Transport for London (TfL) was created in 2000 and is a functional body of the Greater London Authority. Its role is to implement the Mayor of London’s transport strategy and manage transport services across the capital. These include London’s buses, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, London Overground and Crossrail.
In September 2008 TfL was awarded the CIPS Certification standard of excellence after assessment that the organisation was operating at a level of recognised signature practices in procurement. “CIPS accreditation is a massive achievement for TfL, placing us among an elite group in terms of our procurement standards. The hard work of the team involved will benefit not just the procurement community across the organisation, but TfL as a whole.” Andrew Quincey, Director of Group Procurement, Transport for London.
Procurement’s profile in the organisation
Procurement is a key corporate service, supporting TfL’s aims and objectives while delivering value for money in line with Government purchasing policy. During the past three years, TfL has drawn together the procurement departments across all areas of the business. In total there are 150 people, with over 100 being professionally qualified with MCIPS or equivalent, and Procurement is well respected in the organisation. TfL’s annual procurement spend is approximately £1,600 million, with 95% (£1,520 million) influenced by Procurement.
TfL has also introduced responsible procurement and supplier relationship management programmes - areas in which the organisation is acknowledged to lead the field.
Procurement’s challenges
TfL Procurement’s aims to improve harmonisation of the procurement function across TfL and the next challenge is to achieve CIPS ‘Gold’ standard, the Institute’s benchmark for strategic procurement capability. The organisation says that CIPS Certification has already helped raise the profile of procurement across TfL, and provides approval for policies and processes already in place.
Why choose CIPS Certification?
Aspiration to be ‘the best’ led TfL to the CIPS Certification programme. The team believed its purchasing policies and procedures represented good practice but wanted to be judged against the best through the Institute’s international standard of excellence, thus proving that the organisation was operating in the most professional way.
Contribution to business improvement
Gaining CIPS Certification was seen as “a real step forward for the procurement function,” according to David Young, Programme Director for Group Procurement. The high-level policies and processes assessed by CIPS Certification are designed to enhance individual, team and organisational esteem, as well as a sound warranty to all stakeholders. The CIPS audit team noted that the TfL project team had a very high degree of commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism. Also highlighted were the benefits of aligning Procurement objectives with TfL’s organisational objectives, and the move towards greater standardisation of forms across the Procurement units.
TfL Procurement’s recent achievements in the areas of Business Procurement Efficiency Programme, Responsible Procurement, Supplier Relationship Management and e-Sourcing were endorsed by Certification as evidence of continuous improvement.