A process of ongoing improvement
Never underestimate the value of engaging, says Sundale procurement manager Michael Hardgrave, who answers our questions on aged care procurement.
How many facilities, services, residents, clients, and staff are within your procurement remit?
Sundale operates in the residential aged care, retirement living and in-home care markets. Collectively, Sundale’s seven care centres, four retirement communities and in-home care businesses provide care to more than 1,300 care recipients, residents and clients throughout the Sunshine Coast and Boyne Island, a coastal area near Gladstone.
Sundale also owns and manages Woombye Gardens Caravan Park, which has 58 cabins and 11 caravans, and leases and manages a laundry facility at Kunda Park. In addition to providing laundry services to Sundale’s Sunshine Coast care centres, the laundry facility also has contracts with external hotels, motels and serviced apartment providers in the region.
Sundale has more than 630 employees and 160 volunteers.
What are your areas of responsibility and the main goods and services you procure?
My areas of responsibility include authoring procurement and contract policies and templates and managing procurement and contract projects. I am also the probity adviser for all Sundale tenders, including probity briefings and tender evaluation processes to ensure we adhere to good, open, and transparent procurement and contracting processes.
Specific contracts I am responsible for include electricity, gas, water, waste management and our fleet management contracts.
What procurement channels and management technology are used?
Sundale implemented a new finance system in 2022 and recently deployed a procure to pay (P2P) system called Advanced Requisition Management, which integrates with our current Epicor finance system. This new system automates P2P processes from purchase requisition through to purchase approval, purchase order creation and submission, receipting goods and services, and invoice approval.
Phase two of this project – the implementation of a contract management system – is expected to be finalised in early 2024. This will enable a smooth, automated system that will ensure suppliers always have contracts and up-to-date compliance documents. The new system will allow us to better manage our current contracts in accordance with aged care legislation.
What roles do environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and care recipients play in your organisation’s procurement process?
We work with new suppliers to ensure we meet our social and environmental corporate obligations, such as mitigating the risk of modern slavery and maximising our eco-friendly footprint. We recently augmented our transport fleet with hybrid vehicles. We have also invested in roof top solar at our sites and invested in commingled waste recycling bins to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
How is the rising cost of goods and services affecting your procurement and what cost reduction strategies are you using?
Sundale is a not-for-profit organisation and has absorbed many cost-of-living pressures over the past year, including food, electricity and gas. When establishing new contracts, we work closely with vendors to ensure the best possible outcomes for our care recipients, residents and clients.
Where and how else do you achieve efficiencies?
I work with our business unit managers to define our needs and fit for purpose requirements to ensure we procure goods and services that meet the outcomes we need to deliver.
In consultation with business units and suppliers, I review current contracts to refine our requirements to maximise efficiencies for Sundale.
Significant gains have been made since launching this initiative
Where are your supply chain bottlenecks and how do you navigate them?
Sundale has recognised the need to improve procurement process and procedures to better align with good practice. Significant gains have been made since launching this initiative. Staff have a better appreciation and understanding of good procurement process, contracting, and related activities. Our procurement team is committed to continual improvement that supports all stakeholders when reviewing existing, or establishing new contracts.
What other procurement challenges is your organisation facing and how are you addressing them?
Procurement process improvement is an ongoing activity. To gain efficiencies, the procurement team fosters collaborative relationships with our business areas and suppliers to better understand their requirements, constraints, and desired outcomes.
What advice do you have for your counterparts?
Engage with each business area and business partner to better understand their needs and outcomes while using the opportunity to help them understand the benefits and value of following good procurement and contracting practices.
Never underestimate the value of engaging with suppliers to build relationships that identify activities and opportunities that will achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
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