to offer advice to colleagues and associates looking to carve a career in the profession .
“ There are four pieces of advice I give to those early in their procurement journey ,” she says . “ These are to take risks , to be curious and to always remember that relationships are everything . You need to foster these and stay in touch with your contacts . She adds that hard work is also key . “ It might seem simple to say , but it ’ s taken me 40 years to get where I am today , and I ’ ve done so by never taking my foot off the gas .
Changes on horizon for NHS procurement Looking to the future , Rock sees changes on the horizon for procurement in the NHS .
“ We ’ re expecting the introduction of the Procurement Act in October 2024 , which will transform the way we procure in the NHS ,” she says . “ This is a once-in-ageneration opportunity to fundamentally change NHS commercial behaviours and deliver market-led value .”
She adds : “ The Act gives us the commercial flexibility needed to innovate in our most challenging supplier markets , and to find new ways of making high-value deals for the NHS in our most complex categories .
Rock explains that this will “ necessitate significant changes to NHS procurement practices ”, adding : “ We ’ re supporting the NHS commercial community to prepare for this , so that we can make the most of it , and I can see
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