Lean Supply: a Strategy for Best Value in Local Government Procurement?

Abstract

Developments in government procurement policy and private sector practice towards a more strategic role provide the context for an examination of the proposals on Best Value in local government. Lean supply is proposed as a means of obtaining better value from suppliers and achieving the goals of better quality, more efficient services and continuous improvement. Empirical evidence is presented from a postal survey of local government purchasing officers, interviews with selected respondents and experiments based upon ‘live’ contracts. Whilst the survey identifies as obstacles a lack of understanding of lean supply and the culture of local government, the interviews and experiments give a much more positive flavour to the prospects for lean supply, and hence Best Value within local government. The paper concludes that lean supply is most applicable for major expenditure items, that the enthusiasm and drive of a ‘champion’ and recognised purchasing professional assist with introducing the concepts and that ‘marketing’ of purchasing's value added contribution assists in overcoming barriers. However, the lean supply model derived from the private sector requires adaptation both in its operational practices and philosophical underpinnings to fit with the local government context.