Submitted by Robin Friefield-Hudson, CPPB, NIGP-CPP
Procurement Specialist, City of Mississauga
For those who are responsible for acquiring goods and services, they know that their procurement colleagues assist them with (and sometimes block them from) doing what they want to do. It is important that our divisional clients understand why we do what we do and what enables us to do so.
Client departmental staff are usually subject matter experts in their field, whether it be engineering, landscape architecture, or information technology. Our clients may understand what they want to buy, but may not be sure how to do so, so they come to us. However, before any purchases should be made, departmental staff should have at least a cursory understanding of the agency’s process, where they fit in and where procurement fits in.
Before anyone can buy anything above the low value threshold, they should complete your agency’s Procurement 101 Training. Agencies should ensure they create a training module or PowerPoint ™ presentation that can be accessed by those wishing to procure. Before a procurement request form is submitted, department staff must be able to confirm that this training, Procurement 101, has been completed.
Now we don’t expect our client departmental staff to know what we know as procurement professionals, but they should at least understand the following basics:
What is the basis for the procurement rules that we follow?
The agency’s Procurement by-law is the enabling regulation that informs what they can and cannot do when acquiring goods or services. The by-law provides the foundation and authority to procure, and should include definitions, explain thresholds, delegated authority and what is and isn’t covered by the by-law. What can departmental staff spend before they have to consult with their procurement department? Who is responsible for ultimate approval for these purchases? In what circumstances can they contract with a supplier without a competitive process?
This information is very important for all staff in the agency to understand prior to attempting to purchase anything.
Budget versus contract authority:
Departmental staff may think that if there is budget for a project, then they have the authority to spend that money. It is important to ensure departmental staff understand that authority to spend that money comes from the by-law and not finance. Unless it’s a low value acquisition below the threshold as established by the by-law, they do not have the authority to contract.
Agency-wide Contracts:
Departmental staff should be made aware of any agency-wide contracts that exist that they could use to acquire what they need instead of wasting resources on a new procurement when it’s not needed. Making this information available on an internal intranet site is beneficial.
The difference between lowest acceptable bid and best value bid:
They may not need to understand all the nuances of requests for proposal or requests for tender, but what they should know is the different ways to procure and evaluate submissions. They should learn how mandatory qualifications are important and how words such as ‘must’ or ‘should’ can change everything in an evaluation process.
Procurement duration and expectations:
As procurement professionals, we all understand the pressures that our clients face in needing to contract as soon as possible. However, realistic expectations should be communicated to departmental staff so that they understand how long things really take. For example, submitting a request for consulting services in June with an expectation to have a contract in place in July is not realistic and can cause stress on both sides. Our clients need to understand that it takes time to:
- develop an SOW;
- review all documents;
- issue the bid;
- evaluate the submissions;
- obtain authority to award; and
- execute the contract.
With this information communicated to staff, they would hopefully start the process earlier in order to have that contract in place for when they need it.
Whatever it looks like for your agency, it is important to ensure that staff are procuring in accordance with your purchasing policies and procedures. Delivering this training can be through the agency’s intranet platform; virtual training sessions or in person. Sending annual reminder emails reminding everyone of the basics can also be beneficial., No matter how procurement training is delivered to client departments, providing the training should ultimately make our lives easier. Don’t we all want to work smarter and not harder?