The Highways Agency’s new procurement strategy is structured around value for money, delivery and sustainability.
The strategy sets out how the agency will procure goods and services for the next decade. This includes the delivery of the Government’s £6bn investment programme to improve motorways and major A-roads.
The agency is focusing on the management of motorways beyond construction phase, and wants to better understand the supply chain. It will look beyond first-tier suppliers in order to see where money is spent, with the intention of highlighting common spends to find a way to deliver best value.
David Poole, the HA’s procurement director, said: ‘We are changing our environmental approach as the Government increases the challenges and priorities. We are looking to address this and ensure the supply chain adapts to it.’ He said the agency’s suppliers wanted clear, simplified priorities to direct them on how to adapt to the changing sustainability agenda.
‘I think sustainability will become a fundamental part of the business case and, as part of that, it needs to be part of the way our suppliers are thinking. This is an early heads-up to enable suppliers the opportunity to look at cost-effective solutions to adapt to these issues – before sustainability is included in the formal process.’
According to the strategy, sustainable procurement will require changes and innovation in technologies in order to deliver better products and services, with reduced environmental impacts. It has outlined cleaner, more efficient processes, and a shift towards works, goods and services with lower impacts as a priority.
The agency will manage and measure the performance of its supply chain to ensure efficiency. This will create a link between the performance of current suppliers and their selection for future work.
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