Government of Dubai’s Shared Procurement Programme Boosts Purchasing Efficiency, Delivering AED 313M in Savings

The Support Service Centre (SSC) at Dubai Finance (DOF) announced that the Government Shared Procurement Programme (Tasharok) has achieved remarkable savings of AED 313.5 million for 72 government entities as of the end of August 2025. This milestone reflects a significant 14% reduction in procurement spending achieved over five years since the programme’s inception in September 2020.

This announcement was made during a ceremony held by the Support Services Centre to honour partners and suppliers.

The programme aims to enhance the efficiency of spending and unify procurement efforts across government entities, in line with the vision of the wise leadership to embed effective governance principles and ensure the optimal management of public funds.

His Excellency Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of DOF, said: “Inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Tasharok programme is highly efficient and plays a pivotal role in fostering cooperation among government entities to achieve fiscal sustainability. Our aim is to excel in governance, ensure the prudent management of public funds, and maintain efficiency across all levels of government operations.”

Hamed Abdulghafoor Alawadhi, Executive Director of the Shared Services Sector at DOF, stated: “The programme, supervised by DOF and managed by SSC, has successfully reduced the average procurement process duration from 14 days to just 4 days. This accomplishment was made possible through the establishment of joint framework agreements with suppliers, ensuring unified and stable prices. These agreements significantly reduce the effort and time required by each entity, resulting in substantial cost savings. The programme achieved the savings through expenditures exceeding AED 2.3 billion across the various participating government entities that issued more than 16,000 purchase orders.”

“Over the first eight months of 2025, the programme achieved savings of AED 90 million by issuing 4,130 purchase orders totalling AED 806 million. This reflects a significant growth compared to the whole of the previous year savings of AED 108 million by issuing 4,500 purchase orders of AED 840 million,” Alawadhi added. “The ‘Tasharok’ programme is based on efficiency and good governance and aims to reduce procurement-related costs, improve transaction completion time, and unify standards across government entities while preserving each entity’s operational independence and flexibility.”

Mubarak Ahmad Al Shamsi, Director of the SSC, said: “The ‘Tasharok’ programme adopts a hybrid strategic approach to procurement processes. It provides data and reports to participating government entities while maintaining entity autonomy by refraining from direct involvement in supplier selection or contract negotiations. We offer central support to all government entities involved in ‘Tasharok’, enabling seven major, specialised entities to lead the procurement process. These entities set standards and conclude joint framework agreements with suppliers on behalf of other entities, ensuring efficiency and consistency.”

“We have recently activated a business intelligence system in collaboration with Digital Dubai, enabling the lead government entities to access real-time data on utilisation rates of approved categories, monitor performance indicators, and track purchase order efficiency. This improves the procurement processes and strengthens corporate performance,” Al Shamsi added.

The Tasharok digital platform comprises two sections: a general store encompassing contracts for all suppliers, and a dedicated store for suppliers affiliated with the Dubai SME. The platform offers over 6,000 products and services categorised into 28 distinct categories offered to government entities at fixed prices. To date, more than 380 employees from 83 government entities have been trained to use the platform effectively.

Supporting government policies, the Tasharok programme plays a pivotal role in implementing DOF policies, most notably the Green Procurement Policy and the Vehicle Purchase and Leasing Policy. The relevant categories and items have been integrated into the platform’s approved item lists and incorporated into the government resource planning system. These lists are also available through the Tasharok Portal, which enables government entities operating on different systems to access approved catalogues and benefit from competitive pricing.

The programme continues to support the Dubai SME’s suppliers by featuring their products and services on a dedicated sub-platform and adding product-level notifications identifying the supplier’s affiliation. This facilitates quick access for users and encourages the inclusion of these products in government procurement. This achievement underscores “Tasharok” success in unifying government procurement efforts, promoting sustainable practices, and empowering the SME sector, fully aligned with Dubai’s vision to support the local economy and advance digital transformation.