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 the BGCA national office is strategically allocated by his team to ensure each club has the resources ..read more

Procurement departments know that federal grants play an important part in achieving their community goals. The good news is that there’s never been more funding to go around. The bad news? Making sure all that money gets to the right places-and stays there-requires a lot of work in the form of reporting and compliance, and the rules are always changing.    In this week’s episode, we invite you to listen in on a roundtable discussion at the 2023 NIGP Forum, where Stephen Cook from Bonfire, a Euna Solutions brand, sits down with Sherry Weir (partner at Kearney & Company) and Andre ..read more

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.  They talk about:  Why the phrase “do more with less” should be retired  Procurement’s secret a ..read more

In the day-to-day of public procurement, things like sound recordkeeping or rigorous compliance checks can often get lost in the shuffle.  Now, with so much grant funding coming to fruition, a lot of heavy reporting requirements are coming with it. If the thought of adhering to these regulations makes you sweat, this episode can help!  This episode of Inside Public Procurement listens in on a webinar we held with the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO). Jen Riddell from Bonfire, a Euna Solutions brand, and Cliff Chroust from Ventura County, CA took a deep d ..read more

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 well. Supplier diversity and other diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are hugely important ..read more

The crusade against paper-based processes is still very prevalent in some cases—and when you think about digital transformation, that’s most likely what comes to mind—but it’s a lot deeper than that. Digital transformation encompasses a lot of the moving parts needed to be efficient, effective, and scalable as a procurement department in a modern digital landscape.  On this episode of Inside Public Procurement, we sat down for a chat with Bonfire’s own Anthony Berry and Willow Stuart about their experiences working alongside public procurement teams all day, every day.  Listen in to ..read more

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. We cover a lot in this discussion, but it all hinges on two themes: vendor relationships and procureme ..read more

Compliance and internal risk management in procurement is tricky business. A lot can go wrong, landing your team—and sometimes your whole organization—in hot water.    We had the opportunity to host a panel discussion with four seasoned procurement pros during our OntarioTalk event, and they had a lot of great advice on the subject. While this discussion was intended for public procurement departments in Ontario, most of this advice applies to any and all public agencies.    In this episode, Bonfire’s Barb Lima moderates a conversation between:  Hend Salem, Manager of ..read more

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, District Coordinating Supervisor - Purchasing at Clayton County Public Schools—had a lot to say about t ..read more

Public procurement is a team sport, and you know what a winning team prioritizes? Communication! Even a small misunderstanding can mean costly errors and lost trust from everyone involved in a solicitation, so an emphasis on communication is key. No matter who you’re speaking with—your internal requestor, evaluators, or vendors—making sure you’re communicating all expectations early on and quickly responding to questions can open up new opportunities and overcome a lot of common hurdles procurement pros face. It adds an element of professional courtesy to help bolster relationships with the ..read more