Competition drives significant Fleet Purchasing savings for City of Canada Bay

The City of Canada Bay is a local government area in Inner West Sydney that spreads across 20 sq km and serves a population of over 95,000 people.

When Kevin Mandell joined the City of Canada Bay in the role of Strategic Procurement Coordinator, the purchase of vehicles for Council was under contract and rates were generally high - dealers seemed to be “pulling prices from the sky.” Kevin introduced the Council to Unimarket (formerly VendorPanel), achieved Executive buy in, and implemented the system with a single panel for local vehicle suppliers.

Transition

The NSW State Government Vehicle contract was the original source, and he invited a total of 100 dealers across NSW and all dealers located within 25km of Canada Bay onto the panel - it was important for Kevin to focus on this 25km range, to give local suppliers the chance to quote.

30 dealers accepted the invitation to supply vehicles at the state contract rates and Kevin started sourcing through this group. The City immediately saw benefits.

“We found that rates being provided by the Dealers were a lot better than we had previously been getting. We’re saving up to a couple of thousand on every car we’ve bought.” Kevin Mandell, Strategic Procurement Coordinator.

Results

Given City of Canada Bay is sourcing around 50 vehicles per year, that translates to significant savings for Council. On top of this, Council was often getting vehicles with higher levels of appointment such as leather seats and additional accessories, as dealers tried to move stock.

It is clear that the competitive tension Unimarket injects into the sourcing process is translating into savings and a better quality product for the Council. And Kevin points to other benefits provided by Unimarket:

“Everything is in one place, we purchase vehicles via our Fleet Services and all our Heavy Plant and Equipment through LGP Panels. The probity is all taken care of, and it’s simple to use. You couldn’t get a better system, really.”

This is a great example of a Council upgrading to Unimarket from LGA arrangements, where they are able to create their own specialised internal lists, while also maintaining access to lists managed by their regional aggregator.

“Everything is in one place, we purchase vehicles via our Fleet Services and all our Heavy Plant and Equipment through LGP Panels. The probity is all taken care of, and it’s simple to use. You couldn’t get a better system, really.”

Kevin Mandell, Strategic Procurement Coordinator, City of Canada Bay