Dubai Municipality casts a "Tejari Expert" eye over supplier base

"Dubai Municipality will use "Tejari Expert" to help its contracts and purchasing department gain further visibility into their procurement spend as well as better assess the performance of their suppliers over a 5-year period. Dubai Municipality is using our services as part of an initiative to apply strategic procurement approaches to the current .practices being implemented," said Hani Obeid, Director of Consulting Services at Tejari.

Dubai Municipality has seen a phenomenal increase in procurement activity in the last couple of years, and the number of suppliers has doubled for some requirements. Furthermore, Dubai Municipality has been a Tejari member since 2001, and uses the online marketplace to source much of its procurement needs from landscaping equipment to cleaning supplies, to electrical appliances, to office fittings and staff uniforms.

"Evaluating such a large supplier base has become an increasingly complex and time-consuming process as we need to ensure that all suppliers adhere to our specific standards," says Mr. Ibrahim Yaqoub Ali, Director, Contracts and Purchasing Department, Dubai Municipality.

"We have a long-standing partnership with Tejari and thus feel they were one of the best-placed companies to develop a comprehensive and centrally managed supplier performance management program that enables us to accurately measure and rate our suppliers and in turn award the top-rated accordingly," he continued.

Tejari's research has shown that more effective supplier management and strategic sourcing can save regional businesses anywhere from 5 to 15 percent of their procurement costs.

"Tejari Expert" service has devised a framework for assessment that ensures that all key criteria are in line with the overall organizational strategy; all performance measures are real, applicable and sustainable; and procurement processes continue to be effective and efficient. "Tejari Expert" will also investigate the possibility of rationalizing the number of current suppliers to a more optimal figure.

"Dubai Municipality is one of the most active Tejari trading partners, with a diverse procurement programme. "Tejari Expert" will continue to assist Dubai Municipality in ensuring that its priorities are aligned with its Vision and Mission and its commitments and processes are implemented in a streamlined fashion, all with the purpose of increasing efficiency and reducing costs," added Hani Obeid.

"Our evaluation looked at the effectiveness, efficiency, business relevancy and sustainability of Dubai Municipality's procurement procedures. The evaluation focused on the current materials and commodities that Dubai Municipality procures, and designed and applied such understanding in the creation of a supplier management framework," continued Obeid.

Finally, Tejari Expert's methodology for a supplier performance assessment incorporates the EFQM Excellence model highlighting the RADAR (Results, Approach, Deployment, Assessment, Review) approach to achieving results.