Procurement Task

A Procurement Task is an organizational buying task that acquires goods and services through formal procurement processes.

• AKA: Procurement, Organizational Purchasing Task, Corporate Procurement Task.
• Context:
  • It can identify Procurement Needs through requirement analysis.
  • It can develop Request For Proposals through procurement specifications.
  • It can evaluate Supplier Bids through procurement evaluation criteria.
  • It can negotiate Procurement Contracts through vendor negotiations.
  • It can manage Purchase Orders through procurement systems.
  • ...
  • It can often follow Procurement Policys through organizational guidelines.
  • It can often utilize Competitive Bidding through procurement tenders.
  • It can often require Budget Approvals through procurement authorizations.
  • It can often involve Supply Chain Management through vendor relationships.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple Procurement Task to being a Complex Procurement Task, depending on its procurement complexity level.
  • It can range from being a Direct Procurement Task to being an Indirect Procurement Task, depending on its procurement category type.
  • It can range from being a Tactical Procurement Task to being a Strategic Procurement Task, depending on its procurement business impact.
  • It can range from being a Centralized Procurement Task to being a Decentralized Procurement Task, depending on its procurement organizational structure.
  • ...
  • It can be facilitated by Procurement Systems through procurement automation.
  • It can be measured by Total Cost of Ownership through procurement metrics.
  • It can be documented in Statement of Works through procurement documentation.
  • It can be managed by Contract Management Systems through procurement lifecycle.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Government Procurement Tasks, such as:
    • Federal Government Procurement Task for federal agency acquisition.
    • State Government Procurement Task for state agency purchase.
    • Municipal Procurement Task for city government acquisition.
  • Corporate Procurement Tasks, such as:
    • IT Procurement Task for technology asset acquisition.
    • Facilities Procurement Task for building service acquisition.
    • Raw Material Procurement Task for manufacturing input acquisition.
  • Service Procurement Tasks, such as:
    • Professional Service Procurement Task for consulting service acquisition.
    • Maintenance Service Procurement Task for facility upkeep service.
    • Software Service Procurement Task for SaaS platform acquisition.
  • Strategic Procurement Tasks, such as:
    • Capital Equipment Procurement Task for major asset acquisition.
    • Enterprise Software Procurement Task for organization-wide system acquisition.
    • Long-Term Contract Procurement Task for multi-year service agreement.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Personal Purchase Task, which involves individual buying rather than organizational procurement.
  • Emergency Purchase Task, which bypasses formal procurement processes for urgent needs.
  • Petty Cash Purchase, which uses simplified processes for low-value items.
  • Internal Transfer Task, which moves resources within an organization rather than external acquisition.
  • Donation Receipt Task, which receives goods without purchase transaction.
• See: Total Cost of Ownership, Supply Chain Management Task, Request For Proposal, Purchase Order Document, Contract Management Task, Procurement System, Vendor Management, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Buying Task.

---

---

References

2021

• (Wikipedia, 2021) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procurement Retrieved:2021-5-3.
  • Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process. Procurement generally involves making buying decisions under conditions of scarcity. If sound data is available, it is good practice to make use of economic analysis methods such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-utility analysis. Procurement as an organizational process is intended to ensure that the buyer receives goods, services, or works at the best possible price when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Corporations and public bodies often define processes intended to promote fair and open competition for their business while minimizing risks such as exposure to fraud and collusion. Almost all purchasing decisions include factors such as delivery and handling, marginal benefit, and price fluctuations. Organisations which have adopted a corporate social responsibility perspective are also likely to require their purchasing activity to take wider societal and ethical considerations into account.

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/procurement#Acquisition_process Retrieved:2016-3-28.
  • The revised acquisition process for major systems in industry and defense is shown in the next figure. The process is defined by a series of phases during which technology is defined and matured into viable concepts, which are subsequently developed and readied for production, after which the systems produced are supported in the field.

    The process allows for a given system to enter the process at any of the development phases. For example, a system using unproven technology would enter at the beginning stages of the process and

    would proceed through a lengthy period of technology maturation, while a system based on mature

    and proven technologies might enter directly into engineering development or, conceivably, even

    production. The process itself includes four phases of development:

    • Concept and Technology Development: is intended to explore alternative concepts based on assessments of operational needs, technology readiness, risk, and affordability.
    • Concept and Technology Development phase begins with concept exploration. During this stage, concept studies are undertaken to define alternative concepts and to provide information about capability and risk that would permit an objective comparison of competing concepts.
    • System Development and Demonstration phase. This phase could be entered directly as a result of a technological opportunity and urgent user need, as well as having come through concept and technology development.
    • The last, and longest phase is the Sustainable and Disposal phase of the program. During this phase all necessary activities are accomplished to maintain and sustain the system in the field in the most cost-effective manner possible.

---