Always evolving: Commercially focused, Community driven

Scotland Excel’s Academy has unveiled its first ever Driving Commercial Improvement Programme for the local government sector.

The programme was announced to Scottish council procurement leads during an introduction session recently, as the Academy gears up for a full launch in September.

The aim of the programme is to build the commercial capabilities and approach of councils and will be delivered across nine modules.

Julie Welsh, Chief Executive of Scotland Excel said: “Procurement is in itself a commercial activity that brings value, so there’s scope to build on that and explore how we can become more commercial as professionals and as a sector. Scotland Excel is always evolving and we know the public sector needs to do more with less, so by strengthening our commercial mindset and applying it to everything we do – we can bring greater value and improved outcomes in a way that benefits the communities we serve.”

The Commercial Awareness Programme will start to be delivered from September 2024 and will consist of the following modules:

• Risk appetite
• Lifecycle costing
• Pre market engagement
• The suppliers view
• Specifications
• Gainshare
• Post tender negotiation
• Contract and supplier management
• Supplier relationship management

Julie Welsh added: “We’re excited to be developing the modules over summer, ahead of the full launch of the programme in autumn. Commercial skills are valuable, no matter what your role and the programme will help procurement and other council professionals think about how they can add commercial best practice at every step.

“Whether it’s a greater focus on generating competition, refining negotiations to be more data driven, or being more aware of gain share projects and income generation opportunities – being more commercial can drive innovation while increasing efficiency.”

Dates and module booking details will be published over the summer. In the meantime council staff can register for our free Driving Commercial Improvement: Awareness Session on 9 July. Here we’ll start the discussion about what being more commercial means and delegates can learn more about what we have planned in the coming months.