Smart Procurement Tools for NZ SMEs

Three universities want to develop & test new procurement tools. These tools will help New Zealand SMEs improve their sustainable & innovation procurement with their suppliers. The universities have applied for MBIE Smart Idea investment funding for a three-year project. We publish four blogs on this project plan.

SMEs are the backbone of NZ and many other countries, and good procurement in SMEs has huge leverage effects. After all, 30 to 60% of economic value and sustainable impact are not created in SMEs but in their supply chains. This is a fact we often forget*. There are more than 50,000 articles on procurement. However, there is hardly any solid research on procurement in SMEs, let alone on procurement tools in SMEs.**

We estimate that NZ has around 150,000 SMEs (1-49 employees). Combined they annually buy 90 to 130 billion NZD of goods & services. This is a huge amount of money, and our procurement tools can help with cost-savings, improve supplier performance, reduce supply chain risks, and increase technology adoption, innovation and sustainable development.

Together with industry and special interest groups we will develop 3 types of tools:

1. innovation & sustainable procurement tools for SMEs based on the Business Model Canvas, to improve their value propositions.
2. sustainable procurement tools for SMEs based on the ISO 20400 procurement standard, to improve their procurement performance
3. innovation procurement tools for growth-oriented and innovative SMEs, to drastically improve their innovation performance. (Publish approx. 15 Feb).

When SMEs use these tools, they optimise procurement processes and increase productivity. Tools will be web-based and interactive. We plan to develop SME tools for general usage, and for specific purposes. Such as for Māori SMEs, for SMEs who want to reduce their CO2 emissions with suppliers, or for SMEs who want to import from overseas suppliers. We plan to start in October 2021.

This project is a collaboration between Dr Barbara Allen (Victoria University), Professor Margreet Boersma (Hanze University, NL), associate Professor Nic Naismith and Dr Anne Staal (both AUT). Experts from Grant Thornton play an important role in testing the new tools.

More info to follow!

 Please contact us if you want more info or want to participate in this research! Contact: Dr Anne Staal, Auckland University of Technology ([email protected]).

*   Check McKinsey, 2020, Exhibit 3; Johnsen, 2019, page 3.

** For example Morrissey, 2006; Pressey, 2009; Staal, 2013; Staal, 2015.