Data Transformation: COLLATE

COLLATE is the sixth step towards actionable intelligence

Collation is the sixth key step in the process of transforming your spend and vendor data into actionable intelligence that is complete, accurate and fit-for-purpose.

Identical process irrespective of size, location or type

We aggregate all of the spend and related data for each public sector body we work for, irrespective of the original source, into a single, unified and consistent master database. In this way, meaningful comparisons with your peers are possible, as the process we use to transform public sector spend data is identical, irrespective of the size, location or type of public sector body. We call the resulting unified database the Observatory National Dataset.

The collation process enables you to answer a range of questions that it is not possible to answer using your own financial management systems including:

• The categories of good or service have the highest incidence of spend with vendors you share with other public bodies
• The proportion of your overall spend that is with vendors common to at least one other public body
• The vendors that are generating the highest aggregate revenues from other public bodies
• Targets for improvement that are realistic and achievable relative to the average or "best in class" for other public bodies of a similar type and size.