What emergency buying is and how you should prepare for it.
What is emergency buying?
Emergency buying refers to when contracting authorities buy products and services with extreme urgency in response to an unforeseen event, for example a health crisis or natural disaster.
Under these circumstances it can be difficult for buyers to maintain normal standards of fairness, open competition and value for money. At the same time, suppliers may be under significant stress and unable to provide services as normal.
To help mitigate the effects of an emergency, buyers can take a number of practical steps. These can include:
- clarifying when emergency conditions apply
- preparing for emergency situations
- using more flexible procedures to buy faster
- supporting suppliers while ensuring standards are met