About category management
The Queensland Government’s procurement framework is based on a category management approach within a whole-of-government framework of legislation, policies and guidance.
We coordinate our procurement through forward planning and grouping procurement activities into categories of spend (category management). Category management represents best-practice procurement across government.
Category groups
There are 6 major categories of spend (category groups). Each category group is managed by a lead agency and governed by a category council. The category councils that, with the support of the category lead agencies, oversees and directs strategic procurement activities the category strategies and endorses related category strategies for the 6 category groups.
The 6 category groups are as follows:
- Building construction and maintenance includes building contractors, specialists (including consultants), trade contractors, building operations, materials and equipment, and property and real estate (managed by the Department of Energy and Climate).
- General goods and services includes professional services, employee services, contingent labour, business equipment and services, marketing, travel, logistics and utilities, clothing and personal protective equipment, schools, and food and catering services (managed by the Department of Energy and Climate).
- Information and communication technology (ICT) includes ICT services hardware, software and telecommunications (managed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads).
- Medical goods and services includes medical consumables, medical equipment and maintenance, medical services, and pharmaceuticals and prosthetics (managed by Queensland Health)
- Social services includes social and community services that support our most vulnerable groups such as child protection, domestic violence prevention and disability and youth services. It also includes human services, such as support for education and training, employment, sport and recreation, and culture and the arts (managed by the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts).
- Transport infrastructure and services includes machinery, plant and equipment, construction materials, construction delivery and transport delivery services (managed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads).
More about category management
Category teams work collaboratively with industry, business and government departments to optimise expenditure through innovative planning and smarter practices.
This approach:
- enables a holistic view of industry challenges and market trends
- provides for a coordinated approach when dealing with industry and supplier markets
- helps to facilitate whole-of-government consideration of how procurement can support policy objectives such as local content and value for money.
The benefits of category management include helping to:
- develop and achieve shared longer-term goals
- better support the government's broader economic, ethical, social and environmental objectives
- develop supply markets and drive innovation into the delivery of government services
- identify what represents value and how this can be assessed during procurement processes.
Category management encompasses:
- category planning
- demand management
- sourcing
- contract and supplier management.
More information
Contact
For queries about category management, email betterprocurement@epw.qld.gov.au.