New Cool Data Content Series for the Public Procurement EcoSystem

As public-sector professionals – you hear a lot about the power of data. You know accurate, comprehensive data has the power to help make better strategic decisions and get more value out of every dollar spent.

Periscope Holdings’ procurement technology solutions have an exceptional ability to generate actionable, meaningful data. To showcase the power of our tools -and provide some interesting insights– we are launching a new content series. Periscope’s Cool Data will highlight bid, spend and pricing trends in the public sector derived by analyzing our government customers’ data thru our BuySpeed and BidSync solutions.

Download Periscope’s Cool Data on Janitorial and Cleaning Spending Trends in Government

Our first Cool Data analysis found that the solicitations for janitorial and cleaning equipment, increased by 79% in a one-year timeframe - from 2016 to 2017.  

In addition, we saw interesting changes in this spend category when we looked at some of our state and municipal customers who use our BuySpeed procure-to-pay system. BuySpeed enables government agencies to manage spend through established term contracts and open market purchases.

Our analysis found that the spend on janitorial and cleaning equipment increased 83% across our customer base from 2016 to 2017. More specifically the data has indicated the following price news based on the individual purchases by state and local governments:

• The same cleaner/degreaser product decreased in price by 40% between 2014 and 2017
• Two states in different regions had a price difference of approximately 5% on this same cleaner/degreaser product within a 16-month period.
• Dry, cotton, 3” x 24” mop heads have ranged in price from $3.25 to $10 across our customer base within the same time frame – representing a 67% price variation
• Within a 20-day period an agency procured the exact same product at two different prices; $49. 66 and $57.44 for latex gloves. The 14% price difference may be explained by a contract amendment - or might be the result of pricing errors. Taking spend and pricing one step further, our data showed some supportive on-contract spend and pricing trends. Generally, across our customer data, we saw a decrease in the total spend on contracts, but an increase in the number of items ordered on contracts. This equates to a lower cost per item for those items purchased on contract. 

Conclusions

The public sector is spending more money on janitorial and cleaning equipment and supplies. This is due to a combination of an increase in the number of supplies solicited as well as an increase of pricing.  In addition – the data shows a wide discrepancy in pricing on individual items – which should be monitored more closely. Finally – our data shows that items purchased on contract generates a lower cost per item.

What this Means for You

1. Purchase More Items On-Contract: Our data shows ordering items on contract tends to generate lower cost per item. Ask yourself if your organization is utilizing enough contracts for purchasing.  Identify areas to use more contracts.
2. Track Spend of Same Items Across Entire Organization: Data shows many variations in pricing on the same items. Make sure your organization is tracking spend of items across your entire entity – not department by department.  This data shows that there is room to negotiate lower prices, as organizations are receiving different pricing on the same items, and pricing is actually going down on some items.
3. Plan to Increase Spending on Janitorial and Cleaning: This data shows that janitorial and cleaning equipment and supplies are becoming more expensive across government agencies. This data can be used to help plan and budget an increase in janitorial and cleaning spend in coming years.  

To learn more about Periscope Holdings’ Public Procurement Solutions – visit www.periscopeholdings.com/buyspeed