Digital Public Procurement Transformation and Supply Chain Performance in Health Sector in United Kingdom
Abstract
Digital procurement refers to the integration of digital technologies in the replacement or redesign of paper-based procedures throughout the procurement cycle. The public procurement cycle refers to the sequence of related activities, from needs assessment, through competition and award, to payment and contract management, as well as any subsequent monitoring or auditing. The availability of public procurement documents to the general public means that documents are available without registration as a supplier. E-procurement systems enable governments to increase the transparency of public procurement activities as well as collect consistent, up-to-date and reliable data on procurement processes. This, in turn, can feed into other government information technology (IT) systems through automated data exchanges, reducing risks of errors and duplication. Furthermore, integration with other digital government systems, such as digital invoicing, is essential to make e-procurement systems fully functional during all phases of the procurement cycle, including contract execution and payment. The disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, along with the effects of Brexit and events such as the blockage in the Suez Canal, have all served to highlight just how vulnerable many supply chains are. The UK medical technology sector is comprised of just over 2,500 mostly small to medium-sized companies. They are evenly spread across the country with small clusters of firms in the Midlands and Southeast of England. Radiotherapy equipment, neurology, and cardiovascular devices are high-performing segments. The inefficiency and lack of digitization in Procurement are costing the UK health sector an average of £0.94M annually. Compared to its peers, Procurement is also viewed as being less digitally mature. The paper was a literature based study on the role of digital public procurement transformation on supply chain performance in health sector in the United Kingdom. The study found that digital procurement systems have enabled the UK to increase the transparency of public procurement activities as well as collect consistent, up-to-date and reliable data on procurement processes. This, in turn, has been fed into other government information technology (IT) systems through automated data exchanges, reducing risks of errors and duplication.
Keywords: Digital, Public, Procurement, Transformation, Supply, Chain, Performance, UK.
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