CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Cabinet Secretary John Myers
announced today that the West Virginia Purchasing Division has been awarded the
prestigious 23rd Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement®
(AEP) for 2018 from the National Procurement Institute, Inc. (NPI).
The Purchasing Division has
received the AEP award from NPI for six consecutive years. The AEP
award, which is the national program used to benchmark organizational
excellence in procurement, is earned by public and nonprofit organizations that
obtain a high application score based on standardized criteria designed to
measure state of the art in best procurement practices.
“For the past six years, the
Purchasing Division of the Department of Administration has been recognized by
the National Procurement Institute for demonstrating excellence and high
standards in ensuring that our tax dollars are being spent ethically and
efficiently,” said Secretary Myers. “This achievement is not easy to attain,
with only 200 successful applicants this year nationally. It requires a
dedicated and knowledgeable leadership and staff to strictly adhere to
statutory requirements, while seeking innovative ways to continually improve
the procurement processes.”
The AEP is awarded
annually to recognize innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity
and leadership in the procurement function and encourages the development of
excellence as well as continued organizational improvement. The Purchasing
Division is the only governmental agency in West Virginia and one of only eight
state agencies in the United States and Canada to receive this award.
“The Purchasing Division
works diligently to create procurement processes, based on our laws, rules and
procedures, that provide the results of competency, productivity, transparency
and good customer service,” said Purchasing Director Mike Sheets. “During the
2018 Regular Session of the State Legislature, the Purchasing Division was
pleased to have the Governor introduce and see passage of Senate Bill 283 which
continued to make improvements to the state procurement process. By receiving
this national award for six consecutive years, we are definitely moving in the right
direction as we continue to work closely with our agency and vendor partners in
developing the best procurement practices to ensure state dollars are being
spent effectively.”
Founded in 1968, NPI
establishes cooperative relationships among its members and develops efficient
purchasing methods and practices in the areas of governmental, educational, and
institutional procurement. The mission of NPI is to facilitate the educational
and professional development of its members. In
1995, NPI established a program designed to recognize organizational excellence
in public procurement. The Achievement of Excellence in Procurement®
is awarded annually.