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The process has to be fit for purpose otherwise effort is wasted and the results will be missing the target and causing confusion. Has the procurement process been thought through? Need it be the same for all types of procurement activity? Where does high value low impact transactions end and true valued added risk management professional intervention start?

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The processes need to properly documented and supported across all functions at the highest levels of management. A process that is not endorsed at the highest levels of management lacks credibility across the organisation and disenfranchises the professionals in the Contracts & Procurement Team

Consider these:

Value Added Activities

Are procedures consistent with the Policies?

Procedures

Do you have written procedures that have Board level support?

Do members of your team have problems in practicing their professional standards across the organisation?

Are good commercial initiatives being undermined by well intentioned but commercially unqualified colleagues?

Does that process provide for qualification against commodity coded product ranges?

Qualified Contractors, Service Providers and Vendors

Do you maintain a qualification process for potential Contractors, Service Providers and Vendors?

If you do, do you have the complete buy-in of the HS&E and Quality Assurance functions?

Contract Terms & Conditions

Do you have Terms & conditions of Contract that provide for the levels of risk ownership & management to meet the organisation's business model?

Does the Contracts & Procurement function have ownership of the Terms & Conditions of Contract and the support of the Legal Function?

If they are the chances are that there is lot of wasted effort and that the professional valued added potential of the effort is diluted by the sheer volume of transactions.

Do all of your organisation's external requirements get treated in the same way?