Question

7. Explain the differences between competitive and sole-source contracts.

8. Define the terms “Request for Proposal (RFP)” and “Internet Reverse Auctions”.

9. Compare lowest cost versus best value procurements. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the both methods?

10. Explain what a Request for Procurement Services (RFPS) is. What information the RFPS form must contain?

11. What skills do the members of a procurement team need to have in order to be successful?

12. Explain what a Statement of Work (SOW) is. Why the SOW is one of the most important documents of the plan procurements process.

Answer 1

SOLUTION :---->>>>

7. Competitive procurement involves opening the process to bids and tenders to obtain the best value. Noncompetitive procurement (sometimes called “sole source” or “single-source” procurement) happens when the buyer either selects the company to buy from or restricts the bidding process to certain suppliers.

8. Request For Proposal : A request for proposal is a bidding solicitation in which a company or organization announces funding is available for a particular project or program, and companies can place bids for the project's completion. It outlines the bidding process and contract terms, and provides guidance on how the bid should be formatted and presented. A request for proposal for a specific program may require the company to review the bids to examine their feasibility, the health of the bidding company and the bidder's ability to do what it proposed.

Internet Reverse Auction : A reverse auction is a type of auction in which the roles of buyer and seller are reversed. In an ordinary auction (also known as a 'forward auction'), buyers compete to obtain goods or services by offering increasingly higher prices.

9. Lowest Cost : Low bid can be a valid government strategy for buying most products. There is however, a very good argument to be made that low bid is not necessarily the best approach for purchasing high-tech equipment or instrumentation. Low bid in the high-tech world will often get you the lowest quality. This is basically a short-term approach. Higher quality vendors may have a higher up-front price, but will generally offer an overall lower cost when you take into consideration the full useful life of a system. This lower long-term cost may include such variables as superior service/support, greater reliability and uptime, better accuracy and precision of results, more efficient user interface/ease of use/automation, longer useful life, and higher resale/salvage value as the systems approaches the end of it's useful life. Unfortunately all of these key differentiators are "subjective" and may only be known through user experience and industry "common" knowledge. Writing specifications to include these cost saving benefits is nearly impossible.

Best Value Procurement : It is a procurement system that looks at factors other than only price, such as quality and expertise, when selecting vendors or contractors. In a best value system, the value of procured goods or services can be simply described as a comparison of costs and benefits. A contractor or vendor is thus selected through a process of researching the vendors or contractors before a detailed project plan is made.  BVP is a new procurement method, it does build on procuring and tendering according to the MEAT principle (Most Economically Advantageous Tender). The principle enables the contracting authority to take account of criteria that reflect qualitative, technical and sustainable aspects of the tender submission as well as price when reaching an award decision.

Advantage : This system is claimed to be beneficial because it needs less decision making, prepares for the future, and minimizes risk. Even if risks occur, they can be effectively controlled or managed. One of the most important aspects of best value procurement is looking at past performance. It has a vision and method for procuring and tendering in which the main focus is not price, but the performance of market parties.

Disadvantage : The disadvantages of this procurement method revolve largely around time. The property development process is front loaded – there is a lot of time devoted to the design element. If you need a quick build then going through a design, tender, build approach may be too time-consuming. Even if you offer incomplete plans to the contractors this in turn can lead to delay, additional costs and conflicts if the plans change too many times or are too unclear to make early build decisions.

10.

11. Ten Skills All Purchasing Professionals Must Have

• Detail Orientated. ...
• Time Management. ...
• Judgment and Decision Making. ...
• Persistence. ...
• Flexibility and Adaptability. ...
• Relationship Building. ...
• Communication and Active Listening. ...
• Negotiation.

11. A request for proposal (RFP) is a document that solicits proposal, often made through a bidding process, by an agency or company interested in procurement of a commodity,service, or valuable asset, to potential suppliers to submit business proposals.

Information Must Contain :

• Project management
• Content strategy
• Copywriting
• Illustration
• Information design
• Visual design
• Search engine optimization
• Front-end coding (HTML/CSS, animations)
• Back-end coding (CMS, 3rd party APIs, custom software/features)
• Custom software or app development
• Mobile device optimization

12. Statement Of Work : The SoW is the document that captures and defines all aspects of your project. You’ll note the activities, deliverables and the timetable for the project. It’s an extremely detailed document as it will lay the groundwork for the project plan.

Importance : It’s one of the first documents you’ll create to lay out the entire landscape of the project before you plan and execute. Because of the great amount of detail required, the prospect of writing one can be daunting. Therefore, let’s break it down into more digestible parts.

Thank You