Review of events in 2021

In accordance with the integration strategy, Hansel’s vision is to unite Finland’s public procurement power. The cornerstones of the strategy include an excellent service experience and a comprehensive service portfolio, as well as acting as a trailblazer in responsible and effective procurement. Exemplary operations, strong values and an inclusive work culture are expected to make Hansel the most valued public procurement expert and therefore an attractive employer.

2021 was the second year marked by the coronavirus pandemic. Personnel continued working mostly remotely, and customer and supplier meetings were also organised remotely. Hansel’s eight webinars gathered a thousand listeners and received good feedback. Their topics were ICT procurement, competitive tendering of expert services, dynamic purchasing system, responsibility and impact, and compliance. The customer forum consisting of Hansel’s government and municipal customers has earned its place as a customer channel for exchanging information and conversation. In 2021, the customer forum convened three times. The thematic meetings concerned measuring impact, the security authorities’ procurements, the procurement strategy, and preparation of health and social services counties.

Customer and supplier satisfaction is monitored regularly. A customer satisfaction survey is performed annually and a supplier satisfaction survey every other year. The 2021 surveys were conducted in January 2022. The average customer satisfaction score on a scale of 1–5 was 4.06 (4.08 in the previous year), and the average supplier satisfaction score was 3.90 (3.97 previously). The average customer satisfaction score for project-specific tendering services was 4.67 in 2021 (4.65 in the previous year), and the corresponding average score for procurement development services was 4.54 (4.85 in the previous year).

The amendment to the act on procurement entered into force on 1 July 2021. The provisions for framework agreements were specified so that an offer request concerning a framework agreement must include the total number or value of purchases of the procurement units using the framework agreement. The regulation made framework agreement tendering and use during an agreement period somewhat easier. The amendment also contained some more technical changes to procurement regulation.

In the autumn of 2021, Parliament received a government proposal on amendments to several acts in relation to the establishment of health and social services counties. The legislative pack also contains a proposal to change the Act on a Limited Liability Company Called Hansel Oy so that the health and social services counties could be Hansel’s customers. The amendment is expected to enter into force in the spring of 2022.

Over the year, Hansel was involved in several projects such as Procurement Finland (Hankinta-Suomi), an operational programme of the Ministry of Finance and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, a project on the Competence Centre for Sustainable and Innovative Public Procurement (KEINO) by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the State Treasury’s Tietokiri project.

Hansel continued to develop the new public procurement notice channel (Hilma), launched on 2 January 2020, in an assignment from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance is funding the project, and its related invoicing in other business profits was €1,386,000 in 2021 (€1,477,000 in 2020). The company has worked on several other development projects such as website development, constructing mini-competition functions, and renewing the technical platform of the tutkihankintoja.fi service. In 2021, the responsibility analysis process and responsibility monitoring mechanisms were further developed. Hansel’s Corporate Responsibility Team ordered a report on the responsibility audits concerning suppliers. The carbon footprint of Hansel’s own operations was measured in more detail than before.

At the end of 2021, Hansel had one pending claim in the Market Court. The company received five decisions in the Market Court in 2021. Three cases dismissed the claims, and in two cases, the claims were not processed, because they were dropped. In 2021, Hansel received two judgements of the Supreme Administrative Court on the same service concept. In these cases, there was no need to comment on the presented requirements, because the claims were dropped. Hansel has estimated that the probability of there being any financial consequences from the pending legal proceedings is low.

Hansel follows the processing of public procurement matters in the European Union. Hansel is a member of a cooperation group for key central purchasing bodies in the EU. In addition to Hansel, this group includes several European joint procurement units such as SKI (Denmark), Kammarkollegiet and Adda (Sweden), BBG (Austria), Consip (Italy) and ANCP (Portugal).

Hansel’s compliance function, established in 2019, is responsible for the currency of ethical instructions and business principles, as well as the instructions related to ethical operations. It supports personnel with questions related to ethical operations, arranges training, and handles whistleblowing reports. The function reports to the company’s Board annually. The ethical principles and hospitality instructions for government employees were updated in the spring of 2021. Hansel’s instructions were found to be harmonious with the corresponding instructions of our owners, the state and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.

Key events after the closing of the financial year

The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a negative impact on Hansel’s business. It has been acknowledged in the company’s financial planning, but the pandemic has increased the number of risk factors.

The Russian attack on Ukraine that began on 24 February 2022 has introduced more risk factors. This affects especially Hansel’s energy category.

Otherwise, the business operations have remained essentially unchanged since the closing of the financial year.