Month: July 2021

You work tirelessly behind the scenes to make communities better. You’re the stewards of taxpayer dollars, finding the best value without sacrificing compliance or transparency. And, when crisis strikes, you’re the backbone of emergency response, ensuring citizens stay safe.

For all these reasons and more, procurement professionals are truly the unsung heroes of our communities. But we’re here to change that.

Introducing our 2021 #BonfireProcurementHeroes! Every week we’ll be featuring a different #BonfireProcurementHero on our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds. Because your work deserves to be championed and celebrated. 

What makes procurement professionals superstars in our eyes? Here are some of the most admirable qualities of #BonfireProcurementHeroes.

They are community builders

#BonfireProcurementHeroes work hard to spend taxpayer dollars responsibly and put them back into the community. They strategize to make sure projects always bring the best value to citizens — not only economic, but also social, environmental, cultural, and beyond.

Just ask #BonfireProcurementHero Cliff Chroust of Ventura County. He and his team switched to Bonfire eProcurement to dramatically cut costs and divert more funds to valuable goods and services for over 800,000 residents in Southern California. 

For Cliff’s colleague and fellow #BonfireProcurementHero Tara Carruth, that makes it easier to collaborate with community partners and stakeholders to end homelessness in the county — just one of the many initiatives eProcurement is supporting.

Doing away with paper-based processes has enabled the procurement team to speed their response times, better collaborate with stakeholders, and minimize their environmental footprint. Overall, those improvements make Ventura County better strategic partners and public stewards.

They are innovators

As outside-the-box thinkers, #BonfireProcurementHeroes are open to new ideas and possibilities. You’ll never hear them base a decision on “the way it’s always been done.” Instead, they’re always on the lookout for ways to help their team, colleagues, stakeholders, and vendors work together more effectively and deliver better results.

Take #BonfireProcurementHero Michael Brinton of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). Michael and his team coordinate transportation-related procurement for nine counties and seven million residents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

With the number of project requests outpacing MTC’s internal resources, Michael knew the agency’s existing paper-based processes were holding them back. His innovative thinking inspired a transition to Bonfire, which eliminated inefficient hardcopy processes.

With improvements to evaluator panel meetings, data and scoring management, and project timelines, the Contracts team has seen some big wins. They’re now completing projects 200% faster, providing vendors with easier processes, and saving valuable taxpayer dollars.

They are collaborators

Every day, #BonfireProcurementHeroes collaborate with stakeholders and internal clients to match agency needs with stellar vendors. Their ability to bridge gaps, bring people and ideas together, and build consensus is a critical factor in getting projects done on time and on budget. And that translates to delivering the best possible goods and services for citizens.

Case in point: #BonfireProcurementHero Sonya Collins. As Director of Procurement for Great Lakes Water Authority, Sonya’s team of 21 buyers works with numerous internal stakeholders and over 2,400 vendors to deliver critical water and wastewater services to over a third of Michigan’s population.

With unwieldy paper-based processes impacting GLWA’s ability to collaborate with everyone involved in the procurement process, Sonya knew it was time to go digital. Working with Bonfire, she helped GLWA dramatically improve vendor relationships and launch a new initiative to bring more small vendors into the bid process.

Celebrate #BonfireProcurementHeroes with us!

Help us applaud the successes of your procurement peers. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter to meet more #BonfireProcurementHeroes!