The Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023), came into effect almost 12 months ago in February 2025, representing a significant reform to public procurement, making it more flexible, transparent and streamlined. The PA 2023 Commencement No.4 brings the remaining, transparency, payment compliance, and contract performance notice obligations into force. These are the final phases in the implementation for January and April 2026. It’s a good time to review how it is transforming the sector a year into implementation and evaluate the opportunities for learning.
On paper, the Act promised to usher in a new era of openness, fairness, and value for money across public sector procurement. Demanding new levels of collaboration, data capability, and digital maturity from suppliers and public sector teams. Even though notice was given to prepare for the Act’s implementation, the challenge is that the digitisation of the new notices and requirements were not ready on day one. There is also an element of public sector organisations remaining rooted in long-standing systems and practices.
With pressure on public sector bodies to modernise their contract management and procurement processes, the Act’s principles of transparency and efficiency could function as a catalyst to drive positive change, but they must be underpinned by a combination of the right technology, robust governance and a truly collaborative culture.
For public sector organisations, the PA 2023 is both an opportunity and a test. Departments and authorities are responsible for billions in annual spending. Yet many are still constrained by legacy systems, fragmented data, and manual processes that are burdensome, making compliance admin heavy, time-consuming and costly.
The feedback on the PA 2023 paints a mixed picture. The commitment to openness by publishing pipelines, tracking supplier performance, and ensuring fair competition is widely supported. However, turning these principles into practice has exposed long-standing gaps in data management, digital infrastructure, and capacity within teams.
The Act’s central promise is transparency, but we know transparency isn’t just about publishing notices or data sets. It’s about making procurement information accessible, meaningful, and actionable.
That means being able to connect procurement data with other systems: finance, inventory management, contract management, and supplier relationship management. Without that integration, compliance risks becoming a reporting exercise rather than a driver of improvement and sustainable procurement outcomes that deliver value.
This juncture is where smarter use of technology can make all the difference. Based on the Salesforce platform, suppliers can act as the connective tissue between disparate systems. With Agentic AI, agents work hand in hand with analytics and automation to support procurement teams with important tasks such as; tracking supplier performance, monitoring contract delivery, and highlighting any issues, all using a single, reliable source of truth. This level of transparency becomes a critical tool in gaining insight and delivering real tangible benefits to the organisation.
Digital advancement is an essential part of this new phase. But, of course, the cultural side of procurement reform is equally important, and it’s a blend of the two that will create the best results. Procurement teams often operate under intense pressure. They are balancing statutory duties, challenging saving targets, reduced budgets, vacancy freezes, and evolving expectations from patients, end users, government and local communities.
The PA 2023 adds another layer of complexity, asking teams to be not just compliant, but to be strategic. To make that shift, the public sector needs environments where procurement, finance, and service leads work more collaboratively. Data should flow freely across departments as well as being easy to access, and digital tools can, and should, support that collaboration. This cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, but it starts with visibility and shared understanding.
Transparency is a thread that weaves through every part of the evolution of the public sector. When teams can see the same data, track the same supplier relationships, and measure the same outcomes, conversations change and goals align. Decision-making becomes easier, quicker, and more in line with the needs of the end user, whether that be a patient or a local taxpayer.
As the final obligations of the Procurement Act are introduced, the next phase of reform should focus on enabling smarter, data-driven procurement.
Public sector organisations hold a wealth of information on suppliers; spending patterns, service outcomes and contractual obligations, but much of it is locked away in various PDFs and spreadsheets in siloed systems. Unlocking that data is critical to achieving the PA 2023’s objectives. It’s also where technology partners can play a transformative role.
There is now an opportunity for organisations to work with suppliers to build a clear, connected view of their procurement landscape. Spend analytics can reveal opportunities for aggregation and savings. Supplier dashboards can identify risks and highlight top performers. Automated workflows can ensure compliance checkpoints are built into every stage of the process. In practice, this means less time spent chasing paperwork and more time focused on strategic decisions
Twelve months may not seem long in the life of public sector reform, but the early signs are promising. The PA 2023 is already encouraging greater consistency, better governance, and a renewed focus on value for money. The next step is to turn compliance into genuine efficiency.
Organisations will now need to invest not just in process change, but in digital capability and cultural alignment. The future of procurement lies in data, collaboration, and trust. Public sector organisations that embrace this shift, supported by the right technology, stand to gain most from the drive for transparency.
As this new era unfolds, the real measure of success will be how effectively we use this new guidance to deliver better outcomes for our public services and communities.