Commercial Strategy for 2024-2029 - Theme 3 – Commercial programmes
The strategy builds on the council’s experience to date and promotes a culture of continuous improvement and shared learning across the organisation:
- Commissioning
- Procurement and contract management
- Assets and investments
- Income generating services
- Traded services
- Cost recovery services
Understanding costs and income
Ensure all departments understand service costs and income opportunities, implementing market focused delivery.
Traded services
Sustain and enhance commercial performance for existing and new traded services. Income generation Secure full cost recovery for existing and new income-generating services, exploring untapped areas for additional income.
Shared services
Collaborate in shared/joint services to share resources, knowledge, skills and capitalise on economies of scale.
Procurement and contract management
Establish a resilient supply chain by prioritising best value for money in commissioning and procurement, while ensuring outsourced activities meet the highest standards and provide optimal returns through effective contract management.
Assets and capital development
Leverage existing assets for optimal financial returns through strategic asset development and utilise funds for capital investment to build a robust investment portfolio.
Adopting a more commercial approach increases risk, necessitating an intelligent approach to risk, with informed evaluation and decisions in respect to tolerance and mitigations for each commercial project.
The financial risk of maintaining the status quo is greater than that of pursuing a 'commercial council'. Financial sustainability and resilience for the council is crucial to avoid impact and reductions on both discretionary services and the quality of statutory services. Therefore, adopting this strategy offers the council a better chance to continue providing all services at a level of excellence to residents.