NIGP Buy Weekly - 06/27/2007 (Plain Text Version)

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NIGP Presidential Farewell

Greetings to all NIGP members!

My term as your President is quickly coming to an end. As of July 1, I will leave the Institute in the very capable hands of Ed Grant, your new President.

This has been a very rewarding year for me. It has been such a privilege to see NIGP continue to evolve as the international leader in public procurement. My travels representing the organization have taken me from Idaho to Italy, and at every stop I see professionals eager to learn and advance in the profession.

Like many long-time members, I got into procurement by accident. However, it is exciting to see the next generation of purchasers join our ranks deliberately. At Cal-Poly Pomona’s Society of Law, Contracts and Procurement, many of the students are not only choosing procurement as a career field, but they have jobs lined up before they even graduate. It would appear that our future is quite promising.

Thank you so much for your support this past year. It has simply been a pleasure serving the NIGP membership. All the best to each of you.

Darin

Darin Matthews, CPPO, C.P.M.
2006/07 NIGP President

UPPCC Bolsters Program to Meet High Standards

            

Elevating its highly regarded Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certifications, the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) publicly revealed strategic program enhancements as part of an overall organizational goal to achieve third-party accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  Internationally recognized ANSI accreditation will further elevate the stature of the CPPO and CPPB certifications as the unique and pre-eminent designations for purchasing professionals in public service.

The changes underway positively impact procurement practitioners seeking certification through improved testing methodologies that focus on assessment effectiveness, consistency, security, and detailed post-assessment feedback.  The certification program enhancements culminate with the first offering of new examinations October 20-25, 2008.

 “The new administration process will provide a more controlled and standardized testing environment and a consistent testing experience for all candidates, which is very important to UPPCC” says Ann Peshoff, UPPCC Program Administrator.

Program enhancement highlights follow below.  For additional details, please reference the UPPCC Program Enhancements FAQ document available at www.uppcc.org.

New Examination Format

The new CPPO and CPPB certification exams are computer-based and grounded in situational, scenario-based, multiple-choice questions.  Through this questioning format, candidates are evaluated on their ability to apply knowledge gained from study and on-the-job experience.   As a result of the higher cognitive level of questions developed for the exam, the UPPCC can better assess a candidate with fewer questions and, for CPPO candidates, eliminate the need for subsequent oral assessment.

To ensure the ongoing validity of its assessment tools, the UPPCC partnered with professional testing vendor, Thomson Prometric, to perform a Job Analysis Study.  The results of the Job Analysis Study identify the specific skills, knowledge and abilities essential for competent practice in today’s field of public procurement and drive the content of the new examinations.

Specific Testing Sites and Schedule

Effective with the October 20-25, 2008, exam period, CPPO and CPPB certification exams will be offered twice each year in May and October.

Examinations will be offered through Thomson Prometric’s Professional Testing Network of more than 300 testing centers across the United States and Canada.  The examinations will be offered daily during two, six-day testing periods.  The first computer-based test administration will begin Monday, October 20, through Saturday, October 25, 2008.

Candidates will no longer need to secure their own proctor and location for testing and can enjoy a secure, consistent, and standardized testing experience.  Once eligibility is established, candidates will schedule their examination directly with Prometric via phone or over the Web.
 
Detailed Exam Reporting

After examinations have been evaluated, the UPPCC will provide each candidate individualized feedback based on their test results.  Candidates can apply this feedback to identify their strengths and weaknesses in each of the exam’s topic areas. Successful candidates can use this post-test report to formulate plans for continued professional development.  Unsuccessful candidates can apply the feedback to better focus their study efforts for re-testing.  The UPPCC also plans to provide a report to the industry following each administration of the exam to communicate the overall strengths and weaknesses of the testing population and thereby facilitate education.

Current CPPO/CPPB Examinations

The UPPCC will continue to offer the current examinations through July 31, 2008. Those individuals currently in process or those seeking to apply for certification in the near future should review the FAQ document for detailed information on the transitional period and how they might be affected.

Important Dates to Remember

January 1, 2008
New certification fees go into effect

March 31, 2008
Application deadline to take the current CPPO or CPPB exam

July 21, 2008
Application deadline for new exams (October 2008 testing)

July 31, 2008
Last day to take the current CPPB or CPPO written examinations

September 15, 2008
Exam registration deadline for new exams (October 2008 testing)

September 30, 2008
Application deadline for the C.P.M. to UPPCC Bridge

December 31, 2008
•  Last day to take the written CPPB Bridge Exam
•  Last day to take the CPPO Bridge Exam
•  Last day to take the CPPO Oral Panel Exam

The UPPCC is committed to the integrity of its certification programs and the professional development of public procurement professionals.  “These changes bring us one step closer to our goal, which is to create a global recognition and acceptance of the CPPO and CPPB certifications as being representative of public procurement excellence” says Don Buffum, CPPO, UPPCC Council Chairman.

For more detailed information about the UPPCC changes, the UPPCC Program Enhancements FAQ is available at www.uppcc.org to help prospects, applicants, candidates and other interested parties better understand the upcoming changes.

The Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed in 1978 to govern and administer the Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs. The CPPO and CPPB programs are highly regarded and respected among procurement professionals and employers involved in the public sector. To date, the UPPCC has certified well over 10,000 professionals primarily within the U.S. and Canada as well as in other nations around the globe.

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NIGP Going Green at Forum

NIGP is pleased to announce that we are 'going green' this year at Forum.  One of the most significant ways we can achieve this initiative is by having all conference proceedings on CD and the NIGP Website. 

Forum CD

Delegates will receive an attractive padfolio containing a copy of the proceedings CD.  All session handouts will also be available on the NIGP Website beginning the week of July 23 so all registered delegates have the ability to print out handouts to bring to Hartford.  Using this industry best practice saves hundreds of thousands of trees, not to mention reduced consumption on fuel for delivery of  books. 

Recycled Badges

Another way NIGP is greening the Forum is by changing our badges so that we can recycle them to reuse each year.  This year's badge will be in a plastic holder that can be turned in at the end of the Forum for reuse next year.  We also plan to use lanyards that are manufactured from recycled soda bottles.

Giving Back to the Community

“Read To Grow, Inc.” is a non-profit organization that promotes family literacy and the joy of reading.  The organization provides books to children in hospitals, shelters, clinics and schools serving communities in need and accepts new and gently used children’s books (babies to 8th grade).  The Host Committee is asking for donations to this local charity.   There will be boxes near the NIGP registration center for donations. 

If your organization is going green, don’t miss these sessions:

Sunday, August 5

Workshop:  Social Responsibility in the Public Sector -
                   How Do We Stack Up?
                   9:45AM - 11:15AM

Monday, August 6

Workshops:  Purchasing Green Cooperatively – Part I  
                    4:30PM - 5:30PM   
                    Health, Safety and Environmentally Conscious Purchasing 
                    4:30PM - 5:30PM

Workshops:  Tuesday, August 7

Networking Session:  It’s Not Easy Going Green 
                                  3:15PM - 4:45PM 

Wednesday, August 8

Plenary Session:  Panel Discussion – Going Green
Workshop Session:  Purchasing Green Cooperatively – Part II 
                                9:15AM - 10:45AM 

Don’t forget to download your session handouts before coming to Hartford!  Check the Forum page of the NIGP Website about two weeks prior to Forum for the link. [return to top]

Forum Attendees: Casting Call for Procurement Recruitment Video

NIGP is producing a recruitment video for use in college and high school career centers and government HR offices.  The video intends to show how public purchasers can have a direct impact on their communities and society at large.

Have you built bridges?
Championed the use of energy-saving products or practices?
Improved homeless shelters?

We hope to share tangible examples of our value with young adults interested in public service and want to 'make a difference'. 

Here's how to have your achievement included:

1.  Highlight your story in a paragraph and send to Belinda Reutter, Director of 
     Member Services, breutter@nigp.org by Wednesday, July 18.

2.  Your story will be reviewed and, if selected, you will receive a follow-up
     phone call by our video producer.

3.  We hope to have 12-15 on-camera stories, so don't hesitate to highlight
     more than one of your significant achievements. 

Those identified for on-camera stories should be able to spend 15-20 minutes with our production crew sometime during the Forum.  We will make every effort to be flexible to your scheudle.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please email breutter@nigp.com.

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Tales of Kickbacks Highlight Need for Full Disclosure

by Steve Charles
Washington Technology

Mention the word kickback and visions spring to mind of dealmakers offering Rolexes, Jaguars and Gucci. But government procurement policy-makers will soon be grappling with much more nuanced market behaviors, courtesy of three whistle-blower cases recently filed by the Justice Department against Sun Microsystems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Accenture Ltd. and its subsidiary Proquire.

Those three cases seek treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Act and Truth in Negotiations Act, as well as organizational conflict-of-interest provisions and common-law theories of unjust enrichment, breach of contract and payment under mistake of fact.

The cases raise questions about manufacturers’ go-to-market strategies in the public sector. In commercial channels, companies balance the need to drive demand and extend sales reach with the legal concerns of anti-competitive and anti-trust legislation. In the government market, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to extend their sales reach. Regardless of the sector and relevant legal constraints, manufacturers will always be looking for ways to reward the demand-generation activities required to sell new technology.

It’s interesting to read the lists of alliance, reseller, sales and influence programs mentioned in the cases, illustrating that the balance struck between sales and anti-trust activities must potentially address a series of additional considerations when taxpayer money and public trust are at stake. We have a host of laws and regulations designed to create transparency throughout the procurement process. That transparency has an economic cost. Tweaking the trade-offs between the costs of transparency and the efficiencies of the market is what specialized economists, lawyers, judges, legislators and regulators continually wrestle to limit the potential for corruption in our procurement system.

The cases offer manufacturers and prime contractors a wake-up call to re-examine the processes whereby commercial channel sales and compensation practices are disclosed and monitored in the government market.

Vigorous government contracting and subcontracting compliance programs are necessary at all levels of the government supply chain, the absence of which can now be construed as reckless disregard for the requirements of being a government contractor, subcontractor or supplier and could give rise to civil fraud actions similar to the three cases.

It will take years for the questions raised by those cases to be resolved to the point that the many actors involved — associations, lobbyists, manufacturers, distributors, resellers, sales agents, consultants, prime contractors, subcontractors, disadvantaged small businesses, auditors, whistle-blowers, the Justice Department, and even the franchise funds and governmentwide acquisition contracting programs — will understand and agree on which demand-generation activities and payment arrangements violate the Anti-Kickback Act’s prohibition against “improperly obtaining or rewarding favorable treatment in connection with a prime contract or in connection with a subcontract relating to a prime contract.”

If the allegations in the three cases are found to violate the Anti-Kickback Act and are thus considered fraudulent, a transaction involving a commission or rebate of $10,000 could result in a claim by the government for $41,000 because of the $11,000 penalty plus treble damages under the False Claims Act. This is serious business.

At the heart of these allegations is the failure to disclose. Disclosure requires significant effort and systematic business processes to maintain direct links with a manufacturer’s corporate operations to ensure that all commercial prices, discounting practices and channel programs are rationalized, documented, disclosed and monitored. Clearly any hope of properly obtaining or rewarding favorable treatment in connection with a prime contract or in connection with a subcontract relating to a prime contract begins with current, accurate and complete disclosure.

For more information, visit www.washingtontechnology.com.

Steve Charles is co-founder of immixGroup Inc., a government business consulting firm in McLean, Virginia.

©1996-2007 1105 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [return to top]

Special U.S. Communities Announcement: Allsteel Termination

Allsteel Inc. has been terminated for cause by the County of Fairfax , Virginia , the lead agency for the U.S. Communities furniture contract. Therefore, Allsteel is no longer a U.S. Communities supplier.

Below is the termination document from the County of Fairfax .
Allsteel Termination Letter

The following U.S. Communities’ furniture suppliers remain in good standing and are available for your agency to access:

•  Knoll
•  Haworth
•  Herman Miller
•  KI

Please click here if you want to request contact from these suppliers.

If you have any questions, contact www.uscommunities.org.  [return to top]

Debra Parmer Receives International Award as a Career Public Purchasing Professional

The International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) awarded their annual Lewis E. Spangler Purchasing Professional Award to Debra Parmer, CPPO, CPPB, Purchasing Supervisor for Gwinnett County, Georgia, at their Spring 2007 meeting in the United Kingdom.

The award was presented in recognition of Ms. Parmer’s accomplishments as a career professional serving Gwinnett County for over 20 years and highlighted her service as:

•  Lead trainer on electronic purchasing issues
•  Leaders within the Georgia Chapter of NIGP in coordinating education
   and training activities as Chair of their Professional Development Committee
•  Recipient of the Georgia Chapter’s Buyer of the Year Award
•  Professionally certified as a CPPO and CPPB

The Lewis E. Spangler Purchasing Professional Award is given annually by the Federation to career practitioners who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the profession of purchasing, materials management and logistics as substantiated by their positive contribution to the bottom line of their entities and support they give to their collaborators in the field of education and training.

The award was named after Lew Spangler who served the U.S. General Services Administration in Washington, DC for 30 years until his retirement from the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Supply Service. During the second stage of his career, Mr. Spangler served as NIGP’s second Executive Vice President through 1989. Lew was also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Coalition of Procurement Standards and served as a Member of the Executive Committee of the IFPSM.

The International Federation is the union of 43 National and Regional Purchasing Associations worldwide. Within this circle, about 200,000 Purchasing Professionals can be reached. NIGP has traditionally played a major leadership role in the International Federation as the premier association serving exclusively the public sector.
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Heilman Is CPPO Certificant Number 1,500!

Craig L. Heilman, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., A.P.P.
Supply Officer
Astoria, Oregon

Craig is the 1500th candidate to receive CPPO certification since the UPPCC formed in 1978 to govern and administer the Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs.  The CPPO and CPPB programs are highly regarded and respected among procurement professionals and employers involved in the public sector.  Craig explains in his own words what certification means to him.

"I chose to pursue public and private sector credentials to achieve balance in my approach to purchasing.  The insights of the private sector and 'for profit' industries provide invaluable knowledge and understanding of how industry thinks.  During my 30 year Coast Guard career, it was clear that contracting and procurement personnel lacked benchmarks to measure knowledge.  In the Federal Government, longevity, rank, or position are the measures of professional knowledge. 

(As a way of demonstrating this - while in a training seminar with approximately 35 mid-level and senior procurement personnel, the instructor asked a group question - "What are the six elements of a contract"?  To my shock, I was the ONLY person who knew the answer!  I credit this to my course studies and professional development).
 
For me, earning credentials not only provided superb professional knowledge - that was easily applied towards my daily work and training others, but the credentials served as a measure of professional knowledge - extremely necessary for transition into the civilian sector."  
  
 
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Greetings Region 8

Hi Region 8!

This will be my last Buy Weekly message to you.  My final term representing Region 8 on the Board of Directors ends June 30, 2007.  It has been a privilege to serve you over the past six years.  Working with other representatives on the NIGP Board has provided me with genuine respect and admiration for the Institute’s leaders and staff.  The membership’s professional education and training drives the decision-making of the NIGP Board of Directors and staff; they are there to serve and assist the membership.

Before I sign off, if you are planning to attend the annual Forum in Hartford, please consider joining the Quality Control Team (QCT) and volunteering a little of your time in make the Forum experience a successful one for you and the other delegates.

Region 8 Chapter Websites:

Wisconsin Association of Public Purchasers Chapter of NIGP
www.wapp.org
Minnesota Chapter of NIGP
www.mnnigp.org
Midwest Association of Public Procurement Chapter of NIGP
www.mapp-nigp.org
Illinois Association of Public Procurement Officials
www.iappo.org

Signing off,

Patti Huth, CPPO, CPPB
Region 8 Representative
630.271.4134 (voice)
phuth7@comcast.net