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Procurement director details AI tools, vendor training and timeline targets; cites $5.4B in contracts
Summary
Namada Upal presented procurement priorities including AI selection tools, vendor academies, a small‑business certification and targets to shorten award timelines; he noted the department brought $5.4 billion in contracts to the board in 2025 and described eliminating about 50 positions after a merger with small business services.
Namada Upal, director of the Strategic Procurement Department, told commissioners the department's vision is to deliver transparent, fair and inclusive procurement that returns value to residents. Upal highlighted vendor outreach and training programs, a certification for public procurement professionals, and two AI tools used for selection‑committee support and staff training.
Upal said the county brought about $5.4 billion in contracts to the board in 2025 (179 items) and described priority initiatives including reducing small‑business certification requirements from about 60 to 30 steps, cutting certification processing time by half, and targeting procurement cycle times of 90–120 days for procurements under $5 million and 120–150 days for larger procurements. He also said the merger with small business services yielded a reduction of roughly 50 positions and identified staff retention as an ongoing concern.
