Locate the policies and procedures that are relevant to planning procurement in your organization.

In the firm, there exist pre-defined rules and regulations for all the planning which are a part of the software development and the completion of the project. In my organization, the prevailing rules and the regulations talk about well-defined process of the procurement. In the said policy, from first to last step all the significant parameters are narrated well. These tend to provide with the guidelines which are required for the achievement of the goals of redevelopment of the website.

1.1)            Are there any policy gaps you have identified? If so, what action do you plan to take to fill these gaps?

The policy of the firm and the documents are in accordance with each other. They tend to provide with the surety that the firm’s procurement process will provide with the desired services from third parties. The only parameter in this regard is about the communication gap.

The communication gap may exist at any of the hierarchical level. The suppliers for the procurement services are not devoid from it. The actions that can be taken in this regard are about the improvements in the communication and the delivery of the messages. The messages are if delivered wrongly they can provide with the misleading results.

1.2)            Explain the method to plan when to acquire the required products and services to complete the project. Who decides to order them and when? List the documents required as reference. Also, mention the consequences of the early or late arrival of the products or the services?

·         How do you plan when to acquire products and services needed to complete project activities?

The procurement process is linked with acquiring the services after the project has been completed. These services are related to outsourcing for the hosting of the website as well as the deployment of the product. It can be seen that these services are desirable after the project has been completed. Meanwhile the project’s modules and the sub-modules will be developed. Later on its hosting and the deployment on server will take place.

·         Who is involved in deciding when products and the services are ordered?

The decision making is based on following factors:

v  First the meeting with the higher authorities of the firm is conducted then the project manager is directed about the specified areas for carrying out the procurement process.

This is how the decision is made regarding acquiring the services of the suppliers (third parties).

·         What documents do you refer to when deciding on when to order products or services?

The document where all the terms and the conditions of the services are finalized is being referred. It will help to know about all the details of the contract.

·         What are the effects of a product or service arriving early? What about if they arrive late?

It is entirely dependent on the need of a product or a service. In case the service is required in the later stages of the project then it makes no difference even if it is delivered late but within time span. The opposite case exists for the other way round.

1)      Market analysis

2.1)            Delegate to a project team member responsibility for conducting a market analysis for a product or service that you need in project you are currently working on. Ask them to conduct any necessary research and to source at least three potential suppliers. After they have prevented you with a list of suppliers, conduct a critique of how well they performed this task

The project manager has conducted the market research. He has maintained a list for all the suppliers for the required services along with their rates and the time of delivery. The higher authorities then compared the said services on certain metrics.

a)      List the product or service that was being sourced here

The project manager’s expertise and skills are being utilized for the said purpose. Also, the time being invested for the research purposes is an additional parameter in this regard.

b)     How well did the project team members conduct the supplier analysis? Were there any gaps in their analysis? If so, please list them below

The team members have been provided with the list of the suppliers along with their services, rates and the time of delivery. They conducted the supplier’s analysis based on their quality of the services.

As far as my observation is concerned there have been no gaps to the criteria under discussion.

c)      How could the project team member have performed the analysis better?

He can involve some other experienced members of the team. This is how he can perform the analysis better (Upcounsel, 2019).

2)      Planning to procure

3.1) Describe the methods adopted to procure the products and services for a project. List the documents that were prepared to distribute to perspective sellers.

The parameters that can fall under the process of procurement can better be decided by having a meeting with the team for the management of the project. As far as the current project for the redevelopment of the website is concerned, it is decided that the website hosting will be outsourced. For the said purpose the quotations from different suppliers will be obtained. The economical and best suited domain will be purchased in order to provide the high quality services. Also, for the deployment of the project the services of the highly skilled professionals can be obtained. This agenda can be achieved by contacting with the hiring agencies. They can better help to provide with the services of the highly skilled and qualified professionals. These experienced professionals will help in the deployment of the project (Wrike, 2019).

The activities associated with the redevelopment of the website are all as per the pre-defined standards and the guidelines. The milestones of the project are better achieved as they are streamlined through the timelines. The areas where the difficulty can be faced by the project include the change in the scope of the project and the hurdles to the process of communication. These are the two significant evaluators that can affect the performance of the project team. Also, the project deadlines, and milestones will be affected in case the above said parameters are not catered properly.  

The important documents in this regard include as given:

v  Request for proposal and the bidding documents

v  Document for the planned dates for the delivery of the intended services

v  Document for obtaining the services of specified suppliers

v  Document for the delivery of the intended product or the services

v  Document containing the consensus of the higher authorities

v  Payment methods

v  After sale services etc.

3.2) Discuss the type and the need of the contract selected to procure the product or service for the project?

The organization has allowed for both the outsourcing of the website and the deployment of the project. In order to provide the project management team with these services, the firm will first formulate the strategy. It is entirely based on how to get the outsourced services. The important parameters in this regard may include as given:

v  Who will be the suppliers?

v  What will be the buying terms and conditions?

v  What type of negotiations is required to be made with the third parties in order to obtain their services?

v  What will be the buying procedures?

v  How the suppliers will be approached?

v  What documents need to be signed while entering into a specified contract?

v  What are the planned dates for the delivery of the intended services?

v  How the suppliers or the vendors will be managed by the firm?

v  What is the number of suppliers or the contractors?

v  What are the metrics that better help to evaluate the performance of the suppliers?

v  The determination of pre-qualified suppliers for the said purpose (Oracle, 2019).

3)      Contract Administration Planning

4.1) Explain the steps involved in the process of planning the contract administration process. Name the person involved in the contract administration planning process from your team.

In order to carry out the process of the procurement, the following steps are desirable:

v  The meeting with the higher authorities of the firm is conducted.

v  The project manager is directed about the specified areas for carrying out the procurement process.

v  The details about the bids, suppliers, date of supply and all other such determinants are discussed.

v  The minutes of meetings basically help to evaluate about the decision of a specified meeting.

v  The channel of communication with the supplier and payment methods are also decided along with the other terms and the conditions.

It can be said that preparation as well as the maintenance of the specified procurement process is carried out by the team lead or the project manage. This is so because he is the one who is responsible for either the success or the failure of the project.

4.2) Discuss the key performance indicators developed by the project team for the contract. Also, explain the process involved in determining the contractor’s performance throughout the project.

First the procurement process will be planned. Based on this plan, the process needs to be carried out effectively. For the said purpose, the required documents are prepared. These documents are then reviewed in order to evaluate whether the procurement management process is carried out effectively or not. This is so because the success of a project is based on the fact that how effectively all the changes are logged in order to provide the stakeholders with the desired outcomes.

V) Establishing procurement processes

5.1

1. To go to the market, the management of the company use different marketing agreements, marketing requirement, strategic blueprints, and social media conversation.
2. To evaluate the response different feedback and questionnaire are used in the companies.
3. Selection of preferred contractors is based on the references from previous users and previous outcomes.
4. The key performance indicators include electronic documents and record management documents.
5. Different tools are used for the monitoring of contract performance such as record management system, procurement performance reviews, inspection and audits and procurement performance review.
6. Changes are done on the basis of previous outcomes.
7. The review of procurement activities is based on the final outcomes.

5.2

If the organization is not keeping the records of documents it won't be able to claim for a business tax return, reasons for firing employees and accurate success rate (Fu, Lee, & Teo, 2010). 

VII) tender selection process

7.1

1.      The key stages for the tender selection process include prequalification analysis of different possible companies, preparation of shortlisted companies, an invitation for the tender, evaluation of the tender, award and then announcement of results. The timeframe of tender is 3 year. The tender management team is the selection panel of the tender.

2.      In the process of finding tenders and tenderers, the documents include information about the price, quality, bidder efficiency and previous accomplishments (Albano, Calzolari, Dini, & Iossa, 2007).

3.      While running competitive tender, it is important to consider significant accomplishments of tenderers along with previous purchases and communication of supplier about the bids.

VIII) Contract

8.1 The characteristics of a good and successful contract include effective working techniques of suppliers, governance structure, appropriate and regular communication, and reporting framework with the regular information.

8.2   The previously handled contracts include loan contract and agreement between the sellers and buyers for the furniture used in the company (Tan, Lian Kiang, Goh, Shao Hung, 2017).

8.3  To monitor the previous and recent contracts the team members must select and measure appropriate outputs, outcome and suitable monitoring methods. The process of evaluation depends on the careful document performance and work cooperatively between the supplier and buyer by the contractor. The positivity is that the contract was completed within the timeframe and the negativity is that contract was completed with more cost.

 IX) Reviewing contracting and procurement

9.1 The contract is about the furniture of office and the reviewing method for the procurement and activities include review meetings, project team members, audits, and other programs.

9.2 The issues identified in the review are insufficient information about the contract before signing the contract. The project team head was involved in negligent behaviour (Opentextbc, 2019). 

9.3 The project team members and leaders are recommended to review the contract before finalizing and before signing the contract.

References of  Locate the policies and procedures that are relevant to planning procurement in your organization.

Albano, G. L., Calzolari, G., Dini, F., & Iossa, E. (2007). Procurement Contracting Stategies. Procurement Contracting Stategies, 01(10), 01-10.

Fu, Q., Lee, C.-Y., & Teo, C. P. (2010). Procurement management using option contracts: Random spot price and the portfolio effect. IIE Transactions, 42(11), 793-811.

Opentextbc. (2019). Procurement Management. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-13-procurement-management-project-management/

Oracle. (2019). Creating a procurement contract. Retrieved from https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/procurement/18b/fasca/creating-a-procurement-contract.html

Tan, Lian Kiang, Goh, Shao Hung. (2017). A Price Review Framework for Maintenance, Repair and Operations Procurement Contracts in the Public Sector. In Global Public Procurement Theories and Practices (pp. 173-198). Springer International Publishing.

Upcounsel. (2019). Different types of procurement contracts. Retrieved from https://www.upcounsel.com/different-types-of-procurement-contracts

Wrike. (2019). What is project procurement management. Retrieved from https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-project-procurement-management/