Beaufort advises Rijkswaterstaat on procurement of knowledge.

Improving the procurement process

Rijkswaterstaat WVL (Water, Traffic (Verkeer) and Living Environment) annually purchases knowledge on many and varied topics. To improve the process, Rijkswaterstaat asked us to analyze possible improvements in the procurement process with knowledge of the sector.

Objective

To implement possible improvements in the procurement process, we looked at how procurement can improve structurally & cyclically and how captured information can be better utilized & secured, so that the procurement process can add more value to Rijkswaterstaat WVL as a whole.

Approach

We made an analysis of the current processes, different stakeholders and identified priorities. On this basis, more insight was gained into which knowledge is strategic, tactical or operational and which approach to suppliers-of-knowledge could be taken in this regard. A spend analysis was then made of thousands of assignments and hundreds of parties who have supplied knowledge in recent years, in order to identify priorities for improvement.

Result

During the analysis, we noted that collaboration with other parts of Rijkswaterstaat and objectives in procurement, knowledge development and innovation could lead to improvements in the procurement of knowledge. We also suggested adjustments to the existing procurement systems to make them better support the cyclical nature of assessing the knowledge purchased. The client endorsed the recommendations presented and chose to follow them up with a follow-up process for implementation.