Charities look at joint purchasing
- Posted:
- 12:46 07 Jun 2001
- Topics:
- IT Supplier Relationship Management
The initiative was announced at a quarterly meeting of the Charities Consortium IT Directors' Forum, a body made up of the heads of IT at 55 of the UK's largest charities (with turnovers of £5m-plus) including Oxfam, the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the World Wildlife Fund.
Forum treasurer Graeme Steele said the group had decided to set up a sub-committee of six of the larger charities to discuss the possibilities of joint purchasing as a way of driving better pricing through economies of scale.
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"We have to agree on what we have in common. We have to look at what different specs of kit each organisation is buying, what they're paying and where they're getting it from to work out the best leverage in terms of bulk buying," he said.
The best deal would be where companies were buying standard, rather than bespoke, kit, Steele added.
Once that was established it was a question of setting up a mechanism by which the group could go about purchasing. "It's the equivalent of a buying club except we don't yet have any method of purchasing. It's not a legitimate, VAT-registered entity yet so that will take a bit of time," Steele said. The procurement group intended to begin purchasing by the end of the year, he added.
Established last July, the charity IT directors' group was modelled on a similar collaborative initiative set up by finance directors in the not-for-profit sector.
Membership of the charity IT directors forum had nearly doubled over the last couple of months as an increasing number of charities realised the potential value of participating in the initiative, he said.
"Charities, more so than other businesses, are keen to know that their money is being spent properly because of the moral element involved," Steele added.
Aims of the charity IT forum
- Exchange information and experiences on the best industry practice and to encourage this best practice across the sector
Keep in touch with the latest technology
Evaluate suppliers and consultants and share experiences
Exchange information about purchasing issues and to optimise buying potential across industry sector
Seek commercial benefit for members.
Hazel Ward
hazel.ward@rbi.co.uk
