#procurement

#procurement

Being a school principal in San Francisco was already a job with a stress level akin to diffusing unexploded ordinance or directing air traffic. Or perhaps doing both simultaneously. The district's administrators have already reached an impasse in long-running labor negotiations. Mediation failed. Next comes a "fact-finding" panel. If that, too, fails, the next step is a potential strike vote.

Last year, the government negotiated a Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) memorandum of understanding (MoU) that took effect in November and is scheduled to last until 2029. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which arranged the MoU, said it would offer "enhanced value across Microsoft's portfolio of products and services." Public bodies using the agreement might include schools, hospitals, councils, and emergency services, for example.

Over the past several months, many of you have asked me about the future of supplier diversity programs. The question is timely-and urgent. Recent executive orders from the Trump Administration have directly targeted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, creating uncertainty for both federal contractors and the private sector. Programs that once opened doors for minority-, women-, and LGBTQ+-owned businesses to fairly compete are being rolled back or reframed under new restrictions.

The Pentagon's procurement software inadequately tracks component origins, leading to a lack of visibility about where critical system parts are sourced. Auditors express concerns.

Manufacturers are harnessing AI to transform digital customer experiences, moving from generic interfaces to highly personalized interactions that cater to the urgent needs of procurement managers and other stakeholders.

The procurement department has transformed from a bureaucratic nightmare into a strategic function that focuses on supplier partnerships, market information, and cost optimization.

We're more open for business and partnerships than we've ever been before," Fanelli told TechCrunch in a recent Zoom interview. "We're humble and listening more than before, and we recognize that if an organization shows us how we can do business differently, we want that to be a partnership."