UNDP WATCH: Umoja Briefs Chief Procurement Officers

Friday, March 4, 2011

Umoja Briefs Chief Procurement Officers

The Umoja team briefed Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) last week about exciting changes that are coming to UN procurement practices.

Thirty-five procurement specialists attended the annual, five-day CPO Conference in New York to exchange information and learn from each other and guest speakers. It was a chance for Umoja to reach key procurement stakeholders from Field Missions, Offices Away from Headquarters, Economic Commissions and Tribunals about how the Umoja administrative reform initiative will affect them.

Umoja will make it easier for the UN to purchase the wide range of products and services it needs to carry out its mandates - from helicopters and jeeps for peacekeeping missions to office supplies and construction services for all duty stations.

Umoja team members with UN expertise in procurement described how Umoja business processes and technology will enable faster and more efficient procuring of goods and services. Ian Divers, Paul Holden, and Joanna Porreca of Umoja, who together have decades of UN procurement experience, were able to speak to audience concerns about how Umoja will integrate with current tools and enable flexible workflows.

The Chief Procurement Officers expressed keen interest in the coming changes and showed enthusiasm about contributing to ongoing Umoja development. They were encouraged to explore the new procurement business processes on Umoja NET (www.unumoja.net) and leave their feedback about them.

Umoja NET is an online community where the Umoja team collaborates with UN staff in the creation of new business processes. There are 194 processes now available online for all staff to see and comment on.

If you’re not already an Umoja NET member, visit Umoja’s public website to request an account. Once your registration is confirmed, you can access the Umoja Solution to view presentations on all released processes and give us your feedback.

If you have questions, contact Umoja at (646) 380-0218 or email umoja@un.org.

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 1 March 2011, New York

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