Item - 2023.GG8.26

The General Government Committee:

1. Received the report (November 22, 2023) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for information.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Purchasing and Materials Management Division's Category Management and Strategic Sourcing (CMSS) team's engagement with City Divisions, in response to direction from City Council to report on completed and planned discussions.

Category Management and Strategic Sourcing work was initiated in 2021. The Category Management and Strategic Sourcing team has been fully operational without any involvement of outside consultants since June 2022 and is working collaboratively with all City Divisions. During the years 2022 and 2023, Category Management and Strategic Sourcing achieved an estimated financial benefit of $206 million in the form of a combination of cost savings and cost avoidance, through the application of a strategic approach to high value and highly complex procurements.

Overall, within the last three years of the Category Management and Strategic Sourcing rollout, engagement across the organization has increased. Divisions are actively identifying large, high-risk and highly complex projects and are requesting the procurement to be conducted strategically through Category Management and Strategic Sourcing. This has led to a strong relationship between Purchasing and Materials Management Division and Divisions, which will contribute to future outcomes and increased benefits associated with strategic sourcing through Category Management and Strategic Sourcing.