Procurement plan

Procurement is the complete process of acquiring the right goods and services under specific conditions to satisfy a requirement. In the context of designing and constructing buildings, a procurement plan is the result of a process that involves deciding what to buy, when to buy it, how, and from whom.

On a typical building project, the items that need to be procured is very long and detailed. Not properly managing this list could mean higher costs and a longer project duration. It is the responsibility of the procurement manager to manage all procurement activities that fall under the project.

The procurement plan is an important document as it establishes the procurement framework for the project and throughout the project becomes a guide (which can be amended) for procurement management.

A procurement plan can include:

• Project requirements, the project team, timelines, etc;
• Items to be procured, their justification, requirements and the contracts and procurement routes that may be adopted;
• How costs will be determined;
• Selection criteria;
• The standard procurement documentation to be used – particularly important for large projects;
• A procurement schedule, with timelines for the steps leading to contract award and fulfilment;
• Contract deliverables and deadlines;
• Specific actions needed to start and complete purchases;
• List of procurement risks, their management and mitigation;
• Long lead time items;
• Assessments of staffing requirements;
• Purchases made;
• Comparison of how the actual procurement process compares with the procurement plan, and
• Strategies to ensure bids are fair and deliver best value for the client.

A typical procurement plan will list the items required and alongside each item will be the justification (i.e the reason it is needed e.g ‘required to attach trim to fascia’ etc) and the date it is needed by. In addition to the list of items, the procurement plan may also mention those individuals who are authorised to approve purchases on behalf of the project team.

Procurement planning is important because it:

• Establishes buying requirements, timescales and available sources;
• Enables a procurement strategy to be formulated for each item in the procurement plan;
• Determines how realistic expectations are;
• Gives stakeholders the chance to discuss procurement options;
• Allows the time required to complete the procurement process to be estimated.
• Help deliver best value for the client.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Admeasurement.
• Construction contract
• Construction manager
• Design and build procurement route
• Design build finance and operate
• Design, build, manage contractor.
• Engineering procurement and construction contract
• Framework contract
• Management contractor
• Managing the procurement process
• OJEU procurement procedures
• Partnering in construction
• Procurement route.
• Public private partnerships PPP
• Public procurement
• Schedule of rates for construction
• Single-stage tender
• Supply contract.
• Tender processes for construction contracts
• Traditional contract for construction
• Two-stage tender
• Typical tender process for construction projects