Procurement Plan For Algonquin College

Discuss about the Procurement Plan for Algonquin College.

Algonquin College one year strategic plan sets the institution's mission, value, and vision. Primarily, the procurement plan aims at ensuring that the required number of vehicles is supplied at the right time, place, cost, and quality.  Algonquin College is a complex institution left with the responsibility for procurement endeavors devoted to departments or business units, schools, and faculties. The procurement manager and contract administrators in Algonquin College are responsible for supporting purchasing activities.

A select team has been identified to conduct a thorough market analysis. It is has been proposed that the team members to carry out the market analysis should undergo suitable training to perfect on their skills and aptitude. Undertaking training before the actual market analysis exercise will guarantee the college splendid marketing research results (Abramson, & Harris, 2003).            

The procurement team aims at comprehending how the supply market functions as well as understanding the direction in which the market is heading. Besides, the institution wants to figure out the level of competition and the leading suppliers within the vehicle market. Furthermore, it is vital for Algonquin College to discover whether there are innovations of vehicles and how they are being sold. In the actual process of conducting the market analysis, the responsible team will also purpose to collect various intricacies regarding the vehicle market. Apart from studying on how supply markets works, they will as well consider comprehending how the goods are typically sold. In addition, the marketing specialists will attempt to figure out the best pricing model for this type of market and whether the dealers are selling or leasing out their goods or concentrating entirely on providing transportation services.

Moreover, according to the procurement top executives in Algonquin College, it is critical for them to know whether there is a disparity between how the vehicles are purchased at the consumer level as opposed to the enterprise level.  As a result, the market analysts will aim at realizing the existence of such a difference to help the managers in making their purchasing decisions. Another primary objective of the marketing specialists will be to acquire a rough estimate of who the leading suppliers are as well as the number of other key players in the vehicles market. Besides, they will purpose to comprehend the possibility of monopolistic behaviors taking place in the market of interest. A thorough market analysis will enable the procurement team to understand the most opportune time to procure goods and also figure out whether the market is susceptible to seasonality.

Objectives

The Procurement and contract administrator in conjunction with the market analysts will consult existing dealers of vehicles in the market to advise them on how supply market operates. Ideally, just like any other market, vehicle market adheres to the law of demand and supply. The interaction of the suppliers and the procurers in the market assist the former in determining the prevailing price, thus distributing limited goods efficiently. The sellers take the prices offered into consideration when deciding how many vehicles to manufacture. The law of demand provides that the higher the price of a given commodity, the higher the quantity supplied.

Besides, market forecasters will be identified to explain to the team members on the direction in which the vehicle market is going. Based on the prevailing economic conditions in this locality, it appears that there might be no significant changes in the future of the vehicle market, substantial enough to affect the purchasing operations of Algonquin College.  

In the attempt to understand the competitiveness and the primary suppliers found within the market of interest, the responsible procurement personnel will identify the competitors, competition levels, their strengths, and weaknesses. Understanding competitiveness in the supply market assists procurement planning and continuing management of supply preparations. For instance, in a classic vehicle market, there is a high degree of competition which will certainly create more options for Algonquin College.  Identification of competitors is critical to the institution since it reduces risk, expenses, and other unnecessary resources which might be required (McCue, & Johnson, 2010).

Further, the contract managers will examine the history of the market to figure out whether there are vehicle brands innovations or not and if there how they being sold. Recently, public procurement is being viewed as having significant ability to drive innovation in the market. In spite of this interest, various hindrances hinder the public sector from bringing in new brands in the market. The primary barrier to innovation in this type of a market is poor interactions between the buyers and the suppliers. As a result, in this vehicle market the analysts will realize that there are few or no innovations and if there, their prices will be higher comparatively due to their scarcity.

Ordinarily, goods in a vehicle market are sold on cash on delivery basis. The term “cash” in this case is replaceable with the word “collect” to include other modes of payments such as smart cards or checks. Various motives might incentivize Algonquin College to use Comparison of Competitive Bids as their price analysis technique. This is achieved by asking at least three suppliers of the same product of their prices hence enabling the institution to determine the validity of the prices for vehicles. Moreover, understanding the terms of service of the vehicle dealers in the market is critical. For example, the chances are that Algonquin College is need of vehicles to provide transportation services within the institution and not for sale. As a result, the managers might consider leasing out instead of buying in case the former decision is cost-effective. In connection to this, comprehending the disparity in prices between enterprise and customer purchases is important since it helps the procurement executives in making further decisions. However, it is a common trend for purchases at a consumer level to be relatively higher than in the enterprise level.

Statement of Action

A vehicle market is composed of several players such as the manufacturers, suppliers, buyers, legislators among others. It is important for Algonquin College procurement team to figure out the number of players in the targeted market to act as an enabler in knowing other intricacies such as levels of competition, the possibility of monopolistic behaviors, the best time to place bids and whether the market is subject to seasonality. Thorough knowledge of such critical details will enable the procurement team to make well-informed acquisition decisions

It is necessary for the procurement managers and contract administrators to engage the targeted industry on the procurement plan of Algonquin College. Market engagement allows the procurement team to communicate their requirements to the suppliers as well as discussing the best course of action (Mosey & Wiley InterScience (Online service), 2009). Moreover, the engagement will help the management to change and improve the procurement strategy.

In the pre-procurement engagement process, the team will focus on implementing a suitable method to engage the suppliers in their plan successfully. Besides, the engagement strategy is meant to take into consideration the industry dynamics and factors spotted in the first stage of market analysis. Algonquin College needs to acquire a sound knowledge of the composition, size and nature of the vehicle market they are aiming at depending on for supplies. 

Algonquin College procurement team will design an engagement plan suitable for this exercise. The acquisition team members will meet with the vehicle industry bodies to engage them on its annual procurement strategy.  During this process, the team will seek for solutions to the dynamics identified in the marketing analysis phase. The institution representatives will issue a Request for Information intending the dealers to provide information on market trends such as levels of competition, a presence of innovations and the perceived direction of the vehicle market (In Edquist, In Vonortas, In Zabala-Iturriagagoitia & In Edler, 2016).

The procurement and contract managers in Algonquin College have the sole responsibility of initiating an administration approach to ensure sustainability of the acquisition program for one year period.  Besides, proper methods of procurement and methodologies are vital for the success of this exercise (In Cruz-Cunha, In Moreira, & In Varajao, 2014). At this juncture also the procurement team is supposed to discuss on how re-occurring findings, continuing deliveries, and new vehicle requests will be managed.

Algonquin College procurement team purposes to establish a suitable management approach to manage the procurement process of vehicles for a period of one year. In addition, the contractors and managers focus on coming up with splendid acquisition techniques as well as evaluation methodology to track the progress of the exercise.  At this point also procurement administrators in the institution are obliged to establish the most suitable criteria to be used in procuring vehicles in the industry. Moreover, Algonquin College intends to propose how re-occurring procurements, continuous supplies and new entreaties for more vehicles will be managed. 

Engagement strategy

The procurement administrators and contractors will issue a procurement management framework that will act as an enabler allowing the select team and the managers to manage their dealings in the market in a consistent manner. Besides, the responsible personnel will implement the framework and launch it in a supported system through a workshop.  Further, in conjunction with the business units in Algonquin College, the managers and procurement contractors will establish online procurement strategies to monitor the progress of the exercise with ease (Dominick, & Lunney, 2012). The criteria for acquisition of vehicles will follow two fundamentals. First, a select team will do research, budget and describe the kind and quality of vehicles that best suit their demand. After defining the most suitable vehicle needed, the institution will take a look at the available goods in the market before the actual purchase. Moreover, the procurement managers will establish a training and improvement programme that will enable the stakeholders to manage re-occurring findings, ongoing supplies and new requests for vehicles.           

Procurement process just like any other typical business activity is vulnerable to risks. There exist some perils in defining requirement and planning supplies as well as deciding on the proper procurement methodologies (Russill, 2010). Procurement administration is therefore obliged to implement proper methodologies towards solving problems and mitigating risks.

Algonquin College is focusing on identifying the potential hazards bound to deter the procurement progression as well as the administration procedure. Besides, the institution intends to determine the subsections of the process more prone to risks and which once the peril occurs can lead to substantial losses. The other objective of the college is to establish effective approaches to curbing risks occurrences and reducing their impact if they happen to take place.

The procurement management team in conjunction with the contract administrators will select a risk management team and train the associates to equip them with the necessary aptitudes to identify risks, their sources either internal or external and initiate procedures to mitigate them. The selected team will be left with the responsibility to estimate the prospective impact of the risk in case it occurs. In collaboration with the risk assessment and mitigation team, the procurement managers will apply risk assessment matrix tool which will allow them to view the probable risks evaluation in terms of probability of its occurrence and severity of the repercussions (Olson, & Wu, 2010).

Currently, incorporation of social and environmental concerns in the procurement plan has become a legal requirement (Arrowsmith,  Linarelli, & Wallace, 2000).The inclusion of such issues in the acquisition agenda in an appropriate manner is important since they can be legitimately be integrated into contracts and as a result assist in furthering an institution’s procurement policies.  Therefore it is vital for Algonquin College to incorporate social and environmental concerns in their procurement strategy. 

The institution seeks to enhance the value proposition by the incorporation of social-economic and environmental considerations into the procurement strategy. Besides, the procurement administrators intend to mention social-economic issues they want to incorporate in the agenda in the contract notice and tender documents.  

Algonquin College will place the inclusion of social-economic and environmental factors at the forefront of the procurement strategy. This practice will aid a lot in improving the value proportion of the institution since it will directly benefit the local economy in a substantial sense upon the implementation of the procurement strategy. Some of the factors the supply management team will include in the contract notice and tender documents include economic climate, government policy among other environmental outlines (Great Britain & Great Britain, 2009).

References

Abramson, M. A., & Harris, R. S. (2003). The procurement revolution. Lanham [md.: Rowman & Littlefield.

Arrowsmith, S. L., Linarelli, J., & Wallace, D. (2000). Regulating public procurement: National and international perspectives. The Hague [u.a: Kluwer Law International.

Dominick, C., & Lunney, S. (2012). The procurement game plan. Boca Raton, Fla: J. Ross.

Great Britain., & Great Britain. (2009). Greening government: Sixth report of session 2008-09 : report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. London: Stationery Office.

In Cruz-Cunha, M. M., In Moreira, F., & In Varajao, J. (2014). Handbook of research on enterprise 2.0: Technological, social, and organizational dimensions.

In Edquist, C., In Vonortas, N. S., In Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, J. M., & In Edler, J. (2016). Public procurement for innovation.

McCue, C. P., & Johnson, B. R. (2010). Strategic procurement planning in the public sector. Herndon, Va: National Institute of Government Purchasing.

Mosey, D., & Wiley InterScience (Online service). (2009). Early contractor involvement in building procurement: Contracts, partnering and project management. Chichester, West Sussex: Ames, Iowa.

Olson, D. L., & Wu, D. D. (2010). Enterprise risk management models. Heidelberg: Springer.

Russill, R. (2010). A short guide to procurement risk. Farnham: Gower.