Project management and tendering suppört for the German Armed Forces

Procurement management in the public sector is subject to strict rules and regulations, particularly in the military sector. With respect to the procurement of medical devices in military hospitals, the level of complexity is even higher. umlaut, with its unique combination of expert knowledge and long-term industry experience, is able to provide effective support to the German Armed Forces to reduce complexity in procurement processes, here, for example, in the case of procuring medical devices and equipment.

In hospitals in Berlin, Hamburg, Koblenz, Ulm and Westerstede, the German Armed Forces provide medical care and treatment for their troops as well as the local civilian population. Procurement management for these hospitals is organised centrally by the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Utilisation of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw). This applies to new purchases as well as older or defective devices. Such devices are regularly exchanged as part of the regeneration and obsolescence management to ensure the provision of the best possible medical care.

In the event of major planned infrastructure measures, the number of medical devices and amount of medical equipment to be procured increases. Devices range from smaller devices, such as ultrasound or ECG equipment, to much larger devices, like MRI scanners. For construction projects, the installation of large medical devices needs to be agreed upon and coordinated in advance with all involved stakeholders. This results in additional contact points, responsibilities, technical details and specifications – there is no questions that such initiatives require well-organised and experienced project management to master this level of complexity.

A complicated process – experience and expert knowledge is needed

What makes the procurement for military hospitals so complex is the fact that for each procurement process, an official tender, in accordance and compliance with German and/or European procurement law, is required. Sounds rather dry and complicated – and it often is. In the case of the German military hospitals, procurement law expertise, as well as knowledge of relevant responsibilities and required procedures, not only on the administration level, but also on the user level, is absolutely necessary. The point is to tender the devices to be procured in a product-neutral manner, while at the same time aiming to procure the device that is most optimal for the user. To achieve this, it is essential to work closely with the users. Working processes and procedures must also be considered, while tender experience and in-depth technology expertise is absolutely essential.

It's all in the mix

This is precisely where the interdisciplinary advisory service that we provide for the German Armed Forces comes into play. The umlaut team consists of project managers with many years of experience in a wide variety of industries as well as in the German Armed Forces. The team also includes public sector experts for public procurement law, as well as specialists in the field of medical technology. They are experts with respect to the medical device market and the latest technologies. This interdisciplinary team provides support and advises throughout the procurement process, i.e. by communicating with stakeholders, ensuring that everything is well-coordinated and conducting research. Furthermore, they also support in the creation of device specifications and drafting tender documents.

In the context of project, stakeholder and communication management, umlaut, thanks to its experience in the German Armed Forces environment, can help to facilitate the coordination and preparation of fully compliant tender documents. The team`s strength lies in its ability to keep the big picture in mind, while at the same time looking closely at individual processes. In doing so, possible issues, which may potentially delay the procurement process, can be identified at an early stage. With unique strengths in the areas of digitisation and Big Data, umlaut provides additional expertise on relevant, yet often underestimated functions, like interconnectivity, in medical devices.

With our teams, we support the cost-effective procurement of the full range of medical devices with state-of-the-art technology, in doing so, umlaut is able to ensure the maintenance of the highly-effective German military hospitals.