From the Managing Director

A year of growth and development

For Hansel, last year was a year of growth. We achieved a record volume in both central procurement and the customer-specific tendering service. Our contracts were used in central procurement totalling €826 million in worth. In addition, we were involved as consultants in 132 tendering processes carried out by our customers, worth €500 million in total.

We also founded a new unit, tasked with helping customers develop their own procurement activities. It has been a pleasure to note how well this new procurement development service has been received. Collaboration between our customers and experts has been extremely smooth, and it is already clear how various tools for analysis and new operating methods are helping to improve the efficiency of public procurement activities. I am sure that business intelligence is here to stay, and the aim of #Tietokiri, the state governance’s joint project, is to promote BI.

The growth of business operations and increase in services has affected the number of personnel at Hansel, too – we now employ about 90 professionals. I am extremely proud of this team of competent people and the work that they do.

Important development activities have taken place in the digitalisation of procurement, too. With support from the European Union, we have automated the checking of information provided by authorities in public procurement, and several training events were held in conjunction with this development. In September, we launched the Tutkihankintoja.fi service, through which information about the purchases of procurement units is available to everyone. The service has aroused interest on an international level, and the project was an inspiring experience to everyone involved, as well as proof of the power of the culture of experimentation. By taking bold action, we achieved something extraordinary.

Our traditional services, central procurement activities, are also being reformed. In November, we started the pilot project for the dynamic purchasing system (DPS). Next year, several DPSs will be used alongside the traditional framework agreements, making it possible for suppliers to be included in a framework agreement even in the middle of a contract period. It will be interesting to see how this operating model will coincide with our customers’ needs.

In practice, growth in Hansel’s business operations translates to bigger savings in public funds. To measure the amount of savings and other effects of our activities, we have been developing a new tool that will give us a better idea of the achievements. In addition to savings, we generate plenty of other value, too. Through our know-how, we ensure high quality of the products and services to be acquired, the functionality of the contracts, and the innovative nature of the acquisitions. At the same time, we help procurement units learn new things.

Corporate responsibility is the starting point for all our operations, and we have been working on it for a long time now. Nearly all of Hansel’s central procurement contracts, for example, have been awarded our ecolabel. This year we took the promotion of social responsibility another step further, as a code of conduct was prepared in collaboration with Finnwatch, to ensure that human rights are enforced in IT procurement activities. As we accumulate experience of the tool, it is very likely that it will be employed more widely. We are also involved in the preparation for the establishment of a competence centre for innovative public procurement. Boosting circular economy is one of the goals that the Finnish government has set for the centre.

We have a great team serving our customers, our service selection is improved constantly, and digitalisation promotes the development of procurement activities in many ways. Our work is of importance to society. This is a good place to start a new year, which will bring with it the regional reform. That is another project in which our expertise plays an important role.

Anssi Pihkala