B-BBEE Procurement in Maintenance: How to Track Spend and Stay Compliant

Maintenance and spare parts spending is often one of the largest procurement categories in South African operations, yet many companies struggle to align it with their B-BBEE scorecard. When breakdowns happen, the priority is getting the right part or contractor on site fast; preferential procurement can feel like a paperwork exercise that slows things down. The result is that a significant slice of organisational spend slips through without proper B-BBEE tracking, dragging down your Preferential Procurement element and leaving points on the table. B-BBEE procurement maintenance is not just a compliance tick-box; it affects your ability to win tenders, meet government and mining charter requirements, and demonstrate real commitment to transformation.

This article explains why B-BBEE matters for maintenance procurement, how the preferential procurement rules work, what you need to track, and how a CMMS can automate B-BBEE supplier management and reporting so that maintenance spend supports your scorecard instead of undermining it.

Why B-BBEE Matters for Maintenance Procurement

The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act and the Codes of Good Practice require measured entities to report on several elements, including Preferential Procurement. Your procurement spend with B-BBEE-compliant suppliers contributes directly to your score. Maintenance procurement — spare parts, contractors, and service providers — typically represents a substantial portion of total spend in mining, manufacturing, and facilities. If that spend is not tracked by supplier B-BBEE level, you cannot prove it in an audit or tender submission, and you miss the opportunity to improve your score.

Beyond the scorecard, B-BBEE compliance is increasingly a condition for doing business. Government tenders, state-owned entity contracts, and private-sector supply agreements often require a minimum B-BBEE level or preferential procurement evidence. The Mining Charter imposes specific procurement targets on mines. In practice, maintenance procurement compliance is not optional; it is part of how you stay eligible for the contracts and partnerships that depend on your B-BBEE standing.

Preferential Procurement Rules: 80/20, 90/10, and Specific Goals

Preferential procurement in South Africa is governed by the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) and the B-BBEE Codes. The way you score procurement depends on the contract value and, since the 2022 regulations, on “specific goals” that can apply to designated groups.

The 80/20 and 90/10 Thresholds

For contracts above a certain threshold (the “80/20” threshold set by National Treasury), the standard rule is that 80 points are for price and 20 points are for B-BBEE. For contracts above a higher “90/10” threshold, 90 points are for price and 10 points for B-BBEE. The exact rand values of these thresholds are revised periodically; you must use the current Treasury circulars when running tenders. The B-BBEE portion of the score is calculated using the supplier’s B-BBEE certificate and level (Level 1 to Level 8, or Non-Compliant). Higher-level suppliers (e.g. Level 1) contribute more to your own preferential procurement recognition.

For maintenance, the complication is that much spending does not go through formal tenders. Small orders, emergency spare parts, and call-out contractors are often bought on quotation or from approved suppliers. Those transactions still count as procurement spend; they must be captured and attributed to suppliers with known B-BBEE status if you want them to count toward your B-BBEE scorecard.

Specific Goals (2022 Regulations)

The 2022 Preferential Procurement Regulations introduced specific goals: a portion of the 20 or 10 B-BBEE points can be set aside for procurement from designated groups, such as black-owned SMMEs, women-owned enterprises, or youth-owned enterprises. When a tender or procurement policy includes specific goals, you need to track not only whether a supplier is B-BBEE compliant but also whether they meet the specific goal criteria (e.g. 51% black-owned, QSE or EME). This adds another layer of data: supplier ownership profile and entity size (QSE/EME vs large enterprise), so that your maintenance procurement can be reported against both the generic B-BBEE score and the specific goals.

How Maintenance and Spare Parts Spending Impacts Your B-BBEE Scorecard

The Preferential Procurement element of the B-BBEE scorecard measures the percentage of your total measured procurement spend that is spent with B-BBEE-compliant suppliers, weighted by the supplier’s B-BBEE level. The formula is complex, but the principle is simple: the more you spend with higher-level (e.g. Level 1–4) suppliers, the better your score. Spend with non-compliant or unverified suppliers does not count or counts less.

Maintenance and spare parts spending often involves:

Many suppliers: Bearings, seals, electrical components, hydraulic parts, and specialist contractors may each come from different vendors.
Frequent, small orders: A single work order might use parts from two or three suppliers; over a year, hundreds of transactions can accumulate.
Urgent purchases: Breakdowns lead to same-day or next-day orders where the focus is availability, not B-BBEE paperwork.

If this spend is not captured against a supplier database that includes B-BBEE level (and, where relevant, specific goal status), it either falls into an “unverified” bucket or is ignored. Either way, your measured procurement spend denominator stays the same, but the numerator — compliant spend — does not grow. Your B-BBEE procurement score suffers. Maintenance procurement compliance is therefore about ensuring that every rand spent on maintenance and spares is assigned to a supplier with a known B-BBEE status and that the data flows into your scorecard reporting.

Challenges of Tracking B-BBEE in Maintenance

B-BBEE supplier management in a maintenance context faces several practical challenges.

Fragmented suppliers. Operations often buy from dozens or hundreds of suppliers: OEMs, local distributors, specialist repair shops, and contractors. Keeping an up-to-date list of which suppliers are B-BBEE compliant, at what level, and when their certificates expire is difficult when procurement is decentralised or when technicians and planners order directly.

Frequent, small purchases. Maintenance procurement is characterised by many small orders rather than a few large contracts. Each order may be below the formal tender threshold but still forms part of total spend. Capturing supplier and B-BBEE data for every purchase requires either discipline at the point of order or integration between the maintenance system (where the need is raised) and the supplier master data.

Urgency versus compliance. When a critical machine is down, the immediate priority is to get the part or the technician. Choosing a supplier because they are Level 1 can feel secondary. Without a pre-approved list of B-BBEE-compliant maintenance suppliers — and without making it easy to select from that list when raising a work order or purchase request — teams will default to the fastest option, and B-BBEE tracking will be an afterthought.

Certificate validity. B-BBEE certificates have validity periods. A supplier who was Level 2 last year might be Level 4 this year, or their certificate might have expired. If your system does not flag expired or missing certificates, you may be reporting spend against a supplier whose status is no longer valid, which can lead to audit findings or scorecard adjustments.

What to Track for B-BBEE Maintenance Procurement

To align maintenance procurement with your B-BBEE scorecard, you need to track the following.

Supplier B-BBEE Level and Certificate

For every supplier used for maintenance, spare parts, or maintenance contracts, record their current B-BBEE level (1–8 or Non-Compliant) and the certificate number and expiry date. This is the foundation of B-BBEE supplier management. Without it, spend cannot be allocated correctly.

Spend by B-BBEE Level

Your reporting must show total maintenance (and/or spare parts) spend and spend broken down by supplier B-BBEE level. That allows you to see what percentage of maintenance spend is with Level 1–4 suppliers, what is with Level 5–8, and what is with non-compliant or unverified suppliers. This breakdown is what you need for internal scorecard preparation and for auditors or tender responses.

QSE/EME vs Large Enterprise (Where Specific Goals Apply)

If your organisation uses specific goals (e.g. procurement from black-owned QSEs/EMEs), you need to know which suppliers qualify. That means tagging suppliers by entity size (EME, QSE, or large enterprise) and ownership (e.g. black-owned, women-owned) so that spend can be reported against those goals. Not all maintenance suppliers will be QSE/EME, but where they are, that spend should be visible.

Local Content (If Relevant)

Some tenders or sector codes (e.g. certain mining or industrial requirements) also consider local content or local manufacturing. If your maintenance procurement policy or contract requirements include local content, tracking supplier and part origin can become part of the same data set. For many operations, the immediate priority is B-BBEE level and certificate; local content can be added later if required.

How a CMMS Automates B-BBEE Tracking

A CMMS that integrates B-BBEE procurement tracking removes much of the manual work and reduces the risk of missing or incorrect data.

Supplier Database with B-BBEE Levels

The CMMS maintains a supplier register where each vendor used for maintenance or spare parts is linked to their B-BBEE level, certificate number, expiry date, and (if applicable) QSE/EME and ownership flags. When a technician or planner selects a supplier for a work order or parts request, the system already “knows” that supplier’s status. New suppliers can be blocked or flagged if they are not yet in the register or if their certificate is expired, so that procurement does not accidentally bypass B-BBEE requirements.

Automated Spend Reports by B-BBEE Level

Every purchase of spare parts or every contractor invoice linked to a work order is a transaction. The CMMS can aggregate spend by supplier and by B-BBEE level over any period (month, quarter, financial year). Reports can show total maintenance spend, spend per B-BBEE level, and the effective percentage of spend with compliant suppliers. That gives you a maintenance procurement scorecard view without exporting to spreadsheets or reconciling finance data manually.

Procurement Scorecard Generation

For the Preferential Procurement element, you need to feed compliant spend (and total measured spend) into the B-BBEE scorecard calculation. A CMMS with B-BBEE reporting can produce preferential procurement reports that align with the codes: spend by level, recognition percentages, and optionally by specific goal. That output can be used by your B-BBEE or sustainability team to populate the scorecard and support audits.

Flagging Non-Compliant or Expired Suppliers

The system can warn when a supplier’s B-BBEE certificate is about to expire or has expired, so that procurement or compliance can request an updated certificate before more orders are placed. It can also flag orders placed with suppliers who are not in the register or are non-compliant, so that you can either switch to a compliant supplier or document the exception. This keeps maintenance procurement compliance proactive rather than reactive.

Practical Steps to Improve Your Maintenance B-BBEE Score

Even before full CMMS automation, you can move the needle with a few practical steps.

Audit current maintenance spend. Pull spend data from finance or procurement for the last 12 months for maintenance, spare parts, and maintenance contractors. Identify the top 20–30 suppliers by value. These are your priority for B-BBEE verification.
Collect and validate B-BBEE certificates. For each priority supplier, obtain a current B-BBEE certificate (or sworn affidavit for EMEs). Record level, certificate number, and expiry. Where certificates are missing or expired, follow up before placing further orders.
Build an approved supplier list for maintenance. Create a list of B-BBEE-compliant suppliers that procurement and maintenance are encouraged to use. Where possible, pre-approve multiple suppliers for the same category (e.g. bearings, electrical) so that you have compliant options when one is out of stock or unavailable.
Integrate B-BBEE into the requisition and work order process. When a work order requires parts or an external contractor, the process should require (or strongly default to) a supplier from the approved list. If someone selects a supplier not on the list, require a reason and ensure the purchase is still captured for reporting.
Report maintenance procurement separately. Produce a regular (e.g. monthly or quarterly) report of maintenance and spare parts spend by B-BBEE level. Use it to track progress, identify gaps (e.g. too much spend with Level 7–8 or non-compliant), and plan supplier development or sourcing changes.
Plan for certificate renewals. B-BBEE certificates typically need renewal annually or as per the issuer’s validity. Add certificate expiry dates to your compliance calendar and request updated certificates in good time so that no supplier drops off the compliant list unexpectedly.

Real-World Impact: Tenders, Government Contracts, and the Mining Charter

The effort to track B-BBEE procurement maintenance pays off in concrete ways.

Tender requirements. Many public and private tenders require bidders to submit a B-BBEE certificate and sometimes evidence of preferential procurement. If your maintenance spend is untracked, your overall procurement recognition is lower than it could be, and you may lose points or fail to meet minimum B-BBEE requirements. A robust maintenance B-BBEE process helps you present a stronger scorecard.

Government and state-owned contracts. Entities that apply the PPPFA and B-BBEE codes will evaluate your Preferential Procurement element. Demonstrating that maintenance and spare parts spend is systematically tracked and directed to B-BBEE-compliant suppliers strengthens your position in contract evaluations and audits.

Mining Charter. The Mining Charter sets targets for procurement from HDSA (historically disadvantaged South African) suppliers and from local communities. Mining operations must report procurement spend and show progress toward those targets. Maintenance and spares form a large part of mine procurement; integrating B-BBEE and charter-aligned tracking into the CMMS used for maintenance ensures that this spend is visible and compliant.

Across sectors, the trend is toward greater scrutiny of procurement practices. Maintenance procurement compliance is no longer a niche topic; it is part of how serious organisations manage their B-BBEE scorecard and their reputation.

Conclusion

B-BBEE procurement in maintenance is a significant lever for improving your Preferential Procurement score and meeting tender and contractual requirements. The rules — 80/20 and 90/10, specific goals, and the need to report spend by B-BBEE level — apply to maintenance and spare parts just as they do to other categories. The difficulty is the volume of transactions, the number of suppliers, and the urgency that often accompanies maintenance buying. Without a structured approach and the right systems, maintenance spend will continue to slip through without proper B-BBEE tracking.

A CMMS that includes B-BBEE supplier management and procurement reporting turns maintenance from a blind spot into a documented, scorecard-ready stream of compliant spend. Supplier databases with B-BBEE levels, automated spend reports by level, and alerts for expired certificates reduce administrative burden and help procurement and maintenance teams make compliant choices by default.

Lungisa is a CMMS built for South African operations and includes B-BBEE procurement tracking for maintenance and spare parts. You can maintain a supplier register with B-BBEE levels and certificate dates, link every purchase and contractor spend to those suppliers, and generate preferential procurement reports for your scorecard. If you want to see how B-BBEE procurement maintenance can be built into your maintenance workflow, explore Lungisa or contact the Skynode team to discuss your requirements.