Aggregation: Is bigger always better? - Eupian

Whenshould aggregation be considered?During development of an organisation’sprocurement strategyThis guidance is relevant to those developing aprocurement strategy for their organisation. It is designedto help with such decisions as whether to bundle severalrequirements for goods and services together into a singleservice contract (e.g. outsourcing) and decisions aboutwhether to join forces with other organisations to procuregoods or services. It should also be considered whendevising an e-procurement strategy since electronic toolscan make price information more readily available andreduce transaction costs, making aggregation of demandeasier. E-procurement can also expose the potential forreducing transaction costs further by seeking aggregated orbundled supply, but this should be approached withcaution, taking into account the potential impact onmarkets. E-procurement could be used to support a morelimited bundling that maintains competition.Programmes and projectsThe issues outlined in this guidance should be consideredat the earliest opportunity in any programme or project thatwill involve procurement activity, and certainly prior toembarking on the procurement process itself. If a contractis already in place for the requirement, timely considerationshould be given to these issues before the end of thecontract. Using the OGC Gateway stages for reference,this guidance should be considered for StrategicAssessment analysis of programmes at Gate 0, since it mayimpact on the relationship between the various projectswithin a programme. It is also relevant to subsequent stagesof the OGC Gateway process, especially Gate 1 –Business Justification and Gate 2 – Procurement Strategy.These issues should be considered asearly as possible in any project thatinvolves procurement4