Private Procurement Services Firms Could Help the Public Sector

The government of the Bahamas is close to implementing a per-passenger value added tax on cruise lines docking in the Bahamas to make up for their budget shortcomings.  The only alternative is having to deal with across the board spending cuts.  However, critics argue that cruise lines will simply pass up the Bahamas on their routes to avoid the extra taxation.  One prominent Bahamian economics commentator and author, Dr. Johnathan Rodgers, has proposed a different solution to the Bahamian government's problems: hiring a private procurement firm to act as the Bahama's procurement bureau and cut their budget by 10% in the upcoming 2013-2014 budget year.  This critical commentary which Dr. Rodgers is known for brings up an interesting point.  What is the current role and possible potential future role of private procurement firms taking on the duties of public purchasing departments?  You can spend considerable time researching procurement services firms that the US government might utilize, but good luck finding any detailed information.  The federal government needs to make a concerted effort to utilize the skills and expertise of private procurement service providers to trim budgets, however, their own rigid regulations and procedures stifle interest and involvement from these firms in the first place.  It's a losing situation for procurement service providers, the government, and the taxpayers.

Companies like Source One are thriving on their ability to provide  managed strategic sourcing solutions for organizations in need of cost savings, supplier relationship management, procurement process improvement, and other related services.  If only the US federal government would take notice and undertake a full scale utilization of procurement service providers, we may not be talking about the mandatory cuts that are affecting so many Americans today.