7 Procurement and Supplier Management Free Online FlashCards

What is procurement?

Procurement is obtaining goods or services from outside an organization. It connects project needs to a suitable delivery approach, supplier, contract, and monitoring plan.

What should define a purchase need?

Define outcomes, required quality, quantities, delivery dates, constraints, and acceptance criteria. These clarify what the purchase must achieve.

What costs belong in a make-or-buy comparison?

Compare internal delivery with external purchase using whole-life cost, including setup, staffing, training, operation, maintenance, integration, transition, and end-of-life costs.

How can supplier evaluation be fair and consistent?

Set criteria and their relative importance before evaluating bids, assess every supplier against the same criteria, and document the decision reasons.

What commitments should a procurement contract define?

It should define scope, deliverables, schedule, price and payment basis, acceptance, quality, responsibilities, reporting, change control, confidentiality or data duties, remedies, and exit or transition arrangements.

How should procurement performance measures be defined?

Track measures tied to the contract, such as on-time delivery, defect rate, acceptance-test pass rate, response time, cost variance, or unresolved critical issues. Define calculations, targets, and follow-up actions.

When should procurement begin and end?

Procurement begins during planning and continues through contract closeout, rather than starting only when the team is ready to order.

How does market research support purchase planning?

Research suppliers, available offerings, typical lead times and prices, and viable alternatives. Use findings to shape requirements and the procurement schedule.

What does a procurement plan identify?

A procurement plan identifies what and when to buy, the make-or-buy approach, supplier invitation and evaluation methods, decision owners, budget, milestones, acceptance checks, and key risks.

What capabilities and risks inform make-or-buy decisions?

Assess internal skills, capacity, time, and facilities; strategic importance and sensitive knowledge; supplier expertise, technology, scale, and speed; plus dependence, integration, and ongoing support.

What is a mixed make-or-buy approach?

A mixed approach combines internal and external delivery, such as building a core system internally while buying a specialist component.

What does a best-value supplier choice balance?

Best value balances price with quality and delivery capability; it does not automatically mean choosing the lowest bid.