Livingstone Council swaps spreadsheets for integrated contract management
The Livingstone Shire sits nestled along the Capricorn Coast in Queensland, covering approximately 11,776 square kilometres and serving a population of almost 36,000 residents. The traditional custodians of the land are the ancestors of the Darumbal people and the Woppaburra people who inhabited Great Keppel and North Keppel Islands.
Background
Like many Councils, Livingstone had been using spreadsheets to manage and track contracts. This presented challenges in terms of service quality, efficiency, and governance. Keeping documentation up to date and error-free was difficult, especially with multiple Contract Managers involved. The need to access contracts that were not always available in a central location led to repetitive procedures and was highlighted by auditors as requiring action.
Against this background, the Procurement team was aware of the need to demonstrate governance and probity in contract management processes.
Functionality
The Council had been managing below-tender procurement on Unimarket since 2014, so they decided to integrate with the contract management system to better control their hundreds of contracts. Procurement Officers were now able to transfer ownership and ongoing management responsibility for contracts to the relevant personnel, establishing a seamless flow from procurement to contract management.
The platform allows the team to automate processes that were once manual, including setting criteria and defining mandatory tasks. Reminders can be set so that expiring agreements can be renegotiated or re-tendered in good time, ensuring documents like supplier insurances are actively managed. This capability is now also being utilised in the governance of Funding Agreements, ensuring milestones for acquittals are met on time.
Results
Livingstone have ensured that all contracts are tracked and managed in a secure, efficient, and transparent manner, giving visibility of agreements and related activity to the multiple contract managers involved. Managing the contracts on a single, dedicated platform also demonstrates sound processes and procedures, should an audit take place.
For Alison Morris, the Procurement Officer responsible for contract management, Unimarket provides the control Council needs while allowing for the collaborative nature of the work.
“Now with Unimarket (formerly VendorPanel) we can all access information on a central register. I can delegate to others if I am away, or even transfer contracts between owners if we need to. Above all, we get a consolidated view of upcoming and overdue tasks across all contracts, so we can reallocate resources or offer assistance to others in the organisation if we see a need. This is essential in helping us manage and reduce risk in our procurement and contract management.”
Alison Morris
Procurement Officer, Livingstone Council
It’s a huge improvement to the old system, as Alison highlights when she says, “Your spreadsheet won’t send you a reminder that you have contracts about to expire.” And with full visibility from source to contract, the Council now has a complete audit trail to support good governance and probity.
Contracts
A secure, easy-to-use solution that gives full visibility of an organisation’s procurement contracts. It allows procurement officers and contract managers to stay on top of tasks and milestones across the contract lifecycle.
- Contract expiry tracking and archiving
- Tasks and automated email reminders
- Reporting and search capabilities
- User and permissions management