Purchasing Division Wins Second Procurement Award

REDLANDS>> The City of Redlands Purchasing Division was recently named a recipient of the “Achievement of Excellence in Procurement” Award for the second straight year from the National Procurement Institute, an organization that promotes excellence in governmental and institutional procurement. The AEP Award annually recognizes organizational excellence in public procurement. Award criteria are designed to measure innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement and leadership attributes of the procurement function. The City of Redlands is one of only 45 agencies in California and one of only 72 cities in the United States and Canada to receive the award. “I am extremely proud of this department and particularly of Purchasing Manager Dana Abramovitz-Daniel,” said City Manager N. Enrique Martinez. “The innovations she put in place several years ago and her continuing attention to the details of purchasing and procurement continue to save money for the City’s taxpayers and ratepayers while ensuring that City employees have the tools, supplies and equipment they need to provide excellent service to the public.” In 2012, the City of Redlands implemented a first-of-its-kind, fully automated inventory system to provide equipment, tools, parts and other necessary supplies to the City’s employees. The innovative inventory system replaced rows of dusty shelves filled with inventory at the city’s warehouse on Park Avenue. In their place are state-of-the-art vending machines designed to dispense safety gear, fasteners, fittings and other items city workers need to do their jobs. The city’s vendor, Fastenal, stocks dedicated inventory at its store to anticipate city demand, makes sure the machines are continually filled and owns the product until it is dispensed, eliminating the need for the city to purchase and maintain hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory. Another key benefit is city personnel no longer have to plan projects and preventative maintenance around the store’s operating hours, once limited to fours hours a day, four days a week. Today, products are available on a self-serve basis around the clock, 365 days a year.