Review of events in 2022

In 2022, the management of Hansel started the preparation of the new strategy in a highly volatile geopolitical context. Hansel’s growth strategy is based on added value to customers. Our vision is to be the preferred procurement partner for our customers, and our purpose is to generate savings for public administration through efficient procurement operations. Hansel wants to be ethical and efficient, while offering its customers an excellent service experience. Sustainability will continue to be our strength, and this work will be continuously improved in Hansel. Our employees are top public procurement specialists who value their work and each other. Hansel’s corporate culture encourages continuous learning, communality and a good team spirit.

Russia’s offensive warfare in Ukraine affected Hansel in many ways. As expected, the fastest impact came from the higher energy prices, despite the fact that Hansel has hedged electricity prices with derivatives. The EU strongly increased its restrictive measures against Russia. Hansel took into account the restrictive measures in its operations and created processes for related monitoring. The pandemic and the changed geopolitical situation have increased the significance of procurement preparedness and business continuity considerations. In 2022, Hansel launched a development project to define preparedness as part of its sustainability process, introduce preparedness levels and prepare business continuity plans.

The global shortage of components, initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, slowed down the use of some equipment contracts such as computer hardware contracts. Vehicle contract lead times have also been exceptionally long. The increased inflation rate caused by the war and the higher energy prices led to numerous requests for price increases in different contracts. Only a few price increases were accepted, and as a rule, they were temporary and based on the supplier being able to prove an increase in the prices it paid. The use of travel and meeting services started to recover after the two years of the pandemic.

The seven webinars organised by Hansel proved popular, attracting a total of almost 2,000 attendees. The webinars covered topics such as joint procurement, procurement misconceptions, tendering and Hansel’s services, i.e. Procurement Radar and Procurement Pulse. The customer forum convened three times in 2022, covering topics such as the impact of the war in Ukraine on procurement, preparedness and sustainability.

Customer and supplier satisfaction is monitored regularly. The 2022 surveys were realised in January 2023. The average customer satisfaction score on a scale of 1 to 5 was 4.15 (4.06 in 2021), and the average supplier satisfaction score was 4.01 (3.90 in 2021). The average customer satisfaction score for project-specific tendering services was 4.70 (4.67 in 2021), and the corresponding average score for procurement development services was 4.55 (4.54 in 2021).

A government proposal (115/2022 vp) concerning an amendment of the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts was submitted to Parliament in the autumn of 2022. The proposal introduced some changes to the procurement procedure, but it lapsed due to the change of the parliamentary term. Regulation (EU) 2022/1031 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the access of third-country economic operators, goods and services to the Union’s public procurement and concession markets, or the International Procurement Instrument (IPI), entered into force in 2022. According to it, the Commission may, through an implementing regulation, restrict the participation of tenderers from third countries and the supply of subcontracts, goods and services from third countries. Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market entered into force at the beginning of 2023. According to it, in the case of procurements of significant value, tenderers must declare any financial aid received from third countries, after which the Commission will examine the compatibility of the aid with the internal market and may prohibit the award of the contract.

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 Municipalities, and a project on the Competence Centre for Sustainable and Innovative Public Procurement (KEINO) by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Hansel also participated in the work of a working group set up by the Ministry of Finance to assess and prepare measures for the development of joint procurement in central government. The working group completed its task at the end of 2022, and as a follow-up, the Ministry of Finance established a coordination group on 20 December to develop joint procurement for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. Hansel contributes both as a member of the working group and in its secretariat.

Hansel continued to develop the new public procurement notice channel (Hilma), launched in 2020, based on an assignment from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance is funding the project, and its related invoicing in other business profits was €1,437,000 in 2022 (€1,386,000 in 2021). Hansel also worked on several other development projects such as website development, the creation of minicompetition features, and the tendering and deployment of a complex financial system. In the area of sustainability, the first external sustainability audit was launched, the internal sustainability analysis process was developed and the reporting of sustainability labels was improved.

Hansel had no pending appeals before the Market Court or the Supreme Administrative Court at the end of 2022. The company received three decisions from the Market Court in 2022. In one case the appeal was dismissed, and the processing of two cases was discontinued due to the withdrawal of the appeal. Hansel did not receive any decisions from the Supreme Administrative Court in 2022.

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

Hansel’s compliance function is responsible for the currency of ethical instructions and business principles, as well as the instructions related to ethical operations. It supports personnel in questions related to ethical operations, arranges training and handles whistleblowing reports. The function annually reports to the company’s Board.

Sustainable development, environmental matters and the shadow economy

Themes related to sustainability, preparedness and combating the shadow economy are playing an increasingly important role in public procurement. In its operations, Hansel adheres to the sustainability principles laid down by the Government. Sustainability reporting has become an integrated part of the company’s annual reporting practices and provides detailed coverage of all measures related to sustainability.

Key events after the closing of the financial year

The business operations have remained essentially unchanged after the closing of the financial year.

Outlook for 2023

The company will continue to implement its growth strategy in line with the action plan. The target for the strategy period is to achieve significant growth in joint procurement. The business is expected to develop favourably, and the operating result target is to turn a profit in 2023.