Inside Public Procurement: Heroic Stories from the Frontlines

Every year, around 3.6 million kids get opportunities to pursue their dreams with the support of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. That incredible impact takes the work of hundreds of thousands of people in more than 5,000 club locations across the country. Among them, hustling behind the scenes at the national office, is BGCA’s hard-working procurement team led by Director of Procurement, Chris Burton. From large federal grants to generous private donations, every dollar that passes through...

A “one-size-fits-all" solution is not something that applies to the procurement capacity puzzle, as so many factors can influence how your team handles projects: staffing, process, demand, technology, etc. It’s a tough conundrum but it is solvable. Our guest on this episode of Inside Public Procurement, Danny “Rockstar” Mays, Director of Procurement at Maryland Judiciary, chats with Euna’s Ian Roberts about how you can start creating solutions to these multi-faceted challenges. Th...

Sustainability is not the buzz word it once was. Nowadays, it’s a tangible initiative. The private sector has been increasingly pushing sustainability in their procurement over the past few years, and it’s now starting to take hold in the public space. The idea of sustainable procurement has been around for a while, but it’s important to point out that the definition has changed a little bit. It’s not just about environmental sustainability anymore; it brings in the social aspect as wel...

Procurement is the behind-the-scenes team keeping the show running for end users—whoever that may be in the public sector. With so many little complexities allowing procurement to function as intended, engaging with your leadership, end users, and vendors makes the process so much smoother. On this episode of Inside Public Procurement, we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Dr. Avona McHoney, Contract Services Administrator for the Atlanta Public Schools’ Facility Services....

How many procurement pros cringe when they hear “do more with less”? You’re far from alone. Tightening operations budgets, hiring challenges, tech struggles, lack of buy-in—these are all things stressing everyone in public procurement out. We recently had the opportunity to get together with Bonfire clients at our Atlanta, Georgia User Meetup and talk about the concept of “do more with less”. Our panelists—Lynn Lewis, Procurement Team Lead for Henry County Public Schools and Arnita Watson...

Over the past few years, we've seen more and more government agencies making vendor diversity a priority in their organizations. While the data we have reflects the steady climb in those initiatives, there are still barriers to driving bid competition with vendor diversity. Tune in to hear Bonfire’s Mitchell Shim, in partnership with NIGP, take a deep dive into the finer details of how to create a thriving vendor diversity program. Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll hear: Break down...

After a two-year hiatus we were finally able to get together in person with our amazing users at an Ontario Meetup. After the last few years of isolation, they had much to say about the importance of coming together to share ideas, celebrate successes and challenges, and problem solve together. And on this special mini episode of Inside Public Procurement, we’re bringing the highlights straight to you! Tune in to hear from four procurement professionals on the power of collaborating with peer...

Public procurement pros are the champions of creating positive, impactful change. Every now and again, take a step back and appreciate the ways procurement has real power to make a difference not just for your team and organization, but your community and peers, too. For Ada County, Idaho, that meant creating a procurement environment that empowered agility, mobility, and a better vendor experience. But, as if creating big internal changes wasn’t enough, Bob Perkins, Ada County’s Procurement ...

Have you ever met someone who grew up wanting to go into public procurement? When all of their friends were dressing up as doctors and firefighters for Halloween, they came as a purchasing agent? Us neither. Hardly anyone actively seeks a job in public procurement; you just kinda fall into it. So whether someone is coming to the procurement department from finance, public works, planning, or even fresh from school, the field of public purchasing can be a bit overwhelming to say the least. Pro...

What do public procurement professionals and superheroes have in common? More than you’d think. While we don’t know many procurement pros with super strength or laser vision, we do know a ton who are the driving force behind their agencies and their communities. Every year, we at Bonfire dig through our databases and gather third-party information to create the State of Public Sourcing report. This report uncovers emerging priorities and trends as well as how outside factors are influencing t...

How can we build more relationships with small, diverse and historically underutilized organizations? It’s a question many procurement teams are acting on as they realize that supplier diversity isn’t just a social responsibility — it’s a smart business strategy. Whether you’re launching a vendor diversity program, already have one, or don’t know where to start, this is one episode you don’t want to miss. In a pre-recorded session with Robert Tatum of the Cayman Islands Government and Sheena ...

If you’re responsible for managing and allocating federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), you know it’s an incredible opportunity for communities — and also a massive burden for under-resourced procurement departments. Between the funding structure, the timelines, and the stringent reporting requirements attached to the money, there’s a lot to juggle. And yet, our latest guests say there are plenty of worthwhile reasons to leverage ARPA funding. Joel Neaveill and Ken Hillebr...

Every day at University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, some of the most innovative patient care and health research in the world happens. While researchers and clinicians make history, procurement professionals work tirelessly behind the scenes to make it all possible. Juli Smyth, Senior Strategic Sourcing Specialist at UHN, is one of those people. Her innovative approach to procurement supports cutting-edge healthcare and research — and that’s no easy feat in a space that tends to play it ...