Central purchasing bodies exchange experiences in international arenas

The central purchasing bodies cooperate closely internationally. Hansel employees share their expertise with others in several forums and learn from best practices in other countries. In 2025, Nordic cooperation took place in many sectors. Food procurement is also regularly discussed at the European level, and joint procurement and its sustainability were also discussed at the meeting held in South Korea in March.

Hansel has been part of the Central Purchasing Bodies Network for many years. In 2025, the network was organised more formally and the agreement was signed by the central purchasing bodies involved. The network meets twice a year. In 2025, meetings were held in May in Ljubljana, where Hansel was represented by Chied Legal Officer Eija Kontuniemi, and in December in Rome, where Hansel was represented by Director of Digital Business Mikko Saavalainen. The meetings discussed, among other things, joint procurement and the operating environment of joint procurement in different countries, the reform of EU procurement regulation and good practices. In addition to the central purchasing bodies, the European Commission and the OECD were also represented at the meetings in 2025. The representatives of the central purchasing bodies also engage in active dialogue between the meetings on issues related to joint procurement practices and the application of the procurement-related regulation.

Hansel’s Food and Restaurant Services category and Adda, the central purchasing body in Sweden, have been in close contact and discussed joint procurement solutions for contingency food. Our experts have also participated in the European Union’s PFP officers and Public Food Procurement networks on a monthly basis. The networks share information on food procurement practices in different countries. In March 2025, Category Manager Milja Virtanen informed European colleagues about national food procurement procedures and experiences in a presentation held together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s food procurement expert Auli Väänänen.

Our representatives from the ICT categories regularly and actively participate in Nordic cooperation. ICT procurement professionals meet in alternate years to discuss, among other things, country-specific joint procurement operating models, the development of customer work and various support services related to joint procurement, as well as the sharing of best practices. In May 2025, Category Managers Minna Inkinen, Eero Korkeakoski, Mikko Jungman and Marjut Sood and Unit Manager Petri Kalavainen participated in a seminar organised by the Danish central purchasing body SKI in Copenhagen.

Each Nordic country in turn invites the other countries to cooperation meetings. The topics discussed have included pricing of software licences in the Nordic countries, procurement procedures for cloud services and possible Nordic cooperation through some joint procurements. Adda in Sweden and DFÖ in Norway are currently working together on a preliminary report on the issue.

In 2025, Hansel’s team of analysts continued to work with the Danish central purchasing body SKI. We carried out savings calculations for joint procurement based on the Danish model, and now it was time to compare the results and deepen the cooperation. Valuable experiences were exchanged on the use of data and analytics in the operations of central purchasing bodies.

In the field of sustainability, Nordic cooperation is regular, and Hansel’s Sustainability Advisor Riikka Juuma participated in collaboration meetings in Denmark and Sweden. We have received good tips on setting sustainability requirements and on sustainability audits, but our own sustainability processes and contract monitoring have also attracted interest in neighbouring countries.

In March 2025, the OECD organised a three-day international public procurement meeting in Seoul, South Korea, in cooperation with the South Korean central purchasing body PPS. Category Manager Susanna Närvänen took part in the meeting and gave a presentation on joint procurement and its sustainability.

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