Achieving value for money is a fundamental business strategy for SAC. We are working to make sure we continue to provide an efficient, cost-effective service to our customers.

In 2013-14, 71% of our customers said they were satisfied that their security spent provided value for money. This year, we are continuing to review services where our performance is lower or our costs are higher than those of other counterparts. Some of our customers in particular felt that we didn’t break down service charges as clearly as we should, so we are now reviewing the process to make sure we communicate effectively with them.

There is a huge responsibility to achieve maximum Value for Money, and this is not just about sourcing the cheapest inputs; it involves delivering the best results at the lowest possible cost. This calls for a balanced approach in being able to define and assess value relating to the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of aid expenditures.

We have integrated our approach to achieving value for money into all that we do.

• Governance – We review the efficiency of our work and make sure that we comply with industry standards on value for money. We also encourage our team to question how we operate to find ways of providing a better and more efficient service
• Financial – Our budget and business plans include targets for making efficiency gains and improvements to services each year. Each department also works to improve how it buys goods and services and looks for new ways to work with partners so that we provide real value for money
• Managing performance – We review our performance continuously and check how we compare to other large system integrators. We aim to remain among the best for financial strength and quality of services. To do this, our analysis team review the costs of our activities and identify how we can improve services
• Customer focus – We are committed to making sure that our customers receive value for money from our products and services. We involve customers in our decision making and our team monitor customer satisfaction levels regularly
• Planning process – Our yearly business planning process aims to achieve the best service to customers at the most efficient cost, and to generate enough surplus to enable us to invest in improving services and growing responsibly
• Our people – We are committed to investing in our staff and rewarding outstanding performance to improve customer satisfaction and financial strength