The Procurement ClassRoom

Jorge Lynch

The Goal of Public Procurement and Contract Administration

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The goal of public procurement is to award timely and cost-effective contracts to qualified contractors, suppliers and service providers for the provision of goods, works and services to support national and local government, and public services operations, in accordance with principles and procedures established in the public procurement rules.

The goal of contract administration is to ensure proper mechanisms are in place to monitor and evaluate contractors, suppliers and service providers’ performance in the fulfillment of their contractual obligations, and to ensure appropriate actions are taken to promptly remedy any deficiencies observed in contract execution or the contract scope, and terms and conditions.

On the basis of their specific goals, there is a clear distinction between public procurement and contract administration. That distinction, far from lessening the importance of one as opposed to the other, actually reinforces each by identifying and focusing on their specific purpose.

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Preventing Conflict of Interest

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It is important to start thinking about conflict of interest before beginning the bid or proposal evaluation process. All prospective members of the evaluation panel should sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure statement declaring absence of any family or business ties with firms and/or individuals being evaluated southafrica-ed.com.

After the names of the firms and/or individuals to be evaluated, are revealed to the evaluators, all panel members are expected to declare any potential or actual conflict of interest that may exists due to any past or present relationship they may have with any of the firms and/or individuals to be evaluated that may impede their ability to impartially evaluate any of the offers received. 

Procurement Review Process

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Once a decision has been made to award the contract, before signing the contract all participating bidders need to be informed of the intent to award. This requirement is governed by, and should be clearly stipulated in, the public procurement rules.

During the period stipulated for the intent to award, bidders having any claims related to the procurement process, and feel that they were or may be affected by the way the procurement process was carried out, are permitted to challenge the procurement process by submitting a formal claim to the procuring entity for presentation to an appointed independent procurement review body.

The procurement review committee will review the claim and decide on its merit, and the results could be to reject the claim. In this case, the procurement process will continue and the contract awarded as intended. If the procurement review committee accepts the claim for further review, this could lead to suspending and restarting the procurement process, compensating the aggrieved bidder or taking other actions stipulated in the procedures governing the procurement review process.

The procurement review process has certain limitations. There are time limitations on the submission of a claim cz-lekarna.com. To be acceptable, a claim must be submitted within a certain number of days after a particular event takes place or should have taken place. The procurement review process is also intended to handle claims related to the procurement process and if it was carried out according to procedures; as a result, claims of fraud, waste, and abuse should not be addressed in the procurement review process, unless clearly stipulated in the procurement rules.

Three Ways to Make Procurement Records Tell a Story

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When building a procurement record-keeping system you must consider what documents should be placed on file, and how easy reviewer of those records will be able to reconstruct the entire procurement process in order to understand exactly how it was carried out from beginning to end.

One of the ways to do this is to ensure that procurement records are placed on file in such a manner that they give a complete picture of the entire procurement process.

Here are 3 ways to ensure procurement records tell a story.

1. Keep a record on each step of the procurement process

The procurement requisition and approval triggers the start of the procurement process. This must be kept on file along with records of the solicitation documents, the evaluation and selection process, contract negotiations and award, up to contract close out.

2. Keep record of any relevant communication carried out during the process

Important documents created during the procurement process must be kept on file for reference. There are solicitation documents, announcements, evaluations reports, contracts, and so on. There are also communications between the entities and individuals participating in the process: procurement officers, approving authority, evaluation panel members, and others. Keeping a record of such communication is very important to understand how the procurement process was undertaken.

3. Ensure records are placed on file in the order in which they occurred

Finally, common practice is to keep paper-based procurement records in reverse chronological order (the most recent record placed on top of the last). But placing them on file in the sequence in which they occurred helps to rebuild the story from start to finish sverige-ed.com.

What other ways can you think of to ensure procurement records tell a story?

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Deciding on a Procurement Method

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During the requirement identification stage, the entity with the need determines when they want the goods delivered, services rendered or construction works completed. It is important to consult with the procuring entity at this early stage in order to determine the most appropriate procurement method for their specific need.

The procurement method should be determined at this early stage because of the impact it has on the procurement lead-time, and also to ensure that the responsible entity is able to set realistic timeframes and expectations for contract award in the initial stages of development and definition of their procurement requirement.

This simple exercise of obtaining the assistance of the procuring entity early on helps to avoid disappointments, unrealistic expectations and frustrations when, due to poor planning, it is impossible to meet expectations set during the requirement definition phase.

At this stage of the process, it is also important to decide if a competitive or non-competitive procurement method will be used osterreichische-apotheke.com. The complexity of a requirement, procurement category, and monetary value are all important factors to consider when deciding on the procurement method.

A decision to use a particular procurement method must be based on the stipulations of the procurement rules.

 

 

On Contract Suspension

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It is important to distinguish between the suspension of a contract (the temporary cessation of contract performance), and the suspension of a supplier, contractor or services provider. The former may be invoked by either party to a contract for specific reasons defined in the terms and conditions of the contract, such as Force Majeure. The latter is a decision made by the purchaser to suspend the other party from participating in the bidding process (debarment) or from signing a contract with the for a stipulated period of time as a result of a breach of contract or other offenses stipulated in the public procurement rules.   Contracts should contain a provision for either party to suspend or terminate the contract under certain conditions. Grounds for suspension or termination of a contract are usually stipulated in the General Conditions of the Contract.

A contract suspension does not necessarily lead to termination. The reasons must be contemplated in the contract. An example of a situation that could lead to contract suspension is the temporary inability of a supplier, contractor or service provider to comply with the contract terms and conditions for reasons beyond their control (Force Majeure).

Whenever any deficiencies are observed during contract administration, the first step is to verbally address the issue with the other party. If results are unsatisfactory after this verbal notification, then it should be communicated formally and the other party given a certain period of time to remedy (cure) the defect. If the deficiency is not remedied within the stipulated timeframe, contract suspension or termination should be considered after taking into account other available remedies.

Contract suspension should be considered before contract termination, because one of the main objectives of procurement is to award contracts in order to satisfy particular requirements https://cheska-lekarna.com. Additionally, the cost implications (considering time lost and other dependent procurement requirements), of having to re-tender to select another supplier, contractor or service provider, should also be carefully considered before quickly deciding on contract termination prior to exhausting all other possible measures.

What are your views on contract suspension?

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