The City uses a procure to pay (P2P) process that integrates its purchasing and accounts payable systems. The below metrics summarize key procurement activities, initiatives and performance indicators for processes and expenditures incurred by the City in 2022, with prior years included for comparison.

Source data for these metrics are available on the City’s Open Data portal. More details are available in the supplemental document.

The Purchasing and Materials Management Division (PMMD) is responsible for the commitment of public funds for the acquisition of goods and services. The City provides best value to Toronto taxpayers through the application of open, fair, equitable and accessible business processes and practices. Various solicitation methods are used, including:

  • Request for Tenders (RFT)
  • Request for Quotations (RFQ)
  • Request for Proposals (RFP)
  • Request for Information (RFI)
  • Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)

 

Number of Solicitations Issued: 2018 – 2022
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Solicitations Issued Per Year 797 665 504 553 558

Average cycle time is the overall time it takes to complete a procurement on average, from initiation of the procurement with Purchasing and Materials Management Division (PMMD) until a purchasing document is issued. Overall, the average cycle time in 2022 was 125 working days, which represents an increase of 20 days over the 2021 average cycle time of 105 days.

Average Time in the Procurement Cycle (Number of Work Days): 2018 – 2022
Cycle Events 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Initiation of the solicitation, preparation and approval of a solicitation document for issuance 36.00 35.00 37.60 36.10 35.86
Time period between the solicitation issue date and closing date 18.00 20.00 22.40 21.50 23.66
Solicitation closing date and date summary sent to Client Division 3.60 4.00 6.00 4.90 1.00
Divisional evaluation of bids/proposals received 27.70 29.00 32.20 20.00 38.58
Time period from receipt of the recommendation to award to issuance of Purchase Order, which includes entering into legal agreements where required 29.00 30.00 34.40 22.50 25.72
Total Average Time in the Procurement Cycle 114 118 133 105 125

In 2022, the value of all non-competitive procurements for the City totalled $304 million, which represents 7.4 per cent of the City’s total procurements of approximately $4.1 billion. These non-competitive procurements include Purchase Orders (PO), Blanket Contracts (BC) and Divisional Purchase Orders (DPO).

The table below shows a comparison of non-competitive City procurements to total overall procurements for the years 2021 and 2022.

Number and Percent of NCP Activity $3,000 and Above in Relation to Total Procurement Activity: 2021 vs 2022
2021 Number of Procurements Issued 2021 Procurement Value 2022 Number of Procurements Issued 2022 Procurement Value
Approved by Divisions

355

(3.4% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$7,597,901

(0.2% of Total Purchases)

294

(3.2% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$7,275,556

(0.2% of Total Purchases)

Approved by PMMD

246

(2.4% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$83,686,066

(2.7% of Total Purchases)

235

(2.6% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$57,442,196

(1.4% of Total Purchases)

Approved by Council

155

(1.5% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$372,993,672

(11.8% of Total Purchases)

71

(0.8% of Total POs/BCs/DPO issued)

$240,109,762

(5.8% of Total Purchases)

Total Non-Competitive Activity

756

(7.2% of Total POs/BCs/DPOs issued)

$464,277,640

(14.7% of Total Purchases)

600

(6.5% of Total POs/BCs/DPOs issued)

$304,827,513

(7.4% of Total Purchases)

The City’s Materials Management Unit runs the corporate warehouses. It monitors and works to maintain a balance between the value of stock issued and the value of goods received.

Overall, the value of warehouse inventory increased over the five-year period from 2018 through 2022 – particularly from 2020 to 2022 due to COVID-19 specific inventory requirements.

Graph showing warehouse inventory purchased and issued. There was a steep increase in Dollar Value Purchased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to COVID-19. The highest values were for 2022. Table with this information immediately follows.

Comparison of Non-competitive Procurements to Total Overall Procurements
Warehouse Inventory Type 2019 2020 2021 2022
Dollar Value Purchased (000s)  $18,228 $58,158 $33,910 $78,678
Dollar Value Issued (000s)  $17,998 $27,120 $30,575 $46,747

In 2022, the City issued over 7,705 Divisional Purchase Orders (DPOs) valued at approximately $43.5 million, of which 294 DPOs valued at $7.2 million were processed as non-competitive procurements.

In 2022, there was a reduction of 1,087 DPOs compared to 2021, and the dollar value of purchases made by DPOs decreased by $2.7 million from $46.1 million.

Graph showing competitive and non-competitive DPOs. The graph shows some decline in both the number and dollar value of DPOs issues from 2018 to 2022.Table showing this information immediately follows.

Competitive and Non-Competitive DPOs: 2018 – 2022
Divisional Purchase Order (DPO) Information 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
DPOs Dollar Value (‘000s) $56,631  $51,375 $47,692 $46,126 $43,471
DPOs Issued 11,268  10,938 9,553 8,792 7,705

Centralized payment processing is the responsibility of the City’s Accounting Services division. Timely payment of supplier invoices is dependent on the submission of supplier invoices with all required information, with approvals and system entries executed by the relevant City divisions. It requires a partnership between suppliers, City divisions and Accounts Payable to ensure the proper information and approvals are received before invoices are paid.

Percentage of Invoices Paid by Date: 2018 – 2022
Year Number of Invoices Processed 0 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 90 Days 91 to 180 Days Over 180 Days
2022 387,088 68% 17% 6% 6% 3%
2021 396,128 63% 18% 9% 8% 3%
2020 444,390 64% 17% 8% 7% 4%
2019 454,474 60% 19% 7% 7% 7%
2018 445,608 69% 16% 6% 6% 3%