P
PROCUREMENT
18 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com
T
he tension between prudent
transparent defence spending
and the actual achievement of
value for money delivery of
flexible capability will always be a concern
for world powers.
Open democracies need debate around
their assertions, the rigour of scrutiny and
challenge to their process and choices,
and yet eventually decisions have to be
made, solutions selected and suppliers
picked from myriad options available.
Whether the government of the day chose
well will be an entirely subjective opinion
until the capability is used in anger; if the
destroyer or aircraft protects Canada and
her interests around the world effectively
when the call comes, then the procure-
ment was probably successful.
The difficulty will always be that the
time between the start of the procure-
ment process and the delivery of capabil-
ity is often many years, possibly decades.
So, while we all wish to start with the end
in mind, how should complex procure-
ment actually work in the twenty-first
century, and what can be done to maxi-
mise the chance of success? Protecting the
citizens of Canada and keeping the service
personnel of the nation safe is key, while
at the same time gazing into the crystal
ball of acquisition and making the correct
decisions from the outset. As former New
York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani reflected,
Philip Lear is International Account Director for Commerce Decisions
Limited, responsible for accelerating the business into new markets. During
his time with Commerce Decisions, Philip has acquired extensive knowledge
of both the procurement process (from a bidder and buyer's perspective) and
evaluation best practice methodologies.
GETTING PROCUREMENT
RIGHT
THE FIRST
TIME
NATO nations
committed to spend
2% of GDP annually
on defence for the next
ten years, with 20% of
that budget on invest-
ments, which includes
the acquisition of new
military hardware and
systems.
