NPDC’s courage and leadership in its Supply Chain Leadership approach has been recognised at a national level after it was awarded the Construction Sector Accord’s inaugural Beacons Award.

The Construction Sector Accord is a partnership between government and industry to work together to create a high performing construction sector for a better New Zealand.

The award was presented to NPDC by Building and Construction Minister Poto Williams at the virtual Infrastructure New Zealand’s 2021 Building Nation ceremony on Friday.

It recognised a quantum shift and industry leading approach to transforming the way NPDC does business with the contractors and suppliers that work on our infrastructure.

In doing so, NPDC has redefined its interpretation of value for money to help create opportunities for its local partners with a focus on creating positive social, environmental and economic outcomes.

“The judges recognised the courage and leadership required to move away from the lowest price conforming tender approach and to develop long-term partnerships in an attempt to deliver better infrastructure for New Plymouth while also delivering positive health and safety and training outcomes for their supply chain partners,” Minister Williams says.

“The judges noted how transformative this approach would be if it were adopted widely across the industry. You have thrown down the gauntlet to other clients across the industry to focus on value rather than cost,” she says.

“We have achieved a lot but it’s only because of the collaboration, support and willingness of our supply chain partners to work with us,” NPDC Group Manager Planning and Infrastructure David Langford says.

“The things we talk about are the things that are important to us. So when we tender our contracts lowest price conforming, the signal we're sending is the most important thing to us is getting the cheapest possible price. And as a result, things that add value like health and safety, training and good quality are all sacrificed in order to achieve that lowest price,” Mr Langford says.

“Being a supply chain leader is also about having some more mature conversations around how we define value for money and it's not just about delivering our services for the lowest possible cost, but also what's the extra value we can create for our community when we spend our ratepayer's money.”

Beacons director Andy Cochrane says the judges were hugely impressed at the way NPDC shifted the dial away from lowest cost tendering.

“The approach took bravery and leadership to sell to elected representatives and ratepayers and we think this approach is a fantastic example of putting value ahead of cost,” Mr Cochrane says.

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