Role Harmonization

One of the key plans for the CIPSA Victoria/Tasmania Committee’s 2006 Business Plan is the review of individual professional development within procurement in Australia.

This provides a significant opportunity for the standardisation of roles in the procurement industry to provide a more consistent framework for recruiters and organisations to work from. It is imperative for the growth of the industry to encourage Procurement as a career choice and for the profession itself to provide an obvious career path for individuals.

The CIPSA – VIC/TAS Region is working on producing a white paper on role harmonisation consulting with the recruitment industry, CIPSA members and other organsiations and aims to provide a framework identifying key procurement roles, their corresponding competencies, indicative remuneration levels and suggested training & education pathways. The project will be concluded in June 06.

Next event

The VIC/TAS regions next event will be on the 11th April, and what better way to celebrate the upcoming national holiday than with chocolate?!! (Do we see a trend of food and drink revolving around the VIC/TAS events?!!)

Held at Melbourne Zoo, Robert Pease, Procurement Director will be presenting. With great generosity he will throw in some samples for us to taste too...

Stay tuned for the invitation via email shortly...

Committee Member Profile - Natalie Suddick

Manager Procurement Services, Victorian Government Procurement Group, Department of Treasury and Finance

Natalie Suddick is a committee member of the Victorian and Tasmanian Chapter of CIPSA and brings with her senior corporate procurement expertise from both the private and public sectors in policy development and advice, whole of government strategic procurement and contracting in property, construction, goods, services and the health sector.

Natalie commenced with the Department of Treasury and Finance in the role of Manager Whole of Government Contracts in early 2002. In her current role, she is Manager Procurement Services and Executive Officer of the Victorian Government Purchasing Board (VGPB) which has a strong focus on the provision of leadership and training in the government procurement of goods and services.

Her role delivers a strong advocacy of the VGPB policy framework to Victorian Government departments in achieving value-for-money purchasing while applying high standards of conduct for the benefit of all Victorians.

Natalie is one of two Victorian Government members of the CIPSA Committee (Victoria/Tasmania Chapter). The other is Charmayne Rose, Manager Strategic Contracts, also with the Victorian Government Procurement Group.

In her CIPSA capacity Ms Suddick is responsible for:

• Development and dissemination of an Issues Charter to Members and providing a voice for the profession.
• The receipt of issues identified by members to contribute to the CIPSA body of knowledge;
• The development of “products” to share findings, such as white papers, events, briefings and on-line communication
• Distilling the findings of issues to promote best practice and continuous improvement.

The key focus for Natalie’s role is to be a voice for the Victorian and Tasmania membership, capture emerging issues, contribute excellent procurement intelligence and contribute to the CIPS global body of knowledge.

Re-launch of PACCER Courses

Since 1997 the Procurement and Contracting Centre for Education & Research (PACCER) has been providing Public Sector officers with procurement and contract management training. This training is provided through PACCER to meet the Victorian Government Purchasing Board’s (VGPB) legislative responsibility to provide information and training to Public Officials. Click here to download PDF of the full story.

Regional Chairs reappointed

The CIPSA Steering Group met for the tenth time on the 21st of March 2006 at the CIPSA offices in Melbourne. The wide ranging agenda covered the recent membership survey, CIPSA business plans for 2006, several ongoing current CIPSA projects, the ACT regional business plan and crucially, the tenure of the Regional Chairs and the Regional Committees for each CIPSA region which is due to expire 31st October 2006.

The Steering Group unhesitatingly recommended that in view of the fact such a positive start had been made in all of six regions, that the Regional Chairs and current regional committees should be invited to remain in tenure until the 31st of December 2007. Before then, the Steering Group would consider and suggest how best to appoint new Regional Chairs and committees in the future. Congratulations to all the regional committees for a great start to the CIPSA regional network.

The Public Sector Procurement Forum

The PSPF event will be held at the Hyatt Hotel, Canberra on 17-18 May 2006. The agenda will include many of the primary issues facing Government buyers today. Confirmed speakers include the top UK civil servant from the Office of Government and Commerce (OGC) responsible for the attainment of a £7 billion savings target from professional procurement efforts set by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Several other top speakers from around the public sector procurement community in Australia are also confirmed. Full details are available on www.cipsaconferences.com.au.

The Knowledge Club

CIPSA members now have a new benefit of membership – The Knowledge Club. Circulated quarterly, The Knowledge Club is a digest of brief articles on current aspects of procurement, which are relevant, topical and interesting. The first issue was circulated on email in html format recently. Further reading on many of the topics included in The Knowledge Club are available in the members-only area of the main CIPSA website www.cipsa.com.au. Of course, members can print The Knowledge Club articles individually and circulate them to colleagues where relevant. The Knowledge Club email circular is next due out in early July.

CIPSA membership survey results

The CIPSA Member Satisfaction Survey was completed by almost 360 CIPSA members during November 2005 – over 20% of the membership at that time with some very positive results. The detailed results from the membership survey are published in the edition of Procurement Professional magazine published in late May. The results will also be published on the CIPSA website at www.cipsa.com.au soon afterwards.

University of Melbourne Survey-Supply Chain Uncertainty

CIPSA members are invited to participate in the new University of Melbourne survey of supply chain uncertainty. Click here to download and print the PDF survey, complete and send it to University of Melbourne – it should take no more than 15 minutes of your time.

WA Region raises the bar

What began as a business lunch with Sam Walsh, CEO Rio Tinto Iron Ore, soon transformed into a major event for the WA region recently. Over 170 people networked over a gourmet three course meal held at the Hyatt Regency Perth. Sam Walsh presented “Boom and Beyond-Rio Tinto’s supply chain opportunities in a changing world”. Sam called for a FTA with China and a new ‘national interest’ test on anti-dumping laws. The three journalists in the room reported the speech extensively with articles appearing in WA Business News and the Age. Sam also spoke in detail about the Rio Tinto procurement strategy. A business card drop was completed for a one-off prize to the Perth Conference, “SUPPLY MARKET INTELLIGENCE” in September, congratulations to Brain Henman! Special congratulations to the WA committee for a job well done-extremely well done! But instead of reeling in their success, it’s straight back to the drawing board to begin planning of the next event with Woodside Energy in May…stay tuned!

The BRW Client Choice Awards 2006

The 2006 BRW Client Choice Awards held on the 8th of March 2006 in Sydney are profiled in the latest edition (March 9 – April 5) of BRW magazine. These annual awards are presented to the best professional services firms across a range of criteria. Professional services firms including accountants, lawyers, consulting engineers, actuaries, specialist consulting firms and management consultancy firms compete for the awards. All firms participating in the awards scheme have their clients independently surveyed by research firm Beaton Consulting. CIPSA was one of 20 top professional bodies and institutes endorsing the research methodologies and supporting the awards.

PP6

The sixth issue of Procurement Professional magazine is out now. Published on the 3rd of April 2006, PP6 focuses on the management of indirect expenditure and is timed to coincide with the “Managing the Tail” conference event in Sydney on 6th of April which addresses the different ways in which organisations can manage their indirect expenditure lines. Specific topics include buying marketing services, supplier management, doing business in China and the basics of travel buying. Look out for your copy now. All the key articles published in PP magazine are subsequently made available on the CIPSA website www.cipsa.com.au.

CIPSA membership fees are tax deductible

April is a good time to start planning ahead to maximise your tax allowances before the end of the tax year – 30 June 2006. Last year, CIPSA had an extraordinary amount of membership renewal forms received on the 30th of June itself - since membership fees are tax deductible and many members needed a tax receipt inside the financial year to qualify! Membership fees are deductible at your marginal rate of tax. So, for example, a member paying a marginal rate of tax of 42% could save $84 in tax deduction against the standard membership renewal fee of $200. A saving of 42%. However, this example is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute formal tax advice or financial advice in any way. CIPSA advise that you contact your accountant or financial advisor regarding your tax affairs on your personal financial situation prior to taking any action with the aim of reducing your tax liability.

CIPSA Executive Open Training Programme for 2006

The CIPSA Executive Open Training Programme has been filling up fast, with Strategic Price Management already sold out. These courses have been specifically designed to help procurement practitioners achieve their objectives, build professional knowledge, learn core skills and change behaviors towards better practices-but at an executive level.
Visit www.cipsa.com.au and look under ‘training’ to book yourself into one of the courses best suited to you. Don’t wait, these courses will be sold out soon!

CIPSA office opening times for Easter break

CIPSA will close the office at 3pm on 13th April for Easter and re-open 8.30am as normal on 18th April.

CIPS Australia Level 10, 520 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: 1300 765 142, Fax: 1300 765 143, Email: info@cipsa.com.au, www.cipsa.com.au

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