Monthly Archives: May 2012

Putting Something Back

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

We are aware  of the pressure placed upon organisations in the current climate and the extent that  this  impacts on individuals. Often the budget to commission external advice is cut. This  leaves you  with no internal resource with sufficient level of understanding to be able to discuss matters intelligently. With this in mind we are offering a little help to those who need it. […]

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Performance Bonds

Monday, May 28th, 2012

A refresher on Performance Bonds. A requirement of a performance bond is not an uncommon occurrence on large projects and construction projects. Procurement specialists are usually presented with wording for the bond and often the bond is put in place without any discussion on negotiation. Keating Chambers (Barristers) offer this thought. ‘The word “bond” conjures […]

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Risk Management

Monday, May 28th, 2012

We have been researching project risk management to identify where procurement sits in regard to detailed risk management plans for a project. Unsurprisingly, there is a widely varying emergent position. Our research shows that: Many projects have little expert procurement support due to lack of resource skills and availability. Stakeholder risks are badly managed, specifically […]

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First Impressions Count

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

We are frankly astonished at the responses we get from companies at times when we want to spend money with them. We are currently helping a client with the sourcing of their engineering fabrications. This is a multi-million pound contract. Our initial desk research identified a number of potential suppliers that we decided to contact […]

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Exchange Rates and the effect of Inflation

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

I was asked very recently by a client how much saving they could expect from the renegotiation of an offer by their incumbent outsourced provider of specialist IT services to extend their contract. The Service Provider proposed a 10% increase. The Client was UK based and the Service provider domiciled in India. However I needed […]

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Manipulation of procurement controls

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

It  is difficult to exaggerate the risks created by those who manipulate procurement controls. It is ‘unfortunate’ that the manipulation is not uncovered by audit personnel, nor are senior managers and directors always maintaining enough vigilance. So – how does the manipulation operate in practice? 1. Awarding contracts at below authorisation level and subsequently raising […]

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