What is procurement process?
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.Procurement, as a function, is an inevitable aspect of all business organizations. To operate and aid the expansion and optimization of performance, businesses obtain various goods and services from external suppliers. If organizations aim to harness the power of globalization, they need to work with the best local suppliers at the best possible price. When procurement can help an organization achieve its tactical as well as strategic goals, it is doing it right!
By periodically assessing supplier performance with regards to fulfilling an organization’s sourcing requirements, a procurement process helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of the suppliers onboard and further ideates and innovates strategies for performance improvement. An effective procurement process also enables organizations to build long-term relationships with their suppliers. Hence, by focusing on supplier relationship management, the synergies created between the two parties resulting in high propositions that provide maximum value for both the supplier and the buyer.
While purchasing is the overarching process of obtaining necessary goods and services on behalf of an organization, procurement describes the activities involved in obtaining them. The procurement process in an organization is unique to its context and operations.
The list of rules that need to be followed while reviewing, ordering, obtaining, and paying for goods/services. Checkpoints/steps increase with the complexity of the purchase.
These are stakeholders and their specific responsibility in the procurement cycle. They take care of initiating or authorizing every stage of the process. The number of stakeholders involved is directly proportional to the risk and value of the purchase.
This refers to the paperwork and documentation involved in every stage of the procurement process flow, all of which are collected and stored for reference and auditing reasons.
What are procurement jobs?
Procurement clerks, also known as purchasing assistants or departmental buyers, take purchase requests from various departments within a company and get price quotes from suppliers. Additionally, their responsibilities include contacting suppliers to schedule deliveries or to discuss shortages or missed deliveries.
Procurement clerks, also known as purchasing assistants or departmental buyers, take purchase requests from various departments within a company and get price quotes from suppliers. Additionally, their responsibilities include contacting suppliers to schedule deliveries or to discuss shortages or missed deliveries.
Procurement clerks prepare purchase orders on behalf of their companies. They also might be asked to review prices and product specifications from various suppliers to determine which would provide the best deal. Other duties might include creating and maintaining purchasing files and price lists, as well as determining if their companies have enough inventory on hand.
Additionally, procurement clerks might track deliveries and make sure their companies receive exactly what was ordered from suppliers. They sometimes physically check shipments to ensure the appropriate items were delivered. Procurement clerks also might answer supplier and customer inquiries about order changes or cancellations and check requisition orders for accuracy.
Procurement clerks must have strong reading, speaking and writing skills. They also should have good working knowledge of administrative procedures, as well as various computer applications and programs.
