Typical Procurement Procedures
The following is a list of the sort of questions you need to ask yourself and Procurement when starting a project during which you will have to contract for goods or services. They are general ones and you need to contact Procurement for their guidance.
1. Does the project require external contractors?
If so, what is the anticipated cost?
2. How many competitive tenders or quotations must be sought?
For example, if the contract value is between £1000- and £5000 then two quotations might be needed; for contracts between £5001 and £10,000 three quotations might be needed.
3. What is the process for handling and recording such arrangements?
Essentially, what are the Procurement procedures for what you want to purchase.
4. How do I start?
Generally, procurement departments work to a contracts pro-forma and project managers need to contact them for this. It must be completed and approved by the budget holder. Often, to complete the pro-forma, you will need to have planned and scoped the project and set deadlines for objectives set.
5. How long will the contract take to issue?
It is rarely as quick as you would like. It can be weeks or months depending on the complexity of the purchase and the workload in Procurement. Sound them out.
6. When can a contractor's work start?
Generally, no work should be undertaken until a contract is in place. If so there may be payment difficulties.
7. Payment
Procurement departments often insist that payments are linked to completion of formal contract objectives. In this case, payments will not be made without evidence that progress is to contract.