Contract Change Control System

After contracting the procurement from performing organization to the vendor, the changes are inevitable. These changes should be incorporated if required in a controlled way. This will be taken care by the technique Contract Change Control System. This can be paperwork, disputes, approvals, etc.. Contract Change Control System is integrated with Integrated Change Control System.

Contract Change Control System technique is used under the process Control Procurements.

Procurement Negotiations

Without negotiations no contract will be signed. Procurement negotiations is about arriving at the mutual understanding between buyer and the seller in the area of requirements, responsibilities, authority to make any changes, terms and conditions, technical aspects, IP rights, financing, schedule, payment frequency, price, etc… For complex procurement negotiations can be independent process where as for the simple procurement purchase order kind of agreements can be signed need to be accepted by the seller.

The project manager should involve other project management team while negotiation with seller so that it will assist in understanding the technical, quality and management requirements.

Also Procurement Negotiations are used if any disputes, outstanding issues, claims during the closing of procurements. If this is not working, one can use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) through mediation. In the worst case it has to be settled in the court which is least preferred.

At the end of the day the Procurement Negotiations should be from win-win proposition.

Procurement Negotiations technique is used under the processes Conduct Procurements and Close Procurements.

Advertising

The organization needs to find more potential sellers available in the market when they want to go for procurement. Advertising is one of the techniques which can be useful. This can be done using newspapers or publications. Also the other options are online marketing, social media, digital marketing, etc.. It depends on the organization, culture, rules and regulations. For example in the private organizations the Advertising can be through online to the vendor community where as in government it is through public advertising.

Advertising technique is used the process Conduct Procurements.

Independent Estimates

In response to RFQ and RFB it is required for the performance organization to see is the bidding prices from the seller is matching with our pricing or not. This gap can be known from the technique called Independent Estimates. It can be done by performing organization on their own or can get it done from 3rd party. This technique helps in bridging the gap if any between the seller and the buyer in terms of scope, assumptions, and ambiguities.

For example if the bidding price is $20K and our estimation is $15k, this is a considerable gap. The reasons can be either the scope understanding from the seller side is incorrect or the buyer has not done his estimate properly.

Independent Estimates techniques is used the process Conduct Procurements.

Proposal Evaluation Techniques

Most of the matured organizations for complex projects they will be having criteria to select the sellers. Proposal Evaluation Techniques is one of the them. Here different parameters are considered, for example, the process capability, the financial capability, vicinity of the seller, the qualification of project manager from seller side, the credential of the sellers, etc.. For each of these parameters weightage will be given and the one who is scoring higher the contract will be awarded.

Proposal Evaluation Techniques is used the process Conduct Procurements.

Bidder Conferences

It is absolutely required to have clear and common understanding of the scope of work between the buyer and seller before going for final bidding. This point will be taken care by the technique called Bidder Conferences also called as contractor conferences, vendor conferences or pr-bid conferences. This is done before getting the final bid or proposals from the perspective sellers by the buyer. In this conference the buyer needs to clarify all the queries raised by the prospective sellers. The technique can be carried out by requesting the sellers to send the questions or by visiting the seller’s site. Any questions/clarifications which are missed out while preparing the procurement documents can be amended.

Bidder Conferences technique is used the process Conduct Procurements.

Market Research

For the project if you want to procure any resources it s required for the performing organization to find vendors and their capabilities. One can use Market Research technique to find the vendors and their capabilities. This can be through conferences, online research, social media which is the recent trend. This technique also helps in refining the vendors based on the information through research and which helps further in balancing the risks.

Market Research technique is used under the process Plan Procurement Management.