A POSITION PAPER FOR A CENTRAL PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATION FOR THE NUCLEAR-POWER INDUSTRY

This paper integrates the results of numerous nuclear utility industry meetings with commercial business practices. The Central Procurement Organization (CPO) is designed to achieve an immediate 30%-50% reducti on in total procurement, engineering qualification, warehousing, and d istribution cost. Three (3) areas define a CPO success criteria: {1} L ean, credible, and cost-effective issues discussed include facility co st, operational cost, staff expertise, product priorities, warehousing , and distribution, {2} Common technical, commercial, and quality requ irement issues discussed include current industry practices and propos ed future methodologies, and {3} Financial survivability issues which are the most critical since the CPO must exist during changing interna l and external utility environments. Areas discussed are financial ret urn criteria, liabilities, and survivability in the competitive market place. Alternative implementation of CPO structures, consisting of uti lity groups, a single utility, and/or partnering with commercial firms , are discussed considering the current industry environment.