Here is another template whose usability really depends upon the given project and the customer. This one is the Project Procurement Plan. The idea is that you lay out the formal process of how you will go about procuring things for the project throughout the engagement. In the article that follows, we explain the importance of having a project procurement plan, as well as a free downloadable template that will help you create your own document.
The Importance of the Project Procurement Plan
In terms of project management terminology, procurement is when you need to buy, rent, or contract with some external resource to meet your project goal. While the process of deciding what to buy, when and from what source is known as procurement plan. This document describes how items will be obtained during the project and what approach will be used.
The main purpose of the project procurement plan is to get the best quality from the outside vendors employed by the company to assist in delivering the project, and completing its goals.
The Content
The outline of the project procurement plan varies depending from the project needs. In our template we only layout the basic sections that this document may cover.
The basic content is as following:
- Project Basic Information
- Project Scope
- Procurement Definition
- Contract Responsibility
- Vendor Selection
- Contract Type
- Contract Standards
- Vendor Management
- Assumptions
- Constraints
- Identified Risks
- Comments
- Approval
Create your procurement plan in accordance to the project needs. Our template will give you idea how to draft your own document.
Things to Consider
The project procurement plan is a very useful tool for larger projects and for government projects. It is designed to be produced at the beginning of the project along with documents like the Risk Management Plan and the Project Communication Plan.
This document will help you identify formal processes for vendor selection, customer/vendor responsibilities and contact info, how the selected vendor will be managed as the procurement is taking place and who's responsibility that will be, etc. Laying these formal processes out in advance will definitely help the engagement move along more smoothly and will help you to address these issues as they arise.
Final Thoughts
It may seem hard and complicated to create the project procurement plan, but once you downloaded our template the things will get easy. It will give a head start in drafting your own version. So, feel free to download it and share your comments with us.
And if you still have any questions post them in the comments section below. We will do our best to answer to all legitimate inquiries as soon as possible.