The views and recommendations contained on this page are those of the participants at the OSME consultations. These opinions are not necessarily those of the Government of Canada.
| Theme |
Concern |
Suggestion |
| 1. Regional considerations are not sufficiently taken into account |
A. Procurement decisions are too consolidated and centralized |
i. Decentralise and recognise regional capacity
ii. Involve the regions in national procurement decisions
|
| B. SMEs do not have the scale/capacity to supply whole country |
iii. Retain regional methods of supply
|
| C. Headquarters are prevented from sourcing in the regions |
iv. Add flexibility into restrictions on buying by region
|
| D. Bilingualism imposes a high cost |
v. Lower or eliminate the standard bilingualism requirements
|
| 2. Cost of supplying the government is too high |
E. RFPs impose high costs onto suppliers |
vi. Limit RFPs to over $100k
vii. Use RFP-lite for under $100k with qualified suppliers and sole source process
|
| F. Contracting decisions are opaque, leading to greater proportional cost for suppliers |
viii. Create a feedback mechanism for failed bidders
ix. Share more information about number of bidders, results, etc.
|
| 3. Complexity |
G. SOs and SAs are too complex |
x. Create new, better methods of supply
xi. Simplify the contracting language
xii. Reduce, consolidate and improve contract terms and conditions
xiii. Eliminate "phantom" SOs
|
| H. MERX |
xiv. Reduce the cost of MERX and the cost incurred in monitoring MERX
xv. Make MERX more user friendly
|
| I. "Boilerplate" language results in less clarity, not standardization |
xvi. Write specific, functional RFPs instead of precise technical specifications
|
| J. There is confusion within and without government about how procurement works |
xvii. Improve communication to procurement officers; educate government staff
xviii.Include performance measures on procurement in all DM performance contracts
xix. Eliminate deviation between policy and procedure
xx. Develop a comprehensive supplier preparation guide for sub-contracting
xxi. Follow the principles of Simplicity, Integrity, Adherence, Consistency
|
| 4. "One size fits all" approach |
K. Problems with "commodity" categorisation |
xxii. Ensure the categories are meaningful, exclusive and comprehensive
xxiii. Ensure the categories are updatedxxiv. Change the term "commodity"
xxv. Create three main categories: major capital, commodities/goods, services (high & low)
|
| L. SMEs do not have a voice in formation of procurement strategies |
Ensure SMEs are systematically represented at the table (e.g., commodity councils)
|
| M. The playing field should be level for SMEs |
xxvii. Rotate through the list of SO holders rather than giving all the business to a handful of suppliers
xxviii. Eliminate unreasonably low prices on SOs and SAs (e.g., "median rate")
|
| 5. Socio-economic benefits |
N. Exclusive focus on price will not serve the public interest |
xxix. Consider a product's full life cycle cost, not just the purchase price
xxx. Consider value for money more than price
|
| O. Procurement should be a tool for economic development |
xxxi. Marry procurement policy with industrial regional benefits
xxxii. Promote innovation through procurement; Create a "first buyer" programme for new technologies
|
| P. Aboriginal businesses |
xxxiii. Maintain the Aboriginal set aside
|
