AUTUMN 2012
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IGF JOURNAL
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Steve Rollwage:
In the procurement environment, DSS is
heading towards new ways of dealing with
both suppliers and client departments. A
key objective is the elimination of activi-
ties which do not clearly add value for cli-
ent departments. Over the next couple of
years, DSS will be offering a broad range
of flexible supplier agreements. Clients will
be offered the ability to access electronic
catalogues and master standing offers on-
line and, within their delegated authority,
to conduct routine purchasing electroni-
cally. Through the use of knowledge-based
tools to supplement electronic catalogues,
DSS procurement and commodity exper-
tise can be extended as deeply into the
client zone as individual departments may
wish. Client departments can in turn move
this delegation much closer to the actual
end user.
DSS is offering network connections to
the various procurement systems operat-
ing in different departments. Several joint
developments are ongoing to standardize
essential information and connections.
Over 20 major departments have already
asked to be connected with DSS to take
dramatically in that the requirement for
travel advances, detailed travel claims and
claim verification procedures have been
completely eliminated. If business neces-
sitates a 2 day trip to Montreal, for exam-
ple, a cheque for $200 would be given to
the traveller, who is then free to select the
mode of travel, accommodation, and res-
taurants of choice. No accounting is re-
quired, and the “total” cost of such a trip
and its administration is much less than
under a control-oriented regime.
Finally, you might wonder what you
could do that would be beneficial to your
department and the government. Check
the flow of one of the many forms in your
department.
How many different people and organi-
zations must propose, recommend, review,
evaluate, authorize and approve even the
most mundane, inexpensive transaction?
Why? What if things were done differently?
Start challenging assumptions, conven-
tional wisdom, traditional constraints and
organizational mandates and take the first
steps towar
l change and im-
provement in your department. It’s not a
bad place to start.
savings and benefits will be obtained from
the decrease in errors and inconsistencies.
Further, modern information technology
offers an opportunity for the government
to review and radically redesign its business
processes. We have all, I expect, experi-
enced significant delays when requiring ad-
ministrative services. One way of improv-
ing service response is to allow the client
to directly control his or her own transac-
tion wherever possible. With networks,
information databases and expert systems,
clients could be guided through most or
even all the steps of the transaction.
Experience has shown that dramatic im-
provements are possible. Targets such as
reducing costs by 80 per cent, improving
development time by 90 per cent, doubling
throughput while maintaining or improving
the quality of service have been achieved.
This restructuring of fundamental processes
is generally referred to as “re-engineering”,
and it can and should be applied to admin-
istrative processes both within departments,
and at the government-wide level.
An interesting example can be drawn
from the Australian government. There,
the process of travel has been simplified
smiled from West to East with pure sat-
isfaction.
And then!!!
Then came a little mouse. It did not
even have a name. It had been hired at
th last mi ute by Minister Rabb t who,
in spite of all his pr vious efforts had n t
produced enough offspring to staff the
entire party.
The little mouse came peeping at the
king’s feet.
“Your Mmmmmajesty,” the little
mouse said.
“What is it?” said the king peevishly.
“Your Mmmmmajesty, there is n th-
ing to eat at this party!”
“What,” said the king. “Nothing to
eat??? Has n body been hunting??? Is
there nobody who has hunted the game
for leg of zebra, roast of antelope, sirloin
of gnu, breast of quail, stew of wart hog,
prime rib of wildebeest, ...What should I
offer to my guests if there is nothing of
all this???”
The king was totally confused. He
shook his head so strongly that his pop
star braids got all tangled up.
Once more, the little mouse ventured
to talk.
“M j sty, the king of th beasts,
king of the hunters... are you!”
King Lion could make a mistake but
he was not stupid.
He understood that he had tackled
quality
from the wrong end.
Procedures, administration, finances,
means of production, personnel, logis-
tics, the celebration, ...it was all to no
avail. He should have taken care of, first
and foremost, the core of his business.
For a lion, that is hunting and not all the
other hotchpotch.
King Lion left his guests where they
were and retired in the shadow of an aca-
cia tree. Tha is where you can find the
lion these days, when he is n t hunting.
That is where he thinks of the
quality
of
his kingdom, the real
quality
which stems
from a total dedication to exceed con-
stantly all the standards in his core busi-
ness.
The End.
SPRING/SUMMER 2011
FMI
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IGF JOURNAL
21
About the Author
Ward Roofthooft, Ph.D. was a former international marketing consultant at L’OREAL and
Janssen Pharmaceutica. Since 1989, his own company ERI-X offers consulting to several
Fortune 500 companies and UN age ci s such as ITC of WTO/UNCTAD, ILO and UNDP.
Additionally, he lectures in MBA programmes in Europe, th Americas and A ia and is
author nd co-author of books nd article on thes subjects. Ward Ro fthooft can be
r ached t
.
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