Procurement from a catalog, involvement of domestic producers, and menus from professional technologists: Zhumadilov spoke about new approaches to catering for the Ukrainian army

Food for the Armed Forces will be purchased from a catalog of 409 items, but the products will be aggregated into more than 25 categories. The menu for the Ukrainian military will be developed by professional technologists. These new approaches to the nutrition of the Ukrainian army were announced at the final meeting of the Interagency Working Group on Identifying New Approaches to the Ministry of Defense's Food Procurement Using the Electronic Procurement System by Arsen Zhumadilov, Director General of the State Operator of the Logistics. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, UNN writes.

Details

The new approaches are to be implemented in the procurement of products by the Ministry of Defense starting April 1 next year. The key ones are as follows:

- Food products will be procured from a catalog of 409 items, but the goods in it will be aggregated into more than 25 categories (for example, "meat products") at the stage of preparing tender documents. This opens up wide opportunities for Ukrainian producers to participate in procurement procedures.

- When forming the expected cost, the customer will be guided by data on average prices from various sources, including the State Statistics Service.

- Procurement and logistics are separated. The winning manufacturer will supply products to distribution centers. Delivery services from these centers to end users will be procured separately by the state.

- A dynamic procurement system will be used. It will provide for the qualification of participants before the start of the tender, the possibility for those wishing to qualify during the qualification period to hide certain data about participants for security reasons.

- Human-centeredness: standardized menus will be developed by professional technologists (including those who are currently defending the country in the Armed Forces). The menus will take into account both the needs of the military for different types of rations and the specifics of meeting the needs for quality nutrition in combat.

"The strategic goals we seek to achieve by implementing new approaches are the continuity of meeting the needs of the Armed Forces, trust from society, markets, the state and our international partners. Finally, we strive for institutional sustainability. We want our approaches, transparency and functionality to be independent of variable factors. Including who heads the Agency," Arsen Zhumadilov said.

In turn, the Ministry of Economy noted that new approaches to procurement will help attract more domestic producers to participate in tenders.

"A number of ideas voiced during the IWG discussions have already been implemented by the Ministry of Defense as transitional measures. According to the military, this has significantly affected the cost of the product package downward. It is also extremely important for the Ministry of Economy that the approaches proposed by the Agency will help to attract national producers to participate in the tender, not intermediaries," said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Nadiya Bihun.

Additional

Recently, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine presented the State Logistics Operator, a state-owned enterprise that will be responsible for procurement of food for the Ukrainian army. 

Recall.

Arsen Zhumadilov, CEO of the newly created State Enterprise State Logistics Operator, said that the new defense procurement strategy in food provides for maximum participation in tenders by producers, in particular, national ones, rather than intermediaries. As well as the gradual abolition of discriminatory requirements that created advantages for certain market participants.