Purchasemanagement is just a small part of procurement management, which is larger and more strategic. Purchase management is simply the set of documents, tools and procedures used to manage the purchase process, such as purchase requisitions, requests for quotes and purchase orders.
Procurement, in terms of project management, is when you need to purchase, rent or contract with some external resource to meet your project goal. These relationships, like any process in the project, need management.
Managing these relationships means getting the best quality from the outside vendors employed by the company to assist in doing business. There are vendor management constraints that revolve around cost and time. Procurement management is a way to more efficiently and productively handle the process of sourcing, requisitioning, ordering, expediting, inspecting and reconciliation of procurement.
Procurements are first identified during the planning phase of the project. For every external contractor, there needs to be a statement of work (SOW) to serve as a document outlining the work being contracted.
These requests are well-thought-out as they work as guiding documents throughout the project. The more specific, the better. This avoids confusion later and helps develop more accurate plans. This process is collected in the procurement management plan, which includes requirement documents, risk register, activity resource requirements, project schedule, activity cost estimates and more.
To guide these decisions there are tools and techniques, such as make-or-buy analysis, which helps to determine if the activity needs an external supplier or can be done in-house. Seeking help from experts, doing market research and meeting with stakeholders also helps guide this decision.
After finishing the paperwork of the first phase, the conduct procurement phase is when you study the bids that come back and determine which one to accept. Before deciding, however, there should be a criterion in place to decide which bid is best for the project and fits your logistics management. The agreements are then signed and the project management plan is updated.
Once the contracts are signed, the management of those contractors must be folded into the overall management responsibilities. Contractors can have a negative impact on budgets and schedules, which can lead to a project going off-track or worse.
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The project manager is involved with procurement, the same as any other aspect they control in the project management process. However, this is a process they might not own with the same authority as other parts of the project.
Plan contracting is the creation of requirements for whatever products or services are needed, including what companies offer these products or services. They request seller responses by narrowing down the companies to a handful and then selecting the sellers, which is usually the purvey of the purchasing department.
Because ProjectManager is online, all status updates, including procurement payments, instantly reflect on the real-time dashboard. The real-time dashboard then takes those numbers and crunches that data, which is delivered in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Now you can see if the project is on track and manage whatever procurement has been made.
This series of posts assumes that you have already memorized the names of the 47 project management processes, and you are ready to go on to the task of memorizing the tools & techniques. This post covers chapter 12 of the 5th Edition PMBOK Guide, the Procurement Knowledge Area.
7. Procurement negotiations12.3 Administer ProcurementsManages procurement relationships, monitors contract performance, makes changes and corrections as appropriate1. Contract change control system
This decides whether a particular part of the project can be accomplished by the project team or should be purchased from outside sources. After all, if no procurements are needed and the entire project can be done by the project team, then there is no need for procurements management. This knowledge area is then the only truly optional knowledge area in that there are some projects for which it is not needed.
These are meetings between the buyer and all prospective sellers prior to the submittal of a bid or a proposal. The purpose is to ensure that all prospective sellers have an understanding of the procurement requirements before they submit their bid.
This is the process by which the procurement may be modified by mutual agreement of the buyer and seller. This contract change control system is incorporated into the integrated change control system for the project at large.
The procurement tools and techniques to be used should be relatively straightforward as to which process they belong to; there are only a few which belong to multiple processes (such as the records administration system, used for both monitoring & controlling, and for closing the procurement).
Some of these tools & techniques will be used with most types of procurements, such as the bidder conference, whereas some tools & techniques offer a range of options for the company to choose from (such as performance reporting, inspections and audits, and structured performance reviews).
The next post will be on the LAST chapter of the 5th Edition PMBOK Guide, namely, the 13th chapter on Stakeholder Management. This knowledge area has been added in the 5th Edition, as an outgrowth of the Communications Knowledge area that goes beyond simply communicating with stakeholders, and actively engages them during the course of the project.
There are four procurement-related project management processes, one in each of the following process groups: planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing. The fourth process is therefore in the Closing Group, and is the process which manages the formal closing of the procurement as per the contract between the buyer and seller.
The Procurement Management Plan contains the guidelines for closing out procurements. The procurement documents contain project and financial information that should tell whether the requirements set forth in the procurement contract have been followed.
If there are any outstanding issues at the end of the procurement process, the negotiation process is the first way of settling them, followed by alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods such as arbitration and mediation involving third parties. Only in the last resort do the buyer and seller resort to the courts (litigation) to settle the matter.
Once the requirements of the procurement contract have been recognized by the buyer to have been achieved by the seller, the buyer then sends formal written notice to the seller that the contract has been completed, and the OPAs are then updated for reference on future projects.
This concludes the review of the four processes of Chapter 12 Procurement Management. The next chapter is the last chapter of the PMBOK Guide, Chapter 13 Stakeholder Management, and the next post will give an overview of the processes belonging to that knowledge area.
The Procurement Organization's primary goal is to engage in third party contract arrangements in support of corporate and operations requirements. These contacts will provide MTA with the highest quality of goods and services, which are timely, efficient and economical. All procurements are to be conducted by maximizing open competition, encouraging MBE participation and following all required COMAR and Federal procurement practices.
Doing business with the Maryland Transit Administration and the State of Maryland has never been easier. If you are a first time visitor to our site, you should begin by browsing available procurement opportunities. You may also visit
www.eMMAmarketplace.com to find opportunities with other State agencies. Once you find a solicitation you would like to view, please register on our website. By registering you can be sure to receive updates to the solicitation documents.
All MTA solicitations are conducted in accordance with State and Federal laws and regulations. If you have never worked with us before, it might be helpful to become familiar with the regulations you and we are expected to abide by. The relevant regulations are explained in Title 21 of the Code of Maryland Regulations. [COMAR On-Line]
If you have questions about an MTA procurement, please direct those questions to the procurement officer noted on the solicitation documents, or in our Staff Directory. Do not contact other employees of the MTA about procurements.
The Operations/IT Services Section is responsible for all multi-year contracts for all rolling stock procurements for Transit Bus, MARC Commuter Rail, Light RailLink, Metro SubwayLink, Mobility, Commuter Bus and Information Technology (IT) Services. This Section also bids and awards procurements for the various operations facility maintenance departments, capital equipment requirements and rolling stock overhaul projects that are transit related service contracts for all MTA modes.
The Architectural/Engineering & Professional Services Section is responsible for all multi-year contracts for architechtural/engineering (A&E) services for the Office of Engineering, the Office of Planning and other divisions within the MTA. A&E services include consultation, research, investigation, evaluation, planning and design. Projects may consist of structural, civil, architectural, mechanical, and electrical systems engineering work, systems engineering, systems construction management, surveying & landscaping. Construction related services include feasibility studies, surveying, construction management, construction inspection, interior design and telecommunications systems.
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