...Title and Citation: US GAO Decision Matter of: Information Ventures, Inc. (FSI) Facts of the Case: Information Ventures, Inc. protested the decision of the Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS), to issue request for proposals (RFP) for assessing health education methods, on an unrestricted basis. Information Ventures, a small business, contended that the requirement should be set aside for a small business. MMS published a presolicitation notice in May 2004 on the Federal Business Opportunities website on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). MMS stated that the intent would be on an unrestricted basis pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items, a report that “draws[s] national attention to innovative health education methods and the commonalities of successful programs; and to provide a resource for those who are developing health education materials for youth ages 9-13.” The presolicitation notice prescribed a two-step process where interested offerors must demonstrate their ability to perform the work required in a capabilities statement. The capabilities statement would be reviewed by the agency and used to determine whether offerors were qualified and capable to execute the work. Then the agency sent requests for proposals to the offerors they qualified. Twenty offerors, including six small businesses,...
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...DR JS MOROKA MUNICIPALITY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE MANUAL (2011/2012 Review) Supply Chain Management 1. Procurement Procedures The calling for tenders to secure supplies of goods and services is an integral part of SCM, as legislation compels public institutions to procure goods and services through this process. A thorough knowledge of the different phases of the tendering process and the accompanying procedures is, therefore, necessary to ensure that public officials procure goods and services timeously and according to their requirements. Therefore the general purpose of this manual is to provide an overview of the procedure for the procurement of goods and services, through price quotations and competitive bidding. 1.1. The Municipality will ensure that the tender process is fair, transparent and equitable and cost effective to all parties more specifically it will: • Clearly separate its role as a purchaser from that of a provider of services • Produce tender documents, which clearly specify the municipality’s required services to allow tenders to bid for and price their work accurately. • Package work put to tender in a manner which encourages competition and the best outcome for residents and ratepayers • Actively discourage improper tendering practices such as collusion, misrepresentation, and disclosure of confidential information • Require any conflict of interest to be disclosed immediately 1.2. Before commencing it is essential that the official leading the SCM has identified...
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...receipt of a potential supplier’s proposal and the subsequent award of a contract. This paper will address a few of the various types and formats of exchanges that might occur between the Government and potential suppliers prior to the Government’s receipt of proposals, and the manner in which some of these exchanges are to occur; some of the legal, regulatory, and logistical considerations that a Program Manager, Contracting Officer, or other Government participant in the acquisition process might need to be mindful of when conducting discussions; and the diligence and care that must be utilized by the Government team members when conducting exchanges with potential suppliers before the receipt of proposals in order to avoid issues that may arise later in the procurement process. Exchanges of information can take place either before, after, or both before and after the official release of a solicitation. However, if an exchange occurs after the official release of the Government’s solicitation, it is important to note that the Contracting Officer must be the sole focal point for a potential supplier in the information exchange process. According to information described in the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website’s ACQuipedia article on Responding to...
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...use of another disposal method unless that approved by the tender committee (b) Planning for a disposal activity shall take into account the allocation of biddable lots to ensure that requirements are not split up without justifiable reason (c) The disposal stores and equipments shall be aggregated for all departments of a procuring entity; (d) The aggregation of disposal requirements shall take into account- (i) the market relationships between the items if any; (ii) items which are of a similar nature and are likely to attract the same potential bidders; (iii) the optimum size and type of contract to attract the greatest and most responsive competition or the best prices; (iv) items which shall be subject to the same method of procurement and bidding conditions; (v) items which shall be subject to the same conditions of contract; (vi) the appropriate size of contract to facilitate the application of any preference and reservation scheme. (e) a procuring entity shall not, with the intention of avoiding a particular method of disposal or the benefits of scale, split up disposal requirements which can be disposed of as a unit. (f) Splitting of disposal requirements, which are broadly similar or related, shall only be permitted when the split offers clear economic or technical advantages. (2) Where assets have been identified for disposal, the procuring entity shall undertake the valuation of the assets or property either using its own staff or an independent valuation...
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...2015 Abstract I am a contracting officer for the IRS, and my supervisor has tasked me for the procurement of a new software system to process tax returns more accurately and efficiently. I would like to explore whether or not FAR regulation offers protection of collective buying power for the American people. Also how this will affect my procurement process. Also, examine whether or not the executive branch are the ones that really effect change and provide proper checks and balances for the procurement process for service's and goods. Based on the past procurement scandal in October 2014 with the VA. Analyzing FAR Regulations The Federal Acquisition Regulation better-known as FAR was put into effect on April 1, 1984, for the sole purpose to set regulations for all federal executive agencies. FAR is issued, and maintained by Administrator at GSA (General Services Administration), the Secretary of Defense at DOD (The Department of Defense), and by the Administrator of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). (Feldman, 2014-2015, pp. 17-19). Also, FAR 3.1 has governed that individual agency are required to create own Standard of Conduct to safeguard against improper business practices and personal conflicts. I would like to take a closer look at the regulations and see if they offer the adequate protection of the collective bargaining power of the American people. As a contracting officer for the IRS, I want to make sure I...
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...for running administration, for searching products and services for buyers, for inventory management due to increased competition among the suppliers (which increases price transparency) and reducing inventory to a bare minimum, and for transaction due to the elimination of paperwork and the partial automation of the procurement process. 2. Increased production flexibility by ensuring delivery of parts “just-in-time”. 3. Improved quality of products due to increased cooperation among buyers and sellers, reducing quality issues. 4. Decreased product cycle time due to the sharing of designs and production schedules with suppliers. 5. Increased opportunities for collaborating with suppliers and distributors. 6. Increased price transparency. The three dimensions that characterize an e-procurement market based on its business functionality are that (1) they are horizontal marketplaces (2) in which long-term contractual purchasing agreements are used (3) to buy indirect goods. Other market characteristics of e-procurement Net marketplaces are that they are independently owned, that they are many-to-many markets, and that they use fixed price catalogs. E-procurement companies serve as intermediaries connecting hundreds of online suppliers offering millions of MRO goods to business firms who pay a fee to join the market, thus it is a public marketplace. They are mediated by an independent third party that purports to represent both buyers and sellers; however, they are likely to...
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..._______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Report Information from ProQuest January 09 2014 16:51 _______________________________________________________________ 09 January 2014 ProQuest Table of contents 1. How Procurement Excellence CREATES VALUE........................................................................................ 1 Bibliography...................................................................................................................................................... 11 09 January 2014 ii ProQuest Document 1 of 1 How Procurement Excellence CREATES VALUE Author: Blascovich, John D; Markham, William J Publication info: Supply Chain Management Review 9.5 (Jul/Aug 2005): 44-52. ProQuest document link Abstract: A.T. Kearney's 2004 "Assessment of Excellence in Procurement" (AEP) study reveals that senior executives expect supply management to go well beyond its traditional role. Rather than focusing on price reductions, executives are challenging the organization to capture value from the supply market. This view represents a huge advance in their understanding of procurement's potential. Nearly all leaders and most followers recognize that the key to their business strategy is value creation. Yet leading organizations use their foundation of excellence to create more value and gain competitive advantage from supply markets by focusing...
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...Procurement topics. 1. Negotiation as a cost reduction technique in material procurement 2. Role of inspection in product quality management drive in an organization 3. Effect of store design on materials handling 4. Impact of information technology on the supply function of an organization 5. Importance of inventory planning and control in material handling 6. Negotiation as a tool for effective material pricing 7. The impact of material handling cost reduction effort in public institution 8. An assessment of physical distribution in the performance of an organisation 9. Effect of material inspection on product quality in an organization 10. Impact of material sourcing in enhancing the organizational profitability 11. Variety reduction as a tool for effective materials control 12. The impact of material management on purchasing 13. Impact of public procurement act(Regulations) on the accountability of procurement officers in public sector 14. Inventory control and its impact on profitability. 15. Role of sourcing in the achievement of the profit objective of organization 16. An analysis of the procurement reforms act as a tool for cost savings and accountability in an organization 17. Impact of sourcing decision on material availability in an organization 18. Negotiation skills as a tool for enhancing timely delivery of material 19. Store coding and material identification and effect on store efficiency 20. Public procurement...
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...Procurement Law Overview, Part One Procurement and Contract Law Procurement Law Overview, Part One The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of procurement law. There are three different branches of Government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. In the United States, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), the Defense Acquisitions Regulations (DAR) Council, and the Civilian Agency Acquisition (CAA) Council determine federal procurement policies by its legislative action and recommendations. Those are then published in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The FAR is issued jointly by the Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It applies not only to direct purchases made by the government, but also to purchases made by federal grant recipients (Feldman, 2010). The government procurement team is made up of the Contracting Officer (CO), Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), and Termination Contracting Officer (TCO). The government planning process consists of market research and an internal source search before they proceed with full and open competition which allows all responsible sources to submit either a sealed bid or competitive proposal on the procurement. The market research consists of availability and quantities of items, and reasonable prices. Internal sources include existing inventory, excess from other agencies, and federal prisons (Feldman...
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...BUSINESS PLAN 2007 – 2010 C Salter Chief Financial Services Officer Audit Exchequer & Procurement Projects Revenues Development & Supplies Accountancy Service Strategic Technical Venues Accountancy Estates Accountancy Management http://web1.com/finance Issue 1 March 2007 Process Owner: Chief Financial Services Officer Authorisation: Christine Salter Page 1 of 17 FINANCIAL SERVICES BUSINESS PLAN 2007 - 10 Contents 1. Overview of Service 1.1 1.2 1.3 Service Aims Services Provided Resources Summary 2. Contribution to Corporate Plan and Service Context 3. Performance Report 3.1 3.2 3.3 Performance Indicators Customer Focussed Services Achievements Against Corporate and Service Objectives 4. Future Service 4.1 4.2 Programmes, Projects & Improvement Actions Developing Internal and External Communication 5. Aligning Resources 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Finance & Assets Efficiency People IT Delivered Systems Knowledge 6. Action Plan 6.1 6.2 6.3 Risk Assessment Sustainability & Equality Appraisal Business Continuity Appendices A. B. C. D. E. F. Issue 1 Business Objectives Matrix 2007/10 Business Objectives Update 2006/07 Workforce Planning Template 2007/08 Budget Analysis (i) Sustainability & (ii) Equality Appraisal Matrix Business Continuity Template March 2007 Process Owner: Chief Financial Services Officer Authorisation: Christine Salter Page 2 of 17 CARDIFF...
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...ASHESI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAW ON THE GHANAIAN EDUCATIONAL SECTOR By EYRA LYDIE GNANIH Thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration Ashesi University College In partial fulfilment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration APRIL 2012 i Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature:…………………………………………………………………… Candidate’s Name: Eyra Lydie Gnanih Date: Thursday, 12th April 2012 I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of the thesis were supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by Ashesi University College. Supervisor’s Signature:…………………………………………………………………….. Supervisor’s Name: Dr Stephen E. Armah Date:………………………………….. ii Acknowledgement Gratitude goes to my parents for their encouragement, support, and inspiration. To Dr Stephen E. Armah, my thesis supervisor, thank you for the constructive criticisms and timely feedback which were of exceptional help in completing this project. For the reception and openness of the Secretary of the Public Procurement Authority and for the reports and information made available by Mr Alex Osei-Bonsu of the same institution, thank you. This project would not have been possible without the generosity and willingness of the heads...
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...probable sources of supply. This information is then sent to the contracting officer for procurement. The contracting officer is solely responsible in determining if the procurement may be accomplished through sealed bidding or negotiation. Sealed bidding is the government method to make known of a need by a solicitation named Invitation for Bid (IFB). Negotiation as used in the acquisition process, means contracting through the use of competitive proposals and discussions, between the contracting officer and the contractor. These government solicitations for negotiation are called Request for Proposal (RFP). The solicitation process originates similar for sealed bids and competitive proposals. The contracting officer announces an IFB for sealed bids, and/or a RFP for a competitive proposal, in FedBizOpps. Most solicitations are accessible, and can be copied directly from the Internet. The contractor upon awareness of these solicitations replies by submitting a bid for the sealed bidding, and/or a proposal for the competitive proposal solicitation. Most contractors contemplate sealed bidding as the less pricey, fastest economical procurement method since no time is lost in negotiations. Bids are assessed with no argument held with the bidders. Since bid calculation and contrast are restricted to price and other price-related factors only, the verdict phase is smaller than other competitive procurement methods that must be dealt, due to other factors. Only a firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract...
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...Ghani was informed that one of the reasons for the increase in cost was because of the current purchasing system that contributes to redundant purchasing and high inventory holding costs. Siti Aminah, the Chief of Financial Officer was asked to review the current purchasing system and suggested the need to implement a new computerized purchasing system that would help relieve some of its manual operations and at the same time would ensure it has the proper controls in place. En Ghani requested a formal report on current purchasing system and suggestion for a new system before the next management meeting which would be in two weeks’ time. En Ghani assigned Siti Aminah on the special task instead of the senior Chief Production Officer and she did not have any experience in system and technology. The new system must be able to reduce costs, enhance control and provide easy management of users and services in qualitative and quantitative ways. CHARACTER 1. ENCIK GHANI The new appointed Managing Director of Penda Cable Industry Berhad, who reviewed past year Financial Report and asked for formal report from Siti Aminah. 2. SITI AMINAH The Chief of Financial Officer that being asked to make formal report instead of the Senior Chief of Financial Officer. ISSUE 1. Encik Ghani reviewed the 2007 Financial Report which he discovered that there were recent increases in cost of goods sold and inventories. 2. PCI use manual...
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...2005 CONTENT ActPAGE The Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005 ……………… 45 ________________________________________________ PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GOVERNMENT PRINTER, NAIROBI THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL ACT No. 3 of 2005 45 No. 3 Public Procurement and Disposal 2005 Date of Assent: 26th October, 2005 Date of Commencement: By Notice ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I - PRELIMINARY 1—Short title and commencement. 2—Purpose of the Act. 3—Definitions. 4—Application of Act. 5—Conflicts with other Acts. 6—Conflicts with international agreements. 7—Conflict with conditions on donated funds. PART II – BODIES INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT A — Public Procurement Oversight Authority 8—Establishment of Authority. 9—Functions of Authority. 10—Director-General of the Authority. 11—Term of office of Director-General. 12—Restrictions on activities of Director-General. 13—Terms of service. 14—Resignation of Director-General. 15—Removal of Director-General. 16—Staff. 17—Acting Director-General. 18—Financial arrangements. 19—Audit. 20—Quarterly and annual reports. 46 No. 3 Public Procurement and Disposal 2005 B – Public Procurement Oversight Advisory Board 21—Establishment of Advisory Board. 22—Composition of Advisory Board. 23—Functions of Advisory Board. 24—Procedures of Advisory Board. C – Public Procurement Administrative Review Board 25—Review Board. PART III – INTERNAL ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC ENTITIES RELATING TO PROCUREMENT 26—Threshold matrix and segregation...
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...1.What is the concept of procurement in the context of the public sector? Investopedia.com defines procurement as the act of purchasing. In the public sector, procurement is the acquisition of products and services on behalf of the government (2016). The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFFP), which was created by congress in 1974 to guide government-wide procurement policies to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition process. The OFFP states that it is very important for the government to ensure that it spends money wisely and eliminates waste and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars (OFFP, 2016). 2.What differentiates the concept of procurement in both the private and public sectors? Why is public sector procurement different from private sector procurement? Corporate procurement in the private sector can be a “complex and lengthy process”. Therefore, many major corporations hire a Chief Procurement Officer to deal with all major acquisitions for the company (Investopedia). The main difference between public and private procurement is that in the private sector they have a more flexible budget for the acquisition of products and services, whereas in the public sector the budget is limited due to the OFFP, which ensures that the government spend taxpayers’ dollars wisely. Rocheleau, states that if an organization agrees to purchase from outside vendors; they must request an RFP or related mechanisms to obtain detailed bids. Some of the approaches detailed...
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