Procurement as a service to deliver multiple procurements
Using Procurement as a Service to Deliver Multiple Procurements Under Critical Timeframes
Grosvenor partnered with a Commonwealth organisation to deliver multiple complex procurements through its Procurement as a Service model. This provided specialist procurement expertise, end-to-end delivery and surge capacity that enabled critical infrastructure procurements to be completed on time. Additionally, they were fully compliant with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and aligned with immovable government funding milestones.
Situation
In this scenario, we will explore how using procurement as a service to deliver multiple procurements can benefit organisations. This is especially true for those facing complex purchasing requirements.
The client is a Commonwealth organisation supporting Australia’s economy, regulation, and national resilience. It delivers advanced capabilities for industry and government, including in emerging areas such as quantum technologies, crisis response, and forensic testing.
These functions depend on highly specialised laboratory infrastructure that cannot be accommodated in generic commercial buildings. The client’s laboratory precinct was established in 1979 as a purpose‑built scientific facility. It had not undergone a mid‑life upgrade and no longer met the needs of a modern measurement science organisation. While structurally sound, the site required significant upgrades to address compliance issues. It also needed modernised infrastructure and support for expanding national capability needs.
The proposed redevelopment needed to meet Department of Finance and Parliamentary Works Committee (PWC) requirements to enable future Cabinet funding decisions. Design works were required to be completed by 30 September 2025 to meet PWC deadlines and support Spring 2025 funding decisions. As a result, this created a non‑negotiable dependency. Therefore, all relevant procurements had to be completed by February 2025. Any delay to procurement would have resulted in the program missing the Spring 2025 funding window.
The client did not have the internal capacity or specialist procurement expertise to deliver multiple high‑stakes procurements under these immovable timeframes while maintaining probity, confidentiality and compliance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs).
Task
The client engaged Grosvenor under its Procurement as a Service model in August 2024 to deliver a coordinated program of complex procurements on the critical path to PWC consideration.
Grosvenor was accountable for:
› Completing multiple interdependent procurements by February 2025
› Delivering end‑to‑end procurement activities under compressed and inflexible timeframes
› Managing heightened risks including incumbency, confidentiality, stakeholder alignment and market capacity
› Adapting to changes in scope and governance requirements without jeopardising delivery milestones
Approach
Grosvenor deployed senior procurement specialists to take full ownership of delivery while working closely with the client and stakeholders.
› Planned, designed and delivered all procurements end‑to‑end. They ran multiple processes in parallel and tightly managed the critical path.
› Submitted market‑ready procurement documentation by agreed milestones. Then managed multiple feedback iterations across legal, probity, procurement, the Tender Assessment Panel and the delegate, maintaining quality and compliance without schedule slippage.
› Responded to a material change in delivery approach, consolidating four anticipated procurements into two larger, more complex procurements. Scope expanded from approximately 30% design to full design across all stages. In addition, one procurement also extended to include construction‑phase support.
› Led substantial re‑drafting of requirements, increased stakeholder engagement and deployed more senior construction and procurement specialists to manage the increased complexity.
› Managed probity‑rich market engagement, including briefings, site walkthroughs and high volumes of clarifications, with independent probity oversight and mitigations for incumbency risk.
› Led structured evaluation, negotiations and contract finalisation. This was supported by whole‑of‑life cost analysis and fit‑for‑purpose contract management plans.
Result
All procurements were completed by February 2025, protecting the critical path for design delivery. This enabled the client to meet the 30 September 2025 PWC submission milestone. Consequently, this positioned the program to proceed to Spring 2025 funding decisions without delay.
Despite compressed timeframes, expanded scope and multiple assurance cycles, the procurements were delivered fully compliant with the CPRs and probity requirements. Contracts were robust, defensible and aligned to long‑term delivery needs.
The engagement reduced delivery and reputational risk. It also relieved pressure on internal teams, enabled informed value‑for‑money decisions and demonstrated the effectiveness of Procurement as a Service in delivering high‑stakes procurement programs under immovable deadlines.
Testimonial
“We greatly appreciated Grosvenor’s dedication and flexibility, particularly as the procurements became significantly more detailed and complex than originally envisaged. Stefan’s depth of procurement expertise, especially in relation to the bespoke agreement, was invaluable. The work has been monumental – these procurements are setting up the future of the Sydney operations and will leave a lasting legacy for the next 40 years.”
Explore what this could look like in your organisation
Start the conversation with Nicholas Leask, Procurement Lead