COUNTRY FOCUS: UAE
is used by the UAE government KPI board. Successes will rapidly be recorded in metrics across service delivery and project implementation, the end result being a happier citizenry.
Each government department is different. The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP will have different goals than Defence, Education, Aviation or Finance. But each will benefit from involving procurement at the design phase of a service rollout. While a central bank project may be entirely digital, procurement will still play a pivotal role.
More equipment-heavy agencies, such as utilities, may have to coordinate procurement with engineering. MoHAP may need to orchestrate it alongside R & D or logistics. Including procurement in the design phase can greatly improve outcomes because the process itself can be a source of actionable business intelligence gleaned from markets and suppliers. Ministers and other decision-makers may be able to identify risks earlier and avoid costly delays.
Private-industry sectors have learned that early integration of trusted suppliers can shorten development cycles while shaving costs and mitigating risks. Innovative suppliers even help private enterprises create new efficiencies and business opportunities. In the government sector, robust private-enterprise partners are a timehonoured tradition.
Outside views can enhance the machinery of government in unexpected ways. In procurement, more eyes mean more chances for innovation. While for private enterprises that comes down to greater profits, governments will have the chance to cut costs and deliver faster turnarounds to the benefit of private citizens.
The right S2P platform will empower procurement teams to make knowledge-based decisions. They will find themselves going beyond standard metrics. Entire public-sector supply chains can be united through single cloud-based solutions.
The Chief Procurement Officer’ s domain has now expanded, to that of an enterprise strategist, who looks at the broader impact each purchase can have.
Hany Mosbeh, Senior Vice President MEA and
APAC, JAGGAER
Now, when government agencies go on the hunt for a supplier, their sourcing and onboarding process will be simplified by many orders of magnitude. A recent COP host, the UAE is laser-focused on ethical and transparent sourcing. Digitalising procurement delivers this and promotes collaboration among private and public entities on the quality, sustainability, and reliability of government services.
When teams can perform multidimensional analyses of metrics such as costs, risks, timescales, and ESG, life improves both inside and outside the corridors of power. In the past, such detailed oversight would have been difficult to achieve.
But in 2025, we have access to AI-powered technologies that can assist with everything from quick and accurate documentation to the automation of workflows and monitoring of physical equipment. The procurement process benefits from AI via intelligent search and a range of virtual assistants all taking the sting of tedium away from procurement teams and allowing them to focus on more strategic activities.
“ In 2025, UAE citizens will see a government doing what it has always done, pursuing change as a constant,” says Mosbeh.
In equipping itself for greater efficiency and more sustainable delivery of public services, the government will revisit its procurement process to mine it for as yet untapped potential. And with 2031 in their sights, leaders will reinvent projects and services with procurement as the central column. p
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