MIFA - Eurosatory 2018 - web-light

M.I.F.A. - Eurosatory 2018
060
Apart from the overall shifting of the
Centre, its refocusing on the client relation
translates through an important inflexion
in the organisation thanks to the
internal creation of an Advice and Assistance
Bureau dedicated to its assessment.
All activities, financing and all technical
operations (including the steering of an
Angers-based laboratory) are completed
in one department of the centre, which
boasts approximately one hundred staff.
Does this mutation change the conditions
of attribution of your markets?
Philippe Leroy: No, this transformation
has no impact on the conditions of attribution
of markets, but only on the repartition
of roles between the various players.
All purchases are subject to the regulations
of public purchases and its Code.
The golden rule is the competitiveness
between suppliers. As prescriber, my task
consists in defining the necessary specifications
tot he buyers, and as an operator,
it consists in evaluating the technical
aspect of offers received (sample analysis
for example). The purchasing procedure
itself is under the responsibility of
the Rambouillet Finances and Purchasing
Platform, which is under the management
of the contracting authority. The technical
acceptance of products delivered within
the framework of the execution of
markets remains under the responsibility
of the CESCOF.
The new organisation boasts the advantage
of dedicating more upstream resources
to the product and the market
(understood as an industrial environment).
Apart from the issue of pricing, what
are the guidelines for the selection of
suppliers of the Armed Forces?
Philippe Leroy: The choice of suppliers
responds to the strict application of criteria
foreseen by market procedures.
The price criterion is not systematically
predominating but is usually reserved to
standard purchases - or off-the-shelf - to
which the market quickly responds, and
via several players. Purchases made for
the benefit of the CESCOF include such
articles as well as a wide range of more
specific items requiring special attention
as the quality and delays of their
manufacture. The evaluation is based on
fulfilling the formalised specifications
contained in a technical sheet and on laboratory
analysis or use trials.
The most important factor for us is the
supplier’s capacity to control their supply
and manufacture chain and to produce
the expected product. We value an expertise
that matches our expectations and
have noted that most of our suppliers are
European. There are however some exceptions,
such as the ballistic eyeglasses
manufactured and imported from the
United States.
For some purchases, we can use the
restrained call for tender to select the
companies that can apply upstream. Moreover,
some products (NRBC effects,
FELIN effects) approved by the DGA within
the framework of weapon systems
are subject to specific purchasing procedures.
Do you organise special days allowing you
to meet with companies able to respond
to calls for tenders?
Philippe Leroy: On 5 December 2017, we
organised an “Innovation Day” at Paris
Military School. We invited companies -
mostly SMEs - to show us their products
and were delighted to find that several dozens
of companies responded to our call
and presented interesting innovations,
such as a load carry over mechanism
weighing on the shoulders for backpacks
or some high-performance intelligent fabrics.
These positive responses encourage
us to plan another event.
We are now planning to put in place a
“suppliers day” in collaboration with the
PFAF, which will allow us to better target
our sourcing and explain our procedures
and expectations to those who want and
can become supplier
Interviewed by Damien DURAND