Single Point Of Enquiry (Spoe)

A Single Point of Enquiry (SPOE) is a designated individual or team within an organization who are responsible for answering all questions relating to procurement.

The aim of SPOE is to provide a central point of contact for questions about procurement, so that staff can get the information they need without having to approach different departments or individuals. This helps to improve communication and coordination within the organization, and can also save time and resources.

SPOE can be particularly useful in large organizations with complex procurement processes, or when there is a new procurement initiative being rolled out. By having a dedicated team or individual responsible for answering queries, it helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there is a consistent message being communicated.

If you are thinking of setting up a SPOE in your organization, there are a few things to consider:

Who will be responsible for SPOE? This should be someone with good knowledge of the organization’s procurement process and procedures.

What level of support will SPOE need? Will they require access to specialist software or systems?

How will queries be submitted to SPOE? Will there be a dedicated email address or hotline?

What kind of turnaround times can you realistically achieve? Depending on the volume of queries, you may need to allocate additional resources to SPOE in order to meet demand.