WINNIPEG — Manitoba is modernizing its procurement strategy.
Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding recently announced PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada (PwC) will collaborate with the provincial government to implement the strategy, moving it away from individual contracts for projects and separate tendering processes for goods and services to a “category management” strategy.
Under category management, according to a release form the provincial government, one contract can be issued for a particular category of goods and services for several departments instead of using separate contracts.
“This allows government to negotiate lower costs through larger purchases of a product or service, as well as better contract management,” the release stated.
“Manitobans are smart shoppers who expect government to do the same,” said Fielding. “The province currently sources goods and services on a project-by-project basis, which can be costly and inefficient. PwC will help implement a strategy to enable the provincial government to become a ‘smart shopper’ by bundling contracts to reduce costs.”
As part of the strategy, PwC’s role will be to support implementation through staff training, program management, change management support, benefits tracking and transformation governance.
Fielding also noted the government of Nova Scotia has pursued a similar approach in co-operation with PwC.
“PwC has been supporting this work in Nova Scotia, which is already seeing positive results. In year three of the implementation process, the current savings are more than $25 million per year,” Fielding said.
“Manitoba will benefit from their experience with this type of reform and we expect to see real cost savings while maintaining the quality of services Manitobans expect and deserve.”
The Province of Manitoba discloses all government contracts valued at $10,000 or greater, and the information is available to the public on the province’s “proactive disclosure” website.
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