The Procurement Network (PN) was established in April 2007. The Network’s mandate is to promote the strategic role of Procurement and Supply Chain Management in programme and service delivery in a transparent and accountable manner.
As of February 2013, representatives from 37 organisations are members of the Procurement Network. These organisations are represented by their Procurement Directors, Head and/or Chiefs, who actively participate in the Network’s bi-annual meetings. Together these representatives have responsibility for the USD 14.28 billion (UN procurement expenditure 2011) that the United Nations currently spends annually to support its activities and programmes in more than 164 countries all over the world.
The Network’s programme of work focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement function within the UN System, through collaborative arrangements, simplification and harmonisation of procurement practices and by fostering professionalism amongst the staff responsible for procurement. It also promotes business opportunities for potential suppliers from developing countries, as well as those from countries with economies in transition.
The Procurement Network is responsible for the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM at www.ungm.org), the procurement portal of the UN System, which brings together more than 2500 UN procurement staff and the supplier community.
The objectives of this WG is to create a common framework for harmonisation of procurement-related regulations, rules, policies, procedures and business practices; document and include country level outcomes and best practices in collaboration with UNDG DOCO, and develop a standardised toolkit for country level procurement practitioners, taking into account the best practices, needs and insights from the country level.
This group supports the professional development of procurement staff through strengthening peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing on best practices, innovative approaches and job descriptions. To facilitate this network of job description focal points has been established as well as the annual publication of a ‘Training Compendium’, detailing the various training/qualification/certification programmes being offered by UN agencies. Work is underway to identify a platform to facilitate the knowledge-sharing aspect, which is at the core of this group’s work.
The work of this group is primarily centered around the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM), the procurement portal of the UN System, which brings together UN procurement staff and the supplier community. The UNGM allows suppliers to register their business with 26 UN agencies, the UNGM allows them to keep abreast of upcoming business opportunities and access other UN procurement-related information. A UNGM Steering Committee manages the extensive ongoing workplan relating to the UNGM.
The focus of this group is to increase fair and easy access for suppliers, with particular emphasis on suppliers from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to UN business, through coordinated, harmonised and sustainable actions, which enhance effectiveness of already existing initiatives or complement gaps which may exist in these.
This group works towards ensuring that sustainable procurement interventions are embedded in the procurement activities of the UN system. The group has been involved in developing a number of guidelines and manuals to support procurement practitioners in implementing sustainable procurement initiatives within various product and service areas.
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The Procurement Network (PN) was established in April 2007. The Network’s mandate is to promote the strategic role of Procurement and Supply Chain Management in programme and service delivery in a transparent and accountable manner.
As of February 2013, representatives from 37 organisations are members of the Procurement Network. These organisations are represented by their Procurement Directors, Head and/or Chiefs, who actively participate in the Network’s bi-annual meetings. Together these representatives have responsibility for the USD 14.28 billion (UN procurement expenditure 2011) that the United Nations currently spends annually to support its activities and programmes in more than 164 countries all over the world.
The Network’s programme of work focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement function within the UN System, through collaborative arrangements, simplification and harmonisation of procurement practices and by fostering professionalism amongst the staff responsible for procurement. It also promotes business opportunities for potential suppliers from developing countries, as well as those from countries with economies in transition.
The Procurement Network is responsible for the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM at www.ungm.org), the procurement portal of the UN System, which brings together more than 2500 UN procurement staff and the supplier community.
Working Group on the Harmonization of UN Procurement Business Practices and Processes
The objectives of this WG is to create a common framework for harmonisation of procurement-related regulations, rules, policies, procedures and business practices; document and include country level outcomes and best practices in collaboration with UNDG DOCO, and develop a standardised toolkit for country level procurement practitioners, taking into account the best practices, needs and insights from the country level.
Working Group on Professional Development
This group supports the professional development of procurement staff through strengthening peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing on best practices, innovative approaches and job descriptions. To facilitate this network of job description focal points has been established as well as the annual publication of a ‘Training Compendium’, detailing the various training/qualification/certification programmes being offered by UN agencies. Work is underway to identify a platform to facilitate the knowledge-sharing aspect, which is at the core of this group’s work.
Working Group - Vendor Management
The work of this group is primarily centered around the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM), the procurement portal of the UN System, which brings together UN procurement staff and the supplier community. The UNGM allows suppliers to register their business with 26 UN agencies, the UNGM allows them to keep abreast of upcoming business opportunities and access other UN procurement-related information. A UNGM Steering Committee manages the extensive ongoing workplan relating to the UNGM.
Working Group on Supplier Access
The focus of this group is to increase fair and easy access for suppliers, with particular emphasis on suppliers from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to UN business, through coordinated, harmonised and sustainable actions, which enhance effectiveness of already existing initiatives or complement gaps which may exist in these.
Working Group on Sustainable Procurement
This group works towards ensuring that sustainable procurement interventions are embedded in the procurement activities of the UN system. The group has been involved in developing a number of guidelines and manuals to support procurement practitioners in implementing sustainable procurement initiatives within various product and service areas.
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