Why draw up a procurement strategy for a public contract?

When it comes to public procurement, putting in place an effective purchasing strategy is key to maximising the value of public funds, ensuring fair competition and ensuring the overall success of projects. There are a number of fundamental reasons why this is so important.

Maximising value for public money

One of the main reasons for establishing a purchasing strategy is to ensure that every euro spent optimises the resources available. Rigorous planning enables needs to be clearly defined, available solutions to be evaluated and suppliers offering the best value for money to be selected. This approach reduces unnecessary expenditure and contributes to a more responsible use of public funds.

The use of tools such as requests for information (RFI), requests for proposals (RFP), calls for expressions of interest (AMI) and market studies helps to explore the market, identify the best offers and clarify the necessary specifications before launching a tendering procedure.

Improving competitiveness and transparency

A well-designed purchasing strategy promotes healthy competition between bidders. By setting clear and objective criteria, it enables all stakeholders to understand the rules of the game and to participate on an equal footing. The resulting increased transparency strengthens the confidence of suppliers and citizens in the public procurement system.

Anticipating risks and ensuring compliance

Proactive risk management is essential to avoid delays, cost overruns and disputes. A procurement strategy helps to identify potential obstacles at an early stage, develop mitigation plans and ensure that the procurement process complies with the legal and regulatory rules in force. A key tool in this process is the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), which provides a strategic vision and anticipates risks.

Promoting strategic objectives

Beyond financial optimisation, public procurement can be used as a lever to achieve societal and economic objectives. A procurement strategy incorporates criteria such as sustainable development, social inclusion, innovation, partnerships with SMEs and the promotion of local solutions, thereby helping to create shared value.

Improving operational efficiency

Strategic planning makes it possible to define clear and efficient processes, avoiding the repetition of unnecessary steps or the multiplication of errors. This improves coordination between the various players involved, reduces lead times and simplifies contract management. The use of a benchmark also enables performance and practices to be compared with those of the best players in the market, so that processes can be continually improved.

Strengthening responsibility and accountability

A well-implemented, documented procurement strategy makes it easier to monitor performance and ensure accountability. It provides a solid basis for assessing the effectiveness of decisions taken and justifying the choices made, thereby reducing the risk of disputes and accusations of favouritism.

Conclusion

To sum up, establishing a procurement strategy for a public contract is not just good practice, it's a necessity. It enables economic efficiency, transparency, risk management and strategic objectives to be reconciled, while strengthening stakeholder confidence. Using tools such as RFI, RFP, benchmarking and SWOT analysis helps to structure the process and improve decision-making. Adopting such an approach is a decisive step towards modern and responsible public management.

• Source: Ministère français de l'Économie - Guide pratique des marchés publics
• Source: EUR-Lex - Directive européenne sur les marchés publics
  
• Source: OCDE - Rapport sur les bonnes pratiques d’achats publics
• Source: April - Techniques de benchmarking pour l’optimisation des achats