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In a new report, Time for change: Payment Practices in Local Government, we examine local government payment performance and the complexities around resolving the issue.
Late payment threatens the survival of thousands of small businesses each year, in 2016 more than £26 million was owed to SMEs in outstanding invoices.
Despite the progress Councils have made in improving their payment performance, nearly two decades on from when late payment legislation came into force, the problem persists.
The report, based on research conducted with 154 of the largest Councils in the UK, representing 73% of local government spend, found that a typical Council will process an average of 160,000 invoices each year and trade with an average of 8,000 suppliers.
Oxygen Finance examines the issues Councils face in managing this heavy workload against a backdrop of unprecedented budget cuts and stretched resources. The report also covers the implications of finding ways to improve performance including supporting local economies, reducing contingent liability from late payment penalties and gaining sustainable savings and efficiencies.
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any small company and Freepay was created to support smaller suppliers by paying them early with no effort or cost on their part, enabling them to reap the benefits of early payment free of charge.
We have now deployed Freepay at Warwickshire County Council to an initial pilot selection of suppliers and invoices are being accelerated in the same way as early payment transactions for free.
Feedback has been exceptionally positive with suppliers particularly pleased to be receiving their invoices ahead of contracted terms. A considerable number have also reported the benefits of freeing up valuable resources previously used to manage invoices and an improved cashflow into the business.
John Moss – Product Director
From augmented reality to robotic process automation, Councils are recognising the potential of emerging technologies to transform back office functions and change working practices.
Procurement and AP are two of the functions that could see most benefit from the transition to digital. Digital supplier sourcing, real-time monitoring of the supply chain, virtual stockrooms and the ability to generate sophisticated analytics could deliver significant improvements in operational efficiency.
The Government budget for Digital Services (GDS) increased to £150 million in 2016/17 demonstrating the commitment to embrace the opportunity.
However, the transformation comes with challenges. A key obstacle is the difficulty in securing the expert resource needed to navigate the complex digital landscape. Alongside this, issues around cyber security, legacy systems, culture change and competing priorities also need to be overcome.
Work has already begun on tackling the resource issue. The Civil Service Workforce Plan aims to ensure the civil service is ‘world leading in terms of digital transformation’ – the objective is to have the right specialists in place and encourage digital working across all functions.
While competition is fierce a growing number of people are being attracted into digital roles by higher-than-average salaries and job opportunities underpinned by fast-paced growth. The digital sector is growing at twice the rate of the wider UK economy, contributing around £97bn a year, up 30% over five years*.
Despite the challenges, the key economic role of digital and the focus it has as an enabler of change in the Government’s Transformation Strategy will keep it high on the agenda in coming years.
*Tech Nation 2017
In his role as Chief Technology Officer at Oxygen Finance, Rob Parker is responsible for all the systems in the business including the global cloud infrastructure. His team ensure Oxygen’s platforms are modern, scalable, robust and secure and they work with other parts of the business to innovate and create new products for customers.
In this interview, Rob gives us an insight into his background and his views on how in-house tech teams have evolved and what the future holds.
Why did you choose a career in technology?
I’ve always had an interest in anything tech related, after graduating from the University of Manchester with a Computer Science degree I have tried to stay as technical as possible and keep my hands dirty with up-to-date technologies. The backbone of my career has been developing and implementing large scale financial systems for global clients.
In your experience, how has the role of tech teams changed over the last 5 years?
I’d say the biggest change is the move from the basement to the boardroom – technology now has a strategic role to play in organisations rather than purely acting as a support function. At Oxygen, the team helps to drive change and new product development. With digitisation a strong feature in most business plans, outstanding tech teams are now a source of competitive advantage and essential to the growth and development of most businesses.
What’s the biggest challenge for in-house tech teams in 2018?
The acceleration of technological change is both a challenge and an opportunity for tech teams. Keeping pace with the rate of digital advancement including machine learning, big data, emerging technologies and cyber security presents a significant challenge for tech teams who are looking to harness the opportunities and stay ahead of competitors whilst also managing the risks and threats that emerge from fast-paced technological change.
What has been the highlight of 2017?
The highlight this year has been the expansion of my team – we have a team of experienced developers who are masters in their respective fields but also problem-solvers with an appetite for change and a willingness to interact and work closely with the wider business. Having the right people in my team is key to our success and I’m really happy to be working with the team here and to see what fresh challenges are in store for us in 2018.
NHS Wales is embarking on an innovative early payment programme for its suppliers, which will create an additional income stream for the Health Boards and Trusts across Wales to reinvest in essential services and help it achieve greater efficiencies through a more effective purchasing process.
The organisation, which provides care to 3 million patients and employs more than 72,000 staff, chose to work with us to improve its purchase to pay (P2P) solution, as part of a wider efficiency drive.
NHS Wales has an annual spend of over £4 billion on goods and services and the Early Payment Programme is projected to deliver savings of circa £9 million over the contract period, alongside a myriad of further benefits down the supply chain.
Commenting on the news, Russell Ward, Head of Accounts Payable and eEnablement at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, said:
“We see this as a win-win scenario. The programme will not only open up a welcome new income stream, but crucially allows us to develop better relationships with suppliers and vastly improved efficiency across our procurement systems.”
As part of the programme, we will be delivering a comprehensive package of support to include expert process and change resource, a dedicated team to bring suppliers onboard and secure technology, integrated with the health authorities’ existing ERP system, so that transactions can be processed without intervention.
Cumbria County Council and Oxygen Finance have been selected as shortlisted finalists in the Public/Private Partnership category in the 2018 LGC Awards. The awards, run by Local Government Chronicle, is one of the biggest and most prestigious awards ceremonies for the local government sector.
The Council’s Premier Supply service (PSS), launched in 2014, has gone from strength to strength, generating savings and making significant improvements to the Council’s processes and efficiency.
The value can be seen both in terms of hard financial benefits for the Council and social value creation from delivering cash to suppliers, with payments typically being made 20 days earlier than their standard contracted term.
Approximately £200m has been accelerated into the economy through early payment of invoices, helping cash flow for all businesses including SME’s, reducing their reliance on bank financing and increasing their stability and capacity to invest for the future.
LGC editor Nick Golding said:
“To be shortlisted for an LGC Award shows a council service is among the country’s most innovative, and doing the most to support the needs of local residents as councils face continuing budget cuts. We should salute the council officers and councillors doing the most to ensure our vital public services thrive in this era of austerity.”
2017 has been a year of change.
Olympic heroes, Usain Bolt and Mo Farah left the sports that made them global superstars, the Conservatives lost their majority in a snap general election and the Great British Bake-off made the controversial decision to move to Channel 4.
The record-breaking snowfall that many parts of the UK have experienced has also been a departure from the norm, but it hasn’t stopped us travelling by bus, train, plane or sledge to visit our customers up and down the UK.
At Oxygen Finance, it’s been a year of positive transformation as we hired over 20 new team members and welcomed new clients including NHS Wales, Cardiff, Knowsley, Harrow, Sheffield City, City of London and Halton, to name just a few. It was also brilliant that one of our longest standing clients, Oldham Council, made the decision to sign up for another five years, a true partnership which has really stood the test of time.
Next year, promises to be another year of firsts for our business as we expand our product portfolio to bring new products forward, allowing clients even greater insight into procurement spend and payment performance through our business intelligence and analytics solutions.
We hope you enjoy the Christmas issue of Oxygen Source, where we discuss topical issues and share expert opinion; also included in this issue is a link to our new report, Time for Change: Payment Practices in local government – our research on local government payment performance and the challenge of tackling the perennial problem of late payment.
In the spirit of the season, we are making a donation to charity instead of sending Christmas cards. The charity we’ve chosen is Save the Children who support in the protection, healthy start and learning of children around the world.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the new year.