Did you know that getting procurement approvals in Canada can take up to 11 different steps? That means the wheelchair van or mobile medical unit you need might be stuck behind paperwork for weeks or even months. If you’re feeling frustrated by delays, you’re definitely not alone. You might even worry you’ll miss important grant deadlines or lose out on funding completely. We understand how stressful that can be.
Every extra day spent waiting for procurement approvals has hidden costs. It means someone in your community can’t get to medical appointments or can’t easily leave their home. It also might mean you’re spending more money renting temporary vehicles while you wait. Imagine what you could do if approvals came quicker. Your new wheelchair van or medical unit could start helping your community right away, making everyone’s lives easier.
At MoveMobility, we’ve been helping organizations like yours get wheelchair vans and mobile medical units for over 20 years. We design each vehicle to make healthcare and transportation easier for everyone. And, while we’re not the only choice around, we truly understand what organizations like yours go through.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- How waiting for approvals costs your organization extra
- Why delays hurt your community
- How you can speed up procurement approvals
Let’s jump right into what those hidden costs actually look like.
How do procurement approvals cost your organization?
Waiting for procurement approvals costs your organization real money.
Here are some costs to think about:
Rentals: When your approval takes too long, you might end up renting wheelchair accessible vans or medical units to provide your services in. Renting might seem like a quick fix, but it’s expensive. Imagine paying around $1,500 every week for a rental van. If approvals take three extra months (about 12 weeks), that’s $18,000 spent that you didn’t plan for. Ouch.
Lost funding: Some grants or funding opportunities have deadlines. If your procurement approval drags on past that deadline, you could miss out. Let’s say your organization qualified for a $25,000 grant for accessible vehicles. If your approval isn’t done in time, that money disappears. Now you’re stuck finding other ways to cover the cost. That’s frustrating.
Maintenance costs: When you can’t replace your old wheelchair van or medical unit because of slow approvals, you keep using vehicles that need constant repairs. Small fixes might seem okay at first, but they add up.
For example:
- Tires: Around $800+ for a set
- Engine repairs: Anywhere from $500 to $3,000
- Accessibility equipment fixes: Typically $1,200 per repair
If your old van keeps breaking down, you’re basically throwing money away.
Staff time: Your team spends valuable hours chasing paperwork and calling procurement offices. Time is money. Let’s say a staff member earning $30 per hour spends 5 hours every week just following up. Over three months, that’s an extra $1,800 you’re paying someone just to wait.
These costs might feel small at first, but they quickly add up. Knowing exactly how your money gets wasted during slow procurement approvals helps you avoid it. Next, let’s look at how these delays affect your community directly.
How do procurement approval delays hurt your target community?
When the procurement approval process takes too long, it affects people. These delays hurt the community you’re trying to help.
Here’s how that happens:
Missed medical appointments:
Imagine your community needs a new mobile medical van. Each week it’s delayed means around 25 to 30 people might miss their health appointments. After just two months, that’s about 240 missed appointments. Those visits matter, especially when people rely on your service for regular check-ups or medicine.
Feeling stuck at home:
If you’re waiting on procurement approvals for a wheelchair van, people in your community might feel stuck. Think about a friend who can’t leave home easily because the van they need is delayed. It means missing family gatherings, job interviews, or even going to the grocery store.
Slow response in emergencies:
Sometimes you need vehicles fast, especially if there’s an emergency like a flu outbreak or extreme weather. If procurement approvals take too long, your community has to wait. Waiting even a few weeks longer can mean more people getting sick or not getting help quickly.
Trust goes down:
When people count on you and your organization can’t deliver because of slow procurement approvals, trust suffers. It’s tough to earn that trust back. If your community starts thinking you’re unreliable, they might stop reaching out when they need help.
Delays in procurement approvals impact real lives in big ways. Next, let’s discuss one way we can speed up your procurement process at MoveMobility.
How does MoveMobility meet procurement requirements through Canoe’s pre-approved process?
Let’s be honest, the procurement approval process is usually slow. With up to 11 steps, it can feel like you’re stuck forever.
But here’s the good news: MoveMobility’s partnership with Canoe Procurement Group of Canada helps you skip most of these steps entirely.
Here’s how your typical procurement approval process looks without Canoe:
- Identify your need
- Research and obtain approvals
- Build specifications
- Write a tender
- Advertise the tender
- Open bids
- Evaluate bids
- Award the bid
- Negotiate the contract
- Issue the purchase order
- Receive goods or services
That’s a long journey, right?
With MoveMobility and Canoe Procurement, it’s easier. You go straight from step 3 (build specs), right to step 10 (issue the purchase order).
That means you don’t have to worry about spending countless hours around these steps:
- Writing a tender
- Advertising the tender
- Opening bids
- Evaluating bids
- Awarding the bid
- Negotiating the contract
Think about how much quicker your vehicle gets to you and your community when these steps disappear, and you don’t have to worry about being stuck in paperwork.
Here’s why it works:
- No complicated tenders: Canoe has already done the hard work of tendering, meaning that the heavy lifting has been done for you.
- Less paperwork: Your organization saves time (and headaches) by skipping all those extra approvals.
Our partnership with Canoe means fewer headaches, faster approvals, and quicker delivery of vehicles your community urgently needs.
Next, let’s wrap up with a quick recap of everything we’ve learned and why it matters to your organization.
Ready to stop losing time and money on procurement approvals?
When you started reading this, you were probably tired of dealing with slow procurement approvals and researching online how to avoid them. All that paperwork was hurting your budget and holding your organization back from getting the vans or medical units it needed.
After reading, you’ve learned:
- How waiting for procurement approvals costs your organization money
- Why delays negatively impact your community
- How our partnership with Canoe helps you streamline your RFP process
At MoveMobility, our mobile medical vehicles and wheelchair accessible vans have helped organizations like yours remove healthcare and transportation barriers for over 20 years. From designing wheelchair vans to specialty care units, our vehicles help communities across Canada get better care faster. If you’re tired of slow approvals holding you back or if you have questions, our mobility experts are here and ready to help. Just click the button below to get started.
And hey, if you’re not quite ready to chat yet, that’s okay! We have a few other great resources you can check out first.
