Describe the seven stages of the Tender Process and explain the reasons why the stages must be followed.
Correct Answer:
See the answer in explanation. Explanation: The purpose of the tendering process is to invite potential suppliers to bid to supply a product or service to the buying organization. Then buying organization select suitable suppliers, award con-tract and manage. The process is selected mostly when the need is a large or complex project or the law mandates it or it is in the company's policies to do so. The stages of the tendering process includes; Stage 1: decide which style of tender to use. There are four types of tendering used within pro-curement and this include; 1) open 2) Restricted 3) Negotiated 4) Competitive Dialogue Stage 2: Prepare invitation to tender (ITT): this stage is to prepare the document that will be made available to potential supplier. It should contain everything potential bidders will need to know to fully understand the need and to prepare and send a suitable RESPONSE it may likely in-clude; open letter, company details, overview of a project, evaluation criteria, submission date and so on. Stage 3: send ITT: With fairness, transparency and equality, buyer will provide the documents to all potential suppliers at the same time and also provide exactly the same information/documents to all suppliers. If after receiving the ITT and some suppliers seek clarifications on anything in the documentation, buyers must give same response to identical questions to keep the process transparent and fair. Also, the response to each query to all bidders in the process. Failure to this may result in bidders who feel disadvantaged or discriminated in any form to submit a legal challenge. Supplier submitting a Legal challenge may cause delay in the process and eventually increase administrative cost for the buyer. Stage 4: Buying organization receives responses to the Invitation to tender from suppliers (bids). Suppliers must adhere to the bid submission dead line included in the invitation to tender document. Any bid that arrives after the deadline must be left out of the process, or else this may result to other suppliers legally challenging the process. Stage 5: Evaluate bid. The buying organization can now evaluate the bids based on the criteria in the ITT document. It is always thorough that cross-functional team evaluates the bids to guarantee complete fairness and ensure that the chosen bid is fit for purpose. In evaluating the bids, the cross-functional team will consider the bids in the following areas; supplier organization, ethics, price, sustainability, quality, payment, disposal, service level, location, warranty and risk. Stage 6: Award contract and give feedback hence the buying organization wards the contract to the winning supplier. This can take place by a formal communication like a letter or an e-mail. Stage 7: Contract management. Contracts must be evaluated against the criteria in the invitation to tender. The reasons why these stages must be followed includes; 1. Knowing the right TYPE of tender to use, reduces administration cost, for example, deciding to do restricted tendering to reduce the interest that are going to be sent in have already cut down on administrative cost. 2. The supplier can know what exactly the buyer's intentions are by developing description and the required specification. 3. To ensure that objectives of resorting to use the tendering style and the tendering process is achieved 4. To ensure that the organization generates added value by going through the stages. 5. To ensure that there are none unethical issues like fraud, bribes etc are not part of the system. 6. To ensure that the tendering process becomes transparent to all suppliers. These stages must be followed for transparency and fairness. Just like in stage 3: buyer send out the ITT to potential suppliers at the same time and providing them same information. Failure to this and bidders who feel disadvantaged or discriminated in any form may submit a legal challenge. Supplier submitting a Legal challenge may cause delay in the process and eventually increase administrative cost for the buyer.
Question 67
Explain how procurement should decide whether to make or buy a product or service.
Correct Answer:
See the answer in explanation. Explanation: Make or buy decision are about whether a products or services should be made within the organization or bought-in from an external supplier. For a procurement professional to establish which method (make or buy) offers the best value, the item in question must be thought through if it is core to the organization and which option will add more value to the organization, as regards achieving its strategic goals. If it is core the procurement professional decide to make it and if it is not core the product or services can be bought in.
Question 68
What are the four stages of decommissioning?
Correct Answer:
See the answer in explanation. Explanation: When a fixed asset reaches the end of its life, it requires decommissioning before reconditioning or disposal. Decommissioning is to observe all the safety measures and technical procedures and stop active machinery or an asset from operation (example gas plan, generator, transformer etc. Decommissioning process include the following aspect 1) Preparation: Plan the process 2) Dismantle: Take the asset apart and remove hazardous waste 3) Processing: make safe any hazardous waste 4) Disposal: Ensure paper work is received to confirm removal and disposal
Question 69
When should whole life asset management be applied?
Correct Answer:
When organization has made the decision about which option is best for sourcing the asset, it can then begin to work on the whole life asset management strategy. Whole life asset management is the process of evaluating the total price and all associated costs of a product to make an informed decision as to which option will provide the organization with the best value for money. This strategy is only under taken for large-value procurements because; 1) It takes considerable time (2) It involves many stakeholders and require numerous resources; If whole life asset management were conducted on every purchase it would not create value for the organization and that may tie up valuable resources.
Question 70
Describe four factors that could damage reputation within the supply chair
Correct Answer:
The reputation of all the organizations within a supply chain is linked. A Company's reputation is an intangible asset that can contribute to the failure of an organization if damaged. Factors that could damage organizational reputation within the supply chain are; 1. Quality: if the product or service quality is poor the organization may not satisfy it customers and this can lead to a loss of reputation in the market. For example, a residential building construction company contracting a supplier that would do a bad job which in three months may require home owners to reinstall new doors. 2. Sustainability: if the organization is not replenishing that which it is extracting, it will some day run out of business or probably loss loyal customers. For example a drilling company that spills hydrocarbon as it drills. 3. Fit for purpose: if an organization produce a product or carry out services that are not fit for purpose, it may run at loss for there will be so much rejection and rework. This can lead to customers switching to another organization which product or services are fit for their purpose. 4. Contract management: an organization will have to manage its suppliers and the contracts to ensure they are delivering what they were contracted to do. A poor contract management is a waste in the process of delivery that can lead to reputational loss. * Refer to the question column for response