Free and Premium CIPS L4M8 Dumps Questions Answers

After all the due diligence is carried out, before awarding contract to the best supplier, sometimes procurement professionals find themselves in some problem solving situation; this might have been emanated from supplier facing a financial challenge or problems from external environment. Responding to this might require an amendment or an addendum, depending on the case in hand.

An amendment is for a physical change in the existing contract for example; if a contract contains a negotiated and agreed fixed price for the period of the contract but unexpected market forces such as an economic down turn or force majeure occur, the supplier may have to request an amendment order to continue to make a profit.

An addendum is when an additional document is added to the existing contract for example, If a contract have a schedule of rates and the market forces prices up, an addendum can be added to an existing contract with a revised schedule. Once accepted, the addendum becomes part of the con-tract. Addendum are physically used when the forecasted cost of a project rises and approval is needed to increase the contract spend.

The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix shows where a product or services fits into in an organization. It is based on two areas 1) the risk of supply (Risk Impact). 2) Effect it has on profit (cost impact).

During the sourcing stage of the procurement cycle, the procurement professional needs to identify and select suppliers to fulfill the business needs. Supplier selection involves evaluating suppliers against predetermine criteria to assess their suitability in working with the buying organization. Suppliers can be evaluated according to Carter’s 10Cs which are as follows: (1) Competency (2) capacity (3) consistency (4) control (5) cost (6) commitment (7) cash (8) Clean (9) culture (10) communication.

Procurement professionals can decide to evaluate and select suppliers based on the overall strategy and the business objectives. After that, it most suitable suppliers receive the documentation (Invitation to tender/ request for quotation).

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Organizational culture is made up of behaviors, traits, values and beliefs and these differ signifi-cantly across the globe. Gestures that may be positive in one country can be highly offensive in another. This culture could mean; for example, individualistic/collectivistic, masculine/feminine, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, Time perspective, indulgence/restraint.

When negotiating and forming contracts within the extended supply chain, it is important that the culture of the suppliers is understood to be compatible with the buying organization or else their might be loss of reputation, time, money material and equipment.

Also, being not aware of what is an acceptable ethically behavior in global sourcing can cost a buying organization. In some countries, bribery and kickbacks are a standard part of doing business. If procurement professional is not aware of the fact that some countries methods of doing business involves or expect kickbacks, for example, this could be costly to the organization and cancel out any savings that had originally been seen.

Cost of poor quality and rework: if the product or service quality is poor the organization may not satisfy it customers and this can lead to a loss of reputation in the market. For example, a residential building construction company contracting a supplier that supply would require home owners to reinstall a new door within three months. The organization would spend more funds in carrying out rework.

More administrative cost in contract management: an organization will have to manage it sup-pliers and the contracts to ensure they are delivering what they were contracted to do. A poor con-tract management is a waste in the process of delivery that can lead to loss of money. Also, to cor-rect this would cost the organizations administrative cost.

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When an organization want to purchase an asset, it considers the depreciation and deterioration in the whole life of the asset and how it will be manage.

Depreciation is the reduction in value of a tangible and a fixed asset over time. The purpose of calculating the depreciation of the asset is to give the organization a fair and current view of what the asset is worth at a particular time. Depreciation is a way of converting the cost of an asset into an expense over a period of time. Depreciation is a permanent feature listed against an asset throughout its life time and it based on wear and tear, reduction in performance and reduction in value.

Deterioration is the process of something becoming lower in quality or performance. The longer the asset can last without deteriorating the better value the asset represents.

Information gathered in relation to social impact for an organization is both qualitative and quantitative.

Fullpower consult is a project/procurement training company that has gotten a measure of its social impact.

The qualitative measure of the organization is its stakeholders perception. Stakeholders knows that fullpower will do all it can to always give the best value for money.

Fullpower has the policies to give 10% of its profit share back to the community, by sponsoring free trainings for both professionals and vocational.

Addition

Qualitative and quantitative measures of social impact

Qualitative

Stakeholder perception

Reputation

Good Ethical practice

Benefit to the economy

Quantitative

20% Reduction in emission

Amount of funding donated

Amount of train courses delivered

Percentage of Resources Replaced

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Disposal of an asset is the final stage in the decommissioning process of a fixed asset.

When a fixed asset reaches the end of its useful or cost effective life time within an organization, the decision is made as to whether it should be removed from the premises or disposed off.

If the asset is truly at the end of its life, no longer fit for purpose, not cost effective to repair and is not able to be exchanged, then disposal is the only option; there are two options for disposal;

1) Take the asset to land fill site

2) Taking the asset to a recycling plant.

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Commissioning is bringing something new into working condition, e.g start running a gas plant after building it. Commissioning is one of the eight elements that form the cycle of whole life asset management. The commissioning of an asset has the following associated costs, installation, training insurance, testing, operational efficiencies/performance and quality.

RESPONSE

A purchase requisition should contain the following information

1) Date of the requisition

2) Description of what is required

3) Supplier if known

4) The quantity

5) when the need is required

6) why the need is required

7) who identified the need

8) who approved the need

9) if it’s a re-buy

Responsible and ethical sourcing promotes working with suppliers who want to have a positive effect on the environment or at least minimize the damage they cause. Suppliers can make effort to reduce their impact on the planet through reducing the pollution, taking steps to recycle or reuse products can improve on supplier’s impact on the environment, also supplier can consider sustainability as another environmental factor. Suppliers with strong values on ethics will have a programme to return anything taken from nature in the form of replanting or replacing.

Make or buy decision are about whether a products or services should be made within the organization or bought-in from an external supplier.

For a procurement professional to establish which method (make or buy) offers the best value, the item in question must be thought through if it is core to the organization and which option will add more value to the organization, as regards achieving its strategic goals. If it is core the procurement professional decide to make it and if it is not core the product or services can be bought in.

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When a fixed asset reaches the end of its life, it requires decommissioning before reconditioning or disposal.

Decommissioning is to observe all the safety measures and technical procedures and stop active machinery or an asset from operation (example; gas plant, power generator, transformer etc.

Decommissioning process include the following aspect

1) Preparation: Plan the process

2) Dismantle: Take the asset apart and remove hazardous waste

3) Processing: make safe any hazardous waste

4) Disposal: Ensure paper work is received to confirm removal and disposal

By using STEEPLE and SWOT analysis, the organization can reach out to the following strategic decision in how it will engage with its external environment, and utilize it strength to cover up for its weakness and achieve its strategic goals;

1) STEEPLE can aid an organization to come up with informed decision by understanding when is the right time to procure goods or services?

2) STEEPLE and SWOT analysis can uncover the quantity that could be most economical to ac-quire at the point in time.

3) When an organization want to decide on the currency that could be most favorable for the buy, it will analyze the countries involved and the strength of their currency and make its decisions on which currency that the supplier should be paid that will not make the organization to lose unnecessary money to exchange.

4) Should the product or services be made or bought?

5) Should the product or services be resourced?

6) Should the product or services be placed?

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Condition performance monitoring is a surveillance system that is designed to get the maximum production uptime and availability out of an asset. And this can be achieved by timely monitoring and measuring of temperature, vibration, output, speed, noise, emissions and quality. With this, decision has to be made as to what, if any, action needs to be taken. The five approaches to condition performance monitoring are as follows:

1. Do nothing: Use like a commodity. This will bring worries later.

2. Reactive: Fix it when it breaks. This will run to failure.

3. Preventive: Scheduled maintenance.

4. Predictive: Fix it before it breaks. Predict faults.

5. Proactive: Continuous improvement defect elimination.

The most cost-effective approach is ‘Proactive’, because is the only approach that has continuous improvement in the process, people and policies to minimize downtime. Being proactive takes defect out of the system and continuously harness opportunity that will optimize the system

The procurement cycle is the heart of purchasing, sourcing and supplying and should be followed in day-to-day practice in the industry. The procurement cycle has thirteen stages. Contract award is stage 9, and the stages after the contract award are;

Stage 10: ware house, logistic and receipt

Stage 11: Contract performance review and continuous improvement

Stage 12: SRM/SCM and contract management

Stage 13: Asset management, lessons learned, end of life.

A sector is an area of an industry, e.g., private, public or third sector.

A public sector is a sector of the economy that is owned, finance and run by the government. This sector is financed with tax payer’s money. And therefore owe the general public an ethical explanation towards all investment and decision.

Once the supplier that is awarded the contract has accepted, the buyer can tell the unsuccessful bidders. This usually happens through email or letter. The public sector is more likely to give feedback to unsuccessful bidders and also have to respond to any stakeholders that request information on why a supplier is not successful.

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Fullpower projects is a training firm that trains on project management and procurement. It has the following values and ethical code of practice

1) Accountability

2) selflessness

3) openness

4) integrity

5) objectives

6) Honesty

7) Leadership

Terms are the right and duties agreed which are then documented in a contract. Five types of con-tract terms that a procurement professional should create with a supplier when forming an agree-ment includes;

Price term is when the buying organization wants to protect its budged and spending, it include price terms in the contract, for the buyer to buy goods or services in response to a need they some-time enshrine a bespoke specification in the contract.

Payment Term is to specify when and how the buyer will pay the supplier. The buyer may include a payment term in the contract.

Warrantee is when the buyer requires a promise from the supplier that the product or service will meet the specified need in the contract.

Time is of the essence term is included in the contract to detail when a product or service should be delivered and explains the potential losses of business if time is not observed.

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Influencing is the capacity to be able to change behavior or opinions, either consciously or subconsciously.

As outlined by Yukl and falbets work from 1990 influencing can relate to corruption within pro-curement in these six ways.

1)A party can be assertive (forceful, directive, using deadlines),

2) Ingratiating i.e. using charm and flattery.

3) Exchange-Trading favors,

4) Upward appeal (requesting input for senior management not only that influencing can come as

5) Coalition; team members uniting for support.

5) Rational persuasion, i.e. bringing in logic and facts for clarification.

Damages are ‘sum of money that the supplier pays if it fails to carry out its contractual obligation. Damages are categorized into two types; liquidated and un-liquidated.

Liquidate Damages are fixed amount of money agreed between the parties that is payable if a contract is breached. For example, knowing that supplier not being able to install a device properly in a power transformer may destroy the device and going ahead to include a fee in the contract if the device was destroyed.

Un-liquidated damages are unfixed amount of money. It is used when the amount of money that will compensate the injured party cannot be known in advance. A court decides the amount when the damages occur. For example, knowing that supplier not being able to install a device properly in a power transformer may destroy the device, other appliances and equipment unknown, cause the buyer delay in the process and reputational damage as in customer dissatisfaction. Yet, unquantifiable as both party are unable to fix a fee in advance on the damages and leaving it to the court to decide the damage if it may occur.

When organization has made the decision about which option is best for sourcing the asset, it can then begin to work on the whole life asset management strategy.

Whole life asset management is the process of evaluating the total price and all associated costs of a product to make an informed decision as to which option will provide the organization with the best value for money. This strategy is only under taken for large-value procurements because; 1) It takes considerable time (2) It involves many stakeholders and require numerous resources; If whole life asset management were conducted on every purchase it would not create value for the organization and that may tie up valuable resources.

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When the procurement professional is setting key performance indicator (KPI) where which the supplier performance will be monitored and managed. The KPI is expected to be SMART. SMART is an acronym that is used to set KPI and specification.

S - specific ,

M - measurable,

A - achievable,

R - relevant, and

T - timebound.

The reputation of all the organizations within a supply chain is linked. A Company’s reputation is an intangible asset that can contribute to the failure of an organization if damaged. Factors that could damage organizational reputation within the supply chain are;

1. Quality: if the product or service quality is poor the organization may not satisfy it customers and this can lead to a loss of reputation in the market. For example, a residential building construction company contracting a supplier that would do a bad job which in three months may require home owners to reinstall new doors.

2. Sustainability: if the organization is not replenishing that which it is extracting, it will some day run out of business or probably loss loyal customers. For example a drilling company that spills hydrocarbon as it drills.

3. Fit for purpose: if an organization produce a product or carry out services that are not fit for purpose, it may run at loss for there will be so much rejection and rework. This can lead to customers switching to another organization which product or services are fit for their purpose.

4. Contract management: an organization will have to manage its suppliers and the contracts to ensure they are delivering what they were contracted to do. A poor contract management is a waste in the process of delivery that can lead to reputational loss.

Continuous improvement relates to removing waste from the supply chain and improving processes to increase efficiency within whole life asset management in a full power project (a flour producing firm) can benefit from continuous improvement in the following ways;

1) Reduce cost of spears by recondition parts, instead of disposing them out rightly.

2) Can reduce down time by conducting routine maintenance after hours.

3) Can reducing accident by up skilling operators on safety

4) Can reduce waste oil by following owner’s manual instead of relying on experience.

5) Create efficiencies by operating a 24/7 shift pattern.

The current ratio is one of the two was to determine organizations liquidity (how quickly its assets can be converted into cash)

A current ratio of 1 shows that the organization has enough assets to repay (cover) it liability

Buyers can be encouraged to deal with these suppliers after if they considered proven and strong in other areas.

3. Explain the elements that Lucie should include in her analysis based on whole-life asset management. (25 marks)

Whole-life asset management means evaluating the total cost and value of an asset over its full life , not just the initial purchase price. CIPS explains this as whole-life costing / total cost of ownership , covering acquisition, usage and end-of-life costs. ISO 55000 also states that asset management should consider assets over their life cycles to realise value for the organisation.

In Water Works’ case, Lucie should include the following elements in her analysis of purchasing the 200 vehicles.

1. Initial acquisition costs

Lucie should first calculate the purchase price of the vehicles. This includes not only the price of each vehicle, but also delivery charges, registration, taxes, any fit-out requirements, signage, tracking systems and initial insurance. This is important because the capital cost will be high for a fleet of 200 vehicles, so the business case must show the full upfront investment rather than just the list price. CIPS notes that whole-life costing includes purchase price and acquisition cost .

2. Operating and running costs

A major element is the cost of operating the vehicles during their working life. Lucie should estimate fuel or energy costs, servicing, maintenance, repairs, tyres, road tax and insurance. This is especially relevant because the case states that some current vehicles are several years old and running costs are increasing . Therefore, Lucie should compare the likely running costs of new vehicles with the current hired fleet to show whether ownership offers better long-term value. CIPS identifies usage cost as a core part of total cost of ownership.

3. Reliability and performance

Lucie should assess how reliable the vehicles are expected to be over time. The case already mentions several breakdowns causing operational issues on Water Works sites. Therefore, her analysis should include the likely cost of breakdowns, lost productivity, missed site visits, delays to operations and possible emergency replacement vehicles. This is important because a cheaper vehicle may not represent best value if it is unreliable and disrupts service delivery. Whole-life asset management is about the value delivered over the asset life, not only cost. ISO guidance emphasises value, risk and outcomes across the lifecycle.

4. Maintenance strategy and support arrangements

Lucie should include how the vehicles will be maintained once purchased. For example, she should assess whether servicing will be outsourced, managed through manufacturer warranties, or supported by local garages across the ten regional offices. She should also consider the availability of spare parts and support response times. This matters because purchasing the fleet transfers more responsibility for asset upkeep to Water Works compared with hiring.

5. Asset life and replacement cycle

Another important element is the expected useful life of the vehicles. Lucie should estimate how long the vehicles will remain economically and operationally effective before replacement is needed. This should include mileage, intensity of use, operating conditions and likely deterioration. Since Water Works operates across ten regional offices, some vehicles may experience heavier use than others. A whole-life analysis should therefore include assumptions on replacement timing and fleet renewal planning.

6. Residual value and disposal value

Lucie should include the likely residual value of the vehicles at the end of their useful life. If Water Works owns the vehicles, they may be sold, traded in or auctioned. This means the organisation may recover some value at the end of the asset life. She should also include any disposal costs, such as decommissioning, collection, administration or environmentally compliant disposal. CIPS notes that whole-life costing includes end-of-life cost .

7. Financing and cost of capital

Although capital funds are available, Lucie should still consider the financial impact of tying up funds in vehicle ownership. The analysis should show whether using capital for vehicles represents best value compared with other strategic uses of funds. She may also include depreciation and the effect on budgets over time. This is important because purchasing assets creates a different financial commitment from hiring them.

8. Specification and fitness for purpose

Lucie should review whether the chosen vehicles meet operational needs. This includes vehicle size, load capacity, durability, fuel efficiency, suitability for site conditions and any specialist requirements for water service operations. A whole-life approach requires the asset to be fit for purpose, because a poor specification can increase maintenance costs and reduce operational value later in the lifecycle.

9. Risk analysis

Lucie should include risks associated with ownership. These may include unexpected repair costs, changes in fuel prices, asset obsolescence, poor resale values, non-availability of parts and the risk that operational needs change during the asset life. She should compare these ownership risks with the risks under hiring arrangements. ISO 55000 highlights that asset management should consider risks and opportunities throughout the lifecycle .

10. Sustainability and regulatory factors

As a regulated public authority, Water Works should also consider environmental and regulatory issues. Lucie’s analysis should include emissions, fuel efficiency, possible transition to lower-emission vehicles, compliance requirements and disposal obligations. This is relevant because public sector organisations are expected to consider long-term environmental impact as well as cost.

11. Whole-life comparison against hiring

Finally, Lucie should compare the total whole-life cost of buying against the alternatives of extending the current hire contract or re-tendering for hired vehicles . This comparison should include all acquisition, usage, maintenance and end-of-life costs, as well as service reliability and operational value. CIPS describes whole-life costing as an end-to-end cost estimate to support procurement decisions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Lucie’s whole-life asset management analysis should not focus only on the purchase price of the vehicles. It should include acquisition costs, operating costs, maintenance, reliability, useful life, replacement cycle, residual value, disposal costs, finance implications, specification, risk and sustainability considerations . By analysing all these elements, Lucie can show whether purchasing the fleet gives Water Works better long-term value than continuing to hire vehicles. This is the main purpose of whole-life asset management.

During the sourcing stage of the procurement cycle, the procurement professional needs to identify and select suppliers to fulfill the business needs. Supplier selection involves evaluating suppliers against predetermine criteria to assess their suitability in working with the buying organization. Suppliers can be evaluated according to Carter’s 10Cs which are as follows: (1) Competency (2) capacity (3) consistency (4) control (5) cost (6) commitment (7) cash (8) Clean (9) culture (10) communication.

Procurement professionals can decide to evaluate and select suppliers based on the overall strategy and the business objectives. After that, it most suitable suppliers receive the documentation (Invitation to tender/ request for quotation).

A current ratio of 1 shows that the organization has enough assets to repay (cover) it liability

Buyers can be encouraged to deal with these suppliers after if they considered proven and strong in other areas.

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Organizations which display good behavior create a positive social impact. The community in which they are based and to which they supply will benefit from the following.

1. High employment

2. Fair wages

3. low pollution

4. sustainable resources

5. Engagement and movement with local organization

Retention of title (ROT) states when ownership transfers from supplier to buyer.

The retention of title terms also referred to as the Romalpa clause, which is related to a legal case from 1976 between Aluminum industries Vaassen BV and Romalpa Aluminum LTD

The social impact of an organization is formed by various behaviors. If an organization; behavior is poor this will create social impact which is likely to be reflected in the business performance. Organizations which display poor behavior face outcomes such as the following.

1. Reduce brand loyalty

2. Difficulty in recruiting

3. Negative media coverage

4. Reduced sales/profit

5. reputation damage

An offer is created when one party communicates to another or to multiple parties that they wish to enter into a legal binding agreement in accordance with the terms stated, for example; a company in promotion advertising for buyers to buy one and get one free, an offer is a buying organization communicating to a supplier to supply X number of goods and be paid x amount upon delivery at company premises, an offer is when a football club proposes to pay X amount to a player if agrees to play for them for a month. An offer can be legally banded if accepted, whereas invitation to treat does not. An invitation to treat is just an invitation from one party to another to begin negotiations with the intention of creating an offer. If an offer is made without stating terms, this becomes an invitation to treat, for example, an invitation to treat is when a pharmacy displays a drug in its shelf. An invitation to treat can be linked to a request a buyer send to suppliers asking them for specific information.

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Name of company: Full power projects

Business: Project management training and consultancy

If an organization is sourcing an asset that is readily available or mass produced then the cost associated with the design and manufacturing will be lower percentage of the total cost than if an organization commissions a bespoke piece of equipment to be designed and manufactured.

The following are a list of assets owned by fullpower projects.

Standard/off the shelf (Mass produced)

Projector from a shop-displayed files and document jackets from market

Desks and furniture

Bespoke/specialist - white board and marker

With extra, e.g. made with company color

Gift/ sovereign (bags and T. shirt) with coup any label, color and design

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3.3 Analyse FIVE whole-life costs that SigmaCo should consider when sourcing globally. (25 marks)

Whole-life costing means looking at the total cost of an item over its full life , rather than only the initial purchase price. CIPS defines total cost of ownership as an estimate of the end-to-end cost of providing a service or manufacturing a product, including purchase price, acquisition cost, usage cost and end-of-life cost . This is important for SigmaCo because global suppliers may offer lower unit prices, but the total cost may be much higher once all other costs are included.

1. Acquisition and logistics costs

The first whole-life cost SigmaCo should consider is the cost of getting the materials and equipment from overseas suppliers to its factory. This includes freight, shipping, insurance, port handling, customs clearance, import duties and inland transport. These costs can be significant in global sourcing and may reduce or even remove the apparent savings from lower supplier prices. In analysis, a cheap overseas unit price may not represent better value if transport and import costs are high or volatile. Since direct materials account for 65% of SigmaCo’s overall spend, these additional landed costs are very important. Whole-life costing specifically includes acquisition costs, not just the purchase price.

2. Inventory and lead-time costs

A second cost is the effect of longer international lead times on inventory. If SigmaCo sources globally, it may need to hold more safety stock to protect production against shipping delays, customs problems or supply disruption. This creates costs such as warehousing, stock handling, insurance, working capital tied up in inventory and possible obsolescence. This is especially relevant in a price-sensitive toy market, where demand patterns may change quickly. Therefore, global sourcing may lower the price per unit but increase the total cost of holding stock. Whole-life cost analysis should capture these ongoing usage-related costs.

3. Quality failure and non-conformance costs

The third cost is the potential cost of poor quality. SigmaCo’s brand is built partly on quality, so if globally sourced materials or equipment fail to meet specification, the business could face inspection costs, rework, scrap, production downtime, customer complaints or product returns. This is an important whole-life cost because a lower-priced supplier may create higher downstream costs if quality standards are inconsistent. In analysis, SigmaCo should not compare suppliers only on purchase price, but also on the total cost of defects and the impact on brand reputation. CIPS notes that total cost of ownership includes non-value-adding processes such as scrap and rework.

4. Supplier management, compliance and risk costs

A fourth whole-life cost is the cost of managing overseas suppliers. Global sourcing often requires more supplier evaluation, relationship management, audits, communication, travel, contract administration and risk monitoring. There may also be compliance costs linked to product safety, ethical sourcing, trade rules or due diligence requirements, depending on the source country and material. These costs are often hidden, but they are real and can be substantial when moving from local to international supply markets. In analysis, global sourcing may therefore increase procurement overhead and risk-management costs even when prices appear attractive. CIPS and wider public procurement guidance both stress that whole-life cost should include implementation and delivery risks, not simply the quoted price.

5. End-of-life and disposal costs

The fifth whole-life cost is the cost associated with the end of the item’s life. For direct materials, this may include waste, disposal, recycling or handling of unusable stock. For equipment, it may include decommissioning, replacement, disposal, recycling and environmental compliance costs. These costs matter because equipment bought cheaply from overseas could be more expensive to maintain, replace or dispose of later. CIPS states that end-of-life cost is one of the core categories of total cost of ownership, and procurement guidance also says buyers should consider removal and disposal when evaluating bids.

Conclusion

In conclusion, SigmaCo should not base its decision only on the lower unit prices offered by global suppliers. It should analyse at least five major whole-life costs: acquisition and logistics costs, inventory and lead-time costs, quality failure costs, supplier management and risk costs, and end-of-life costs . By doing this, SigmaCo will be able to judge whether global sourcing genuinely reduces total cost while still protecting quality and brand value.

The purpose of the tendering process is to invite potential suppliers to bid to supply a product or service to the buying organization. Then buying organization select suitable suppliers, award con-tract and manage. The process is selected mostly when the need is a large or complex project or the law mandates it or it is in the company’s policies to do so. The stages of the tendering process includes;

Stage 1: decide which style of tender to use. There are four types of tendering used within pro-curement and this include; 1) open 2) Restricted 3) Negotiated 4) Competitive Dialogue

Stage 2: Prepare invitation to tender (ITT): this stage is to prepare the document that will be made available to potential supplier. It should contain everything potential bidders will need to know to fully understand the need and to prepare and send a suitable RESPONSE it may likely in-clude; open letter, company details, overview of a project, evaluation criteria, submission date and so on.

Stage 3: send ITT: With fairness, transparency and equality, buyer will provide the documents to all potential suppliers at the same time and also provide exactly the same information/documents to all suppliers. If after receiving the ITT and some suppliers seek clarifications on anything in the documentation, buyers must give same response to identical questions to keep the process transparent and fair. Also, the response to each query to all bidders in the process.

Failure to this may result in bidders who feel disadvantaged or discriminated in any form to submit a legal challenge. Supplier submitting a Legal challenge may cause delay in the process and eventually increase administrative cost for the buyer.

Stage 4: Buying organization receives responses to the Invitation to tender from suppliers (bids). Suppliers must adhere to the bid submission dead line included in the invitation to tender document. Any bid that arrives after the deadline must be left out of the process, or else this may result to other suppliers legally challenging the process.

Stage 5: Evaluate bid. The buying organization can now evaluate the bids based on the criteria in the ITT document. It is always thorough that cross-functional team evaluates the bids to guarantee complete fairness and ensure that the chosen bid is fit for purpose. In evaluating the bids, the cross-functional team will consider the bids in the following areas; supplier organization, ethics, price, sustainability, quality, payment, disposal, service level, location, warranty and risk.

Stage 6: Award contract and give feedback hence the buying organization wards the contract to the winning supplier. This can take place by a formal communication like a letter or an e-mail.

Stage 7: Contract management. Contracts must be evaluated against the criteria in the invitation to tender.

The reasons why these stages must be followed includes;

1. Knowing the right TYPE of tender to use, reduces administration cost, for example, deciding to do restricted tendering to reduce the interest that are going to be sent in have already cut down on administrative cost.

2. The supplier can know what exactly the buyer’s intentions are by developing description and the required specification.

3. To ensure that objectives of resorting to use the tendering style and the tendering process is achieved

4. To ensure that the organization generates added value by going through the stages.

5. To ensure that there are none unethical issues like fraud, bribes etc are not part of the system.

6. To ensure that the tendering process becomes transparent to all suppliers. These stages must be followed for transparency and fairness. Just like in stage 3: buyer send out the ITT to potential suppliers at the same time and providing them same information. Failure to this and bidders who feel disadvantaged or discriminated in any form may submit a legal challenge. Supplier submitting a Legal challenge may cause delay in the process and eventually increase administrative cost for the buyer.

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When a contract has been awarded, either is to meet tangible needs or intangible needs, contractors or suppliers should be managed to ensure that they are meeting up with fulfilling their contractual agreement. To establish this, there are methods of managing contracts and suppliers.

Service level agreement (SLA) clauses: is placed in contract to ensures that supplier meets the expected and agreed level of service

Key performance indicator (KPI): are used to manage contracts that fulfill tangible needs, the KPIs are set performance thresholds that are used to monitor supplier’s performance.

Management by objectives (MBO): is the process of defining objective that are strategic to the organization relating them to the vision and mission and communicating them to the supplier through the contract and ensuring that this objective is met during contract performance.

Reviews: Regular supplier reviews are good practices, for it gives the buyer opportunity to give feedback on performance.

Continuous Improvement: Contracts and suppliers can be monitored through how they are chang-ing for better incrementally as they are fulfilling the schedule. There must be a set down system to timely improve on the process, people and continuously reduce waste.

Training: It is essential that training, are provided to come up on areas supplier is lacking.

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2(a) Describe a supplier evaluation approach that HFS could use to select a bidder using the table provided, including a proposal for an appropriate weighting method for scoring the bidders. (10 marks)

HFS should use a weighted scoring supplier evaluation approach . This method is suitable because there are several award criteria, not just price, and HFS has already experienced poor cleaning quality under the previous contract. Therefore, HFS should assess both cost and quality-related factors before selecting the successful bidder.

A sensible approach would be:

Step 1: Set evaluation criteria

Using the tender table, HFS can evaluate bidders against:

bid price

ISO 9000 certification

Investors in People (IIP) certification

labour standards criterion linked to ILO requirements

ISO 14000 certification.

ISO says the ISO 9000 family supports quality management and consistent delivery, while ISO 14001 is the recognised framework for environmental management. Investors in People is an externally recognised accreditation for people management.

Step 2: Apply weightings

Because HFS was not satisfied with the quality of the previous cleaning service, quality and service assurance should carry more weight than price alone. A suitable weighting could be:

Price = 40%

ISO 9000 = 25%

IIP = 15%

ILO criterion = 10%

ISO 14000 = 10%

This totals 100%. The reason for this weighting is that price is important, but service quality should be prioritised for a five-year contract. ISO 9001 is especially relevant because it is the best-known quality management standard and is intended to support consistent products and services. ISO 14001 is also relevant because it gives assurance on environmental management.

Step 3: Score the bidders

For price , HFS could award the full 40 marks to the lowest bid and score the others proportionately using the formula:

Lowest bid ÷ bidder’s price × price weighting

Using €120,000 as the lowest bid:

A = 120,000 / 120,000 × 40 = 40.00

B = 120,000 / 135,000 × 40 = 35.56

C = 120,000 / 132,000 × 40 = 36.36

D = 120,000 / 142,000 × 40 = 33.80

For the certification criteria, a simple method would be:

Yes = full marks

No = zero

So the total weighted scores would be:

A = 40 + 0 + 15 + 0 + 0 = 55.00

B = 35.56 + 0 + 15 + 10 + 0 = 60.56

C = 36.36 + 25 + 15 + 10 + 10 = 96.36

D = 33.80 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 33.80

Overall, this weighted evaluation method is appropriate because it gives HFS a transparent and objective way to compare bids while reflecting the importance of service quality, people management and environmental standards, not just lowest price.

2(b) Recommend and justify which ONE of the bidders should be awarded the contract and why each of the three other bids should be rejected. (15 marks)

Based on the weighted scoring analysis, CleenKwik (C) should be awarded the contract.

Recommended bidder: CleenKwik (C)

CleenKwik should be selected because it offers the best overall value rather than just the lowest price. Its bid of €132,000 is only slightly above the lowest bid, but it is the only bidder with all four listed accreditations or compliance indicators in the table: ISO 9000, IIP, ILO criterion and ISO 14000 . This is important because HFS has already had poor service quality from the previous contractor, so quality assurance should be a major factor in the decision. ISO 9001 is specifically designed to support consistent service quality, while ISO 14001 supports structured environmental management. Investors in People also gives assurance on workforce management, which is relevant in a labour-intensive cleaning contract.

CleenKwik therefore represents the strongest balance between price, quality, staff management and environmental responsibility . For a five-year service contract, that makes it the most suitable choice.

Why Associated Cleaning (A) should be rejected

Associated Cleaning has the lowest price at €120,000 , but it only has IIP certification and lacks the other three criteria. This means it gives weaker assurance on quality systems, labour standards and environmental management. Since HFS’s main problem in the last contract was poor cleaning quality, selecting the cheapest bidder without strong quality evidence would be risky. Therefore, A should be rejected because the low price does not compensate for the lack of broader service assurance.

Why Bright’N’Clean (B) should be rejected

Bright’N’Clean is a stronger bid than A because it has IIP and the ILO-related criterion , but it still lacks ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 . This is significant because ISO 9001 is the strongest direct indicator in the table for quality management, and HFS is specifically trying to avoid another poor-quality contract. B is also more expensive than both A and C. Therefore, B should be rejected because it offers less assurance than C while not being the cheapest option.

Why Doubleshine (D) should be rejected

Doubleshine should be rejected because it is the highest-priced bid at €142,000 and has none of the listed certifications or indicators. This means HFS would be paying the highest price for the weakest quality and compliance evidence. There is no justification for awarding the contract to D when it scores lowest on overall value.

Conclusion

In conclusion, CleenKwik (C) should be awarded the contract because it achieves the highest weighted score and provides the strongest evidence of quality, people management, labour-related assurance and environmental management. The other three bids should be rejected because they either provide insufficient quality assurance, poorer overall value, or both. This recommendation is justified because HFS needs to improve service quality, not simply reduce cost.

At the early stages In procurement and supply cycle, buyers begin segmenting current supplies in the categories, depending on their level of integration into the organization. To help get this done, the buyer may use the Kraljic portfolio matrix. The kraljic portfolio matrix segment suppliers into four categories, which are;

1) Routine 2) Bottleneck 3) Leverage 4)strategic supplier

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Modern slavery is against ethical and responsible sourcing. Modern slavery is one of the areas to understudy for procurement professionals to carry out ethical and responsible sourcing and this is recognized in five ways.

1. Human trafficking: The process of seeking, recruiting, transporting and exploiting individuals to work against their will. Often human trafficking includes violence, deception, and coercion.

2. Bonded labour (debt bondage): This is an individual’s promise to provide service through ex-ploitation as repayment, or part thereof, of a dept or other obligation.

3. Forced labour: Work that people are forced to do with the treat of punishment if it is not carried out.

4. Children labour: The exploitative and illegal employment of children.

5. Domestic slavery: Individuals exploited through working in private households for little or no money in return for living accommodation

Specification is a detailed description of what is required or needed. Due to certain reasons, needs sometimes increase in importance or lose their essence, therefore speci-fications need to adapt and develop to reflect the changing requirements of the con-sumer and also to comply with regulations and legislatures as this are amended.

Standard, regulations and legislation are continually evolving and new updated versions of existing guideline, as well as completely new initiatives one being released.

When the procurement professional is setting key performance indicator (KPI) where which the supplier performance will be monitored and managed. The KPI is expected to be SMART. SMART is an acronym that is used to set KPI and specification.

S - specific ,

M - measurable,

A - achievable,

R - relevant, and

T - timebound.

A cross-function Team is the involvement of all departments that are in an organization to contribute knowledge, skills and innovation towards adding value to achieving the organization’s strategic goal. Example, procurement, maintenance, marketing, finance, human resources working together in procurement activity to come up with the best strategy or selecting the supplier that best suit the organization.

When working in a cross-functional team, members of the organization give support by believing in the end goal, assist during difficult time, help troubleshoot any issue, providing the required resources and sharing information

A code of ethics is a set of morals and principle set out by an organization to state what it deems to be acceptable conduct and behavior

An ethical code of practice is a continually changing and developing document with society changing and different suppliers coming to market, the document has to remain current

Suppliers should continually monitor their codes of ethics to ensure that;

1. They are looking after the interest of the supply chain

2. That potential customers can be reassured that they are conforming to the required regulation, e.g. ISO 14001.

Ethical code of conduct should be constantly monitored and updated in accordance with the changes organization faces. This include 1) Define (2) prevent (3) detect (4) reprove (5) evaluate.

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The procurement cycle is the heart of purchasing, sourcing and supplying and should be followed in day-to-day practice in the industry. The procurement cycle has thirteen stages. Contract award is stage 9, and the stages after the contract award are;

Stage 10: ware house, logistic and receipt

Stage 11: Contract performance review and continuous improvement

Stage 12: SRM/SCM and contract management

Stage 13: Asset management, lessons learned, end of life.

14001 set out as international standards for an environmental management system.

The reputation of all the organizations within a supply chain is linked. A Company’s reputation is an intangible asset that can contribute to the failure of an organization if damaged. Factors that could damage organizational reputation within the supply chain are;

1. Quality: if the product or service quality is poor the organization may not satisfy it customers and this can lead to a loss of reputation in the market. For example, a residential building construction company contracting a supplier that would do a bad job which in three months may require home owners to reinstall new doors.

2. Sustainability: if the organization is not replenishing that which it is extracting, it will some day run out of business or probably loss loyal customers. For example a drilling company that spills hydrocarbon as it drills.

3. Fit for purpose: if an organization produce a product or carry out services that are not fit for purpose, it may run at loss for there will be so much rejection and rework. This can lead to customers switching to another organization which product or services are fit for their purpose.

4. Contract management: an organization will have to manage its suppliers and the contracts to ensure they are delivering what they were contracted to do. A poor contract management is a waste in the process of delivery that can lead to reputational loss.

The abuse of power within the supply chain can be linked to corruption. If individuals with seniority favor one supplier over another, they can exercise their power to award the contract to whoever they wish. According to CIPS code of conduct, this is not ac-ceptable.

According to French and Raven, there are five types of power (Legitimate power, Re-ward, Expert, Referent and Coercive), and these powers can most likely be used in corruption.

The public sector uses tenders a lot more in the working environment than private sector.

When reviewing supplier’s response the procurement professional should consider the right quantity of product or service that has to be ordered at anytime as against the price to decide how to gain the best cost.

Factors to consider include the following

(1)Cost of inventory

(2) cost of insurance

(3) cost of transportation.

These three should be considered against price.

Note: Incoterms are versatile and procurement professionals should understand how they are ap-plied and what point the risk transfers from being the supplier’s responsibility to being the buyer’s responsibility. It is important to consult the ICC for the most recent definitions, but in the following questions (101-111) you can understand the rules.

Note: sharpen your knowledge on INCOTERMS. Please consider the following Objective Re-sponse questions

A purchase requisition should contain the following information

1) Date of the requisition

2) Description of what is required

3) Supplier if known

4) The quantity

5) when the need is required

6) why the need is required

7) who identified the need

8) who approved the need

9) if it’s a re-buy

Terms are the right and duties agreed between parties which are then documented in contract. Terms can be implied or expressed.

Implied terms are always present in a contract and are set by national laws; implied terms do not have to be written or verbally agreed : they always exist, for example sales of Gods Act, good being fit for purpose, Negligence, confidence, whereas expressed terms are negotiated and agreed rather than being automatically included, express terms are agreed between, parties negotiating the contract. For example; payment terms, specification, delivery detail and quantities

Fullpower projects is a training firm that trains on project management and procurement. It has the following values and ethical code of practice

1) Accountability

2) selflessness

3) openness

4) integrity

5) objectives

6) Honesty

7) Leadership

A new buy is the purchase of goods and services by an organization or an individual for its first time. For example a transport organization for the very first time contracting the purchase of a Lorry out to an external supplier. In situations like this, it is advisable to start the procurement cycle from the very first stage. Which is understanding the need and developing high level specification.

Modified re-buy is the purchase of goods or services that an organization has bought before there was a need but with changes to the specification or supplier or quantity or quality. In carrying out modified re-buy, procurement professional should start from the very first stage of the procurement cycle to justify the added need and follow through. Not in all cases that buyer would have to start from understanding the need. In a situation where the changes required is a change of supplier, the organization will start from its preferred suppliers list and contract the next ranking supplier as the case may be.

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When evaluating offers, it is important to remember that the best price may not be the lowest. To ascertain that; the total cost of Acquisition TCA (the cost a buyer bears for placing orders and re-ceiving a product from a supplier) should be uncovered and compare against offers received. Things to consider that might make up the total cost of acquisition are;

1) logistics and handling costs

2) Cost of requisition

3) Rework

4) stock cost

5) Delay

6) Inspection

7) customer services

8) consumables

9) Training & support

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Tuckman’s team development model depicts from where a team is formed to the various stages they might experience before the end where the objective is achieved and these includes.

1) Forming: here they are just being put together

2) Storming: conflict and competition begin to arise

3) Norming: here agreement and consensus is reached as roles and responsibility is clear.

4) Perform: They start carrying out the roles and responsibility

5) Adjourning: Task is complete and they are discharged

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A code of ethics is a set of morals and principle set out by an organization to state what it deems to be acceptable conduct and behavior

An ethical code of practice is a continually changing and developing document with society changing and different suppliers coming to market, the document has to remain current

Suppliers should continually monitor their codes of ethics to ensure that;

1. They are looking after the interest of the supply chain

2. That potential customers can be reassured that they are conforming to the required regulation, e.g. ISO 14001.

Ethical code of conduct should be constantly monitored and updated in accordance with the changes organization faces. This include 1) Define (2) prevent (3) detect (4) reprove (5) evaluate.

Assets are things that an organization owns regarded as having value and available to meet debt and generate revenue. The following are list of assets owned by Fullpower project, a shoe manufacturing firm;

1) Machinery,

2) a factory,

3) an innovative software,

4) skills of its personnel,

5) land,

6) Distribution network.

7) Its long time relationship with experienced suppliers of raw materials and Distributors of finished shoes.

Trying to measure how sustainable an organization was use to be challenging undertaking. However, during the 1990s, a concept brought up by American John Elkington change the way sustainability was measured. This framework is known as the triple bottom line (TBL) and measures sustainability in relation to organizational performance and investment against the 3Ps (1) Profits (2) People (3) Planet. For example;

Profit: A packaging manufacturer reinvesting its profits in State- of-the-art recycling machinery for it wasted cardboard.

People: A large privately owned call centre donate its end of life computers to a local youth clubs and social groups to help gain internet cases.

Planet: A driving instructors using only hybrid vehicles to teach her learners, thus to reducing Co2 emission.

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