Practically, both low and high profile projects require the procurement of necessary resources to facilitate the project’s success. Project procurement involves the process of obtaining project supplies and services needed to accomplish the project goals (San Cristóbal et al., 2018). The project and procurement managers are responsible for creating a clear and effective procurement monitoring framework to make the process successful. Without a well-defined procurement monitoring framework, it becomes difficult for the project manager to monitor the project’s progress and account for the resources used.
Importance of a Procurement Monitoring Framework
The procurement process in all projects follows a defined procurement plan developed by the project manager, assisted by the procurement manager. The procurement monitoring framework serves as a crucial element for the project managers to ensure that the procurement process follows the set plan (de Araújo et al., 2017). The project manager relies on the monitoring framework to ensure that supplies and services are obtained within the project schedule for smooth operations. The procurement monitoring framework also enables the project manager to assess the procurement process and ensure that the right procedures are followed when awarding suppliers’ contracts (San Cristóbal et al., 2018). This helps alleviate chances of corruption during the tendering process and ensure that the most eligible suppliers are selected from the interested candidates.
The procurement monitoring framework allows the project manager to evaluate the performance of the contractors with respect to the delivery time and quality of goods and services delivered (de Araújo et al., 2017). Continuous monitoring of the contractors boosts their commitment to delivering quality supplies in time, thereby keeping the project aligned with its goals. San Cristóbal et al. (2018) denote that procurement management plan helps the manager define the requirements and establish the specific steps needed to set a contract (San Cristóbal et al., 2018). This way, the project manager specifically describes the particular processes needed to obtain the project resources. According to de Araújo et al. (2017), the procurement monitoring framework allows the project manager to establish the impacts of purchasing on the project constraints and assumptions. The outcome can then be used to minimize the constraints and promote the project success. Additionally, the monitoring framework helps identify the number of suppliers involved in the project, specific stages they are involved in, and ways of managing them (Hong et al., 2018). This allows the project manager to have a clear insight into the suppliers and ensure the timely delivery of high-quality goods and services.
Components and Justification
The procurement monitoring framework incorporates various components that allow the project manager to evaluate and control the procurement activities and ensure the project’s success. The key components include procurement management plan, work performance information, project management plan, performance reports, procurement contract, and valid change request (de Araújo et al., 2017). Typically, these components work together because they are complementary; therefore, they cannot be isolated from one another. According to San Cristóbal et al. (2018) the procurement management plan assists in describing the project requirements and provide finer details of getting into the contract. The project management plan provides the goals, necessary resources, and guidelines for effective procurement (San Cristóbal et al., 2018). This plan helps the project manager align the stakeholders with project goals, thereby promoting project success. The procurement contract provides the contract terms and conditions that guide the suppliers to deliver quality goods and services as indicated on technical specifications (Hong et al., 2018). This helps eliminate the chances of misunderstanding between the suppliers and the project owners.
The work performance information and performance reports and provide the project manager with vital information for assessing the competence of the suppliers. The manager evaluates the performance of the suppliers against the baseline stated in the management plan and make changes accordingly (de Araújo et al., 2017; San Cristóbal et al., 2018). The approved change request allows the project manager to make adjustments to suppliers or procurement terms, thereby boosting the success chances of the project. The project manager must adopt all the above-stated procurement monitoring frameworks to make the project a success. Effective components require adequate resources, and this justifies my request for additional resources to make the procurement monitoring management effective.
References
de Araújo, M. C. B., Alencar, L. H., & de Miranda Mota, C. M. (2017). Project procurement management: A structured literature review. International Journal of Project Management, 35(3), 353-377.
Hong, Z., Lee, C. K., & Zhang, L. (2018). Procurement risk management under uncertainty: a review. Industrial Management & Data Systems.
San Cristóbal, J. R., Carral, L., Diaz, E., Fraguela, J. A., & Iglesias, G. (2018). Complexity and project management: A general overview. Complexity, 2018.
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