Procurement guidance

Procurement covers the acquisition of goods, services and works. Procurement ranges from the supply of routine goods and services through to more complex partnership (collaborative) arrangements. It includes all stages in the process, from identifying the need and subsequent market appraisal, right through to acquiring the solution, managing the contract and arranging final disposal or ending the contract.

You will need to consider the following throughout the procurement process:

• What do we need
• What is available
• Buying the item or service in a fair and open manner
• Making sure the item is suitable
• Managing the contract to get the best service
• Ending the contract

This guidance is intended to lead you through the stages involved in purchasing goods and services. It will provide the background and support needed to be able to make decisions which will result in achieving the best value for money with the best quality products and services.

It is important that the decisions we take when making a purchase are informed and that we are aware of the rules which govern all our Procurement activity.

This guidance supports our Financial Regulations, namely the Contract Procedure Rules which detail our statutory obligations when purchasing.

The most important decision you take is right at the start of the process:

• Do you need to Purchase the good/service at all?
• Are there other options available?
• Could this be covered by an existing in-house provision?

This guidance will steer you through all the stages of the Procurement path and the decisions and processes you need to make and follow along the way.