption. With the Procurement Act 2023 currently transforming the public procurement landscape, the need for strategic, efficient and forward-looking approaches is no longer optional, but essential.
We explore how effective procurement can drive greater efficiency across the supply chain, why that matters for public sector delivery and how utilising the right tools as part of your strategy can make the whole process smoother.
Jump to:
● The challenge of public sector supply chains
● How effective procurement can drive efficiency
● Efficiency under the Procurement Act 2023
● The importance of a rounded procurement strategy
● Procurement solutions: Built-in efficiency and compliance
● How Procurement Hub can help improve supply chain efficiency
The challenge of public sector supply chains
The public sector supply chain is huge and complex. It connects thousands of suppliers, including everything from SMEs to multinationals, to contracting authorities at every level of government, from local councils and housing associations to central departments and NHS trusts. This scale and complexity brings huge opportunity, but also a level of risk.
When procurement processes are fragmented or inefficient, the consequences can have implications across the entire supply chain. For example:
● Delays in tendering or contracting can slow down project delivery.
● Poorly specified requirements can lead to mismatched solutions or the need for costly revisions of the contract midway through the agreement.
● A lack of supplier visibility can increase vulnerability to disruption.
● Overemphasis on lowest cost can drive short-term savings but undermine long-term quality, social value and resilience.
Efficiency in procurement is not just about cutting admin time or reducing spend, it’s about aligning processes, data, and relationships so that the supply chain functions as a cohesive, high-performing system.
How effective procurement can drive efficiency
Procurement is at the centre of the supply chain. This is because decisions made during the tendering and contract management stages influence not only cost and quality but also performance, innovation, and sustainability throughout the contract lifecycle.
Efficient procurement delivers several interconnected benefits, including:
Streamlined Processes and Reduced Administrative Burden
Standardised documentation, clear supplier evaluation criteria and digital tools can significantly reduce the time and resources spent on each procurement exercise. For contracting authorities, this means less time managing paperwork and more time focused on strategic outcomes.
Improved Supplier Relationships and Collaboration
Efficiency isn’t just about processes, it is also built on good communication. When buyers and suppliers share information transparently, projects are more likely to stay on schedule and within budget. When collaborative working is a planned part of procurement supplier relationships, it also opens the door to innovation and joint problem-solving.
Enhanced Data Visibility and Performance Management
Modern procurement systems and solutions provide greater insight into supplier performance, spend patterns, and market trends. This data enables smarter decision-making, early identification of risks and better forecasting. This helps to ensure that projects stay on budget, are delivered on time and the expected outcomes are achieved.
Increased Supply Chain Resilience
An efficient procurement strategy doesn’t just aim for cost reduction, it actively manages supply chain risk. By assessing supplier health, diversifying the supply base and building flexibility into contracts, public bodies can ensure continuity and compliance even in times of disruption and economic uncertainty.
Efficiency under the Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023, which started rolling out on 24th February 2025, represents the most significant reform to UK public procurement in a generation. It simplifies and unifies the existing regulations into a single, more transparent system while placing new emphasis on value, flexibility, and accountability. Find out more by downloading our free essential guide to the Procurement Act.
Crucially, the new regulations reframe what “efficiency” means in a procurement context. Contracting authorities are now encouraged to look beyond the lowest price and instead consider the most advantageous tender (MAT). This is a broader evaluation that accounts for quality, innovation, social value, and resilience.
The new regulations encourage greater procurement efficiency in several areas, including:
● Simplified procedures: Replacing the previous complex set of procurement routes with more flexible processes tailored to market needs.
● Transparency baked-in: Greater publication requirements, including notices at every stage of the procurement lifecycle, which help build market confidence and trust.
● Performance and contract management focus: Emphasis on continuous monitoring and performance tracking to ensure that value is realised throughout the contract term.
● Supplier visibility and fairness: A stronger push for early market engagement and opportunities for SMEs, driving both competition and diversity in the supply chain.
This shift aligns efficiency with effectiveness, recognising that true efficiency is not simply doing things faster or cheaper, but doing them smarter and in a more rounded way.
The importance of a rounded procurement strategy
A more holistic approach to procurement, one that balances cost, quality, and impact, is essential to achieving efficiency and supply chain resilience. The public sector is now encouraged to think strategically, aligning procurement outcomes with broader organisational and societal goals.
Key dimensions of a rounded strategy include:
Total value consideration: Evaluating suppliers on lifecycle costs, innovation capability, and sustainability credentials rather than upfront price alone.
Social and environmental value: Supporting the UK’s net zero ambitions, local economic growth and fair working practices through considered procurement decisions.
Digital transformation: Embracing eProcurement tools, automation and analytics to improve accuracy, speed, and transparency.
Supplier diversity and inclusion: Opening opportunities to SMEs, local suppliers and social enterprises increases competition and spreads economic benefit.
When these principles are embedded into procurement policy and strategy from the start, the entire supply chain becomes more efficient and fit for the future.
Procurement solutions: Built-in efficiency and compliance
One of the most practical ways for public sector organisations to drive efficiency is through the use of procurement frameworks and other flexible solutions. Frameworks act as pre-approved arrangements that allow authorities to procure goods, services, or works from a list of vetted suppliers without the need to run a full tender process each time.
The benefits of using these solutions include:
● Time and cost savings: By eliminating the need to advertise, evaluate, and negotiate every contract from scratch, frameworks and other solutions can dramatically shorten procurement timelines and reduce administrative overheads.
● Pre-approved suppliers: All suppliers on a framework have already undergone rigorous due diligence checks, ensuring compliance with procurement legislation and financial stability requirements.
● Compliance with the Procurement Act 2023: Frameworks managed by trusted providers are updated to align with new legal obligations, giving public bodies assurance that their procurement remains lawful and transparent.
● Flexibility and scalability: Many frameworks are designed with options that can be tailored to local or project-specific needs, offering both standardisation and adaptability to give the best of both worlds.
● Built-in collaboration and innovation: Frameworks and other flexible solutions often encourage supplier collaboration and innovation through continuous improvement clauses and shared performance metrics.
Used effectively, frameworks and other solutions act as a ready-made model of efficiency, enabling procurement teams to focus on strategy and outcomes rather than admin and process.
How Procurement Hub can help improve supply chain efficiency
At Procurement Hub, we understand the challenges that public procurement teams face and our CIPS qualified procurement specialists have developed a range of flexible solutions to help buyers streamline their processes and access top-quality suppliers, nationally and locally.
We are part of Places for People, the largest social enterprise in the UK, and our procurement solutions are tried, tested and proven to be an effective way to manage successful and compliant public sector projects.
Get in touch to find out more.