Portt & Dunedin City Council have been honoured for their use of Lean-Agile Procurement at an awards ceremony held in Melbourne.

Awarded on Monday, August 7, Portt, an Advanced company and Dunedin City Council (DCC) jointly won the 2023 World Commerce and Contracting (WorldCC) Innovation and Excellence Award for Outstanding Cooperation and Collaboration.

The awards were given for their use of the Lean-Agile Procurement (LAP) approach to select Portt's Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution.

The highly collaborative LAP approach reduced the usual procurement process from three months to three days. It ensured Portt's solution was the best fit to automate supplier contracting activities, streamline approvals, manage flows and capture rich data for DCC.

Now in their 10th year, these prestigious awards by WorldCC showcase experts from the international contracting and commercial management (CCM) community with global and regional recognition. 

Portt's success in the 'Outstanding Cooperation & Collaboration' category covered the Asia Pacific region.

Sally Guyer, CEO of WorldCC, says: "By entering WorldCC's Innovation and Excellence Awards, teams and individuals show the tangible benefit they provide and the impact they make on delivering strategic value to both customers and company."

"Portt and Dunedin City Council's joint entry showed us they added real strategic value, and the judges were very impressed with what they have achieved."

Mark Reddy, Global Director of Growth, Spend and Governance, says: "We are thrilled that WorldCC chose to celebrate the talent and initiative from Portt and Dunedin City Council in their 2023 Innovation & Excellence Awards."

"This process took days, not months, to complete, and as we were able to work closely with the project team and stakeholders, this resulted in an immediate clear direction on which we could all move forward," says Reddy.

Robert West, General Manager at Dunedin City Council, says: "The importance of using the face-to-face agile process to allow for an honest 'up front' conversation on the scope and having Portt challenge and test our thinking was essential to getting the right outcome for this critical project for the Council, cannot be underestimated."

Serge Kolman, Procurement & Contracts Manager at Dunedin City Council, also comments: "Both DCC and Portt leaned into the two-day event even before the contract was awarded, and this approach has allowed for open communication and problem-solving, resulting in a collaborative and trusted environment where both parties could build a strong relationship."

Portt is a provider of SaaS procurement, contract and supplier management products across Australia and New Zealand. Portt believes in empowering modern employees to do their job easier, faster and more effectively. 

Founded in 2010, the company boasts a strong track record of annual growth and a reputation for doing business with some of the region's most complex public and private sector customers. 

Acquired by one of the UK's fast-growing software companies, Advanced, in March 2022, the merged organisation has offices in Sydney, Newcastle in Australia, Auckland, and Wellington in New Zealand.