Rouages: “Outlining an Economic and Social Context”
Laure Vailhé is the head of the Procurement and Contracts Department. Together with Natacha Seling, one of the six public procurement specialists on the team, they implement the University’s procurement policy within the Office of General and Institutional Affairs. They discuss this role with us this month in the “Rouages” series produced byUM.
We’re filming this new episode of *Rouages* on the second floor of the Institute of Biology in downtown Montpellier. In this suite of offices, which houses part of the Procurement and Contracts Department, twelve staff members are working to implement the procurement policy approved by theUM board of directors.
Under the auspices of the General and Institutional Affairs Directorate, Laure Vailhé, head of the department, coordinates operations with a focus on continuous improvement:“The Procurement and Contracts Department was one of the first to receive ISO 9001 certification in 2013. Continuous improvement is truly in our department’s DNA,” explains this lawyer, whose 19-year career in the civil service has taken her to: the Maison des Examens in Paris; the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne; and finally the Procurement Office of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, and Research joining the University of Montpellier in 2018. “After these positions in central administration, I wanted to return to hands-on work… and to Montpellier, where I’m from.”
A purchasing budget of 80 million
In this new challenge, the goal is nothing less than to provide the equipment and services essential to the University’s smooth operation and to offer expertise and advice on procurement strategies.“We have three types of purchases,” explains Laure Vailhé. “Recurring purchases that cover the University’s needs—such as maintenance, security, office supplies, and IT equipment; one-time requests, such as the purchase of scientific equipment or services; and the facilities management component, which includes construction and building maintenance.”
All of this amounts to a total annual procurement budget of approximately 80 million euros.“And even though my department ‘only’ handles purchases over 40,000 euros, thatstill represents quite a few contracts,”the manager remarks with a smile. So in her department, the watchword is clear: planning!“We’re subject to regulatory deadlines—which often involve lengthy procurement procedures—and my role is to plan this activity while taking the workload into account.That requires flawless organization! ”
Complete a Purchase
To meet the needs of the academic community, Laure Vailhé has assembled a team of six public procurement specialists, including Natacha Seling. After ten years as an executive assistant and medical information technician at a private clinic, a stint in the medical archives at Necker Hospital, and a position as facilities manager at a nursing school, she left Paris in 2016 to join the University of Montpellier. First came Polytech, then the staff training department within Human Resources, and finally the procurement and contracts department after passing a competitive exam.“It’s a position that requires a great deal of curiosity and quick thinking. You have to take a step back to get a big-picture view of every need and address them as effectively as possible,” she explains.
As a procurement officer, her main mission is to help people who have a need to complete their purchase.“I work closely with project leaders to develop a coherent set of specifications with them.” Price, warranties, potential maintenance services, contract duration… Everything must be meticulously documented in order to publish the notice that will make the public contract accessible to future bidders.“We have to be concise, extremely transparent, and precise enough so that companies understand our needs and can submit a suitable financial and technical proposal. Above all, we mustn’t leave anything out, because anything not written into a contract cannot be implemented!”
Adaptability
This role may even extend to analyzing bids and proposals if the procurement and contracting department is identified as the lead agency. Price, technical proposals, delivery times, and terms of service delivery are all factors evaluated to establish a ranking and select the “right” candidate. “We manage many contracts at the same time;it takes a great deal of adaptability and organizational skills to handle them all simultaneously…”emphasizes Natacha Seling.
For services shared by the entire university community—such as catering and security—Laure Vailhé and her team have been developing user satisfaction surveys for some time now. “These surveys allow us to better monitor service delivery so we can adjust our requirements when drafting the next contract,” adds the public procurement officer. This monitoring takes place not only after the fact but also beforehand, during the sourcing phase:“We reach out to companies to ensure that our specifications reflect reality and that what we’re asking for is feasible for them, ” explains the department head . “These meetings also allow us to discover new offerings that we can then try to leverage.”
Openness and Adaptability
For Laure Vailhé and Natacha Seling, it is this exposure to the business world and society in general that is the main appeal of the profession they have chosen to pursue.“You have to be able to anticipate and project the economic and social landscape three or four years into the future. We see companies that look financially sound on paper but end up in bankruptcy, and in those cases, you have to be able to bounce back to ensure service continuity,” explains Natacha Seling. The incorporation of environmental and social clauses has also significantly transformed and enriched the profession, as Laure Vailhé points out:“We’ve moved from a very legalistic profession—where we drafted specifications with penalties, termination conditions, and so on—to a profession that constantly seeks to adapt to the realities of today’s world. It’s much more intellectually stimulating!”