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Matthew Clyne | 02 May 2022 | 6 min read
Your Procurement Toolkit: The #1 Procurement Guide to Best Practice
Best practice procurement doesn’t have to be hard. In this procurement toolkit, we’ve gathered all the resources you need, whether you’re brushing up on the basics or the latest in procurement strategy.
This is a living procurement guide that is being updated regularly. If there is a link you feel would be helpful to procurement professionals that isn’t on this list, contact us and let us know.
Procurement Planning
The first (and perhaps most vital) stage in the procurement process is planning properly. This section is dedicated to resources that help with laying the groundwork for your procurement event.
The Complete Guide to Procurement Planning
This is a comprehensive, high-level guide that covers everything from what procurement planning involves, how to go about it, and what tools you can use to help.
The Top 12 Procurement Planning Pitfalls
This shorter three-page PDF is a quick read, and useful for checking to make sure you are meeting current procurement planning best practices.
What You Need to Include in a Procurement Plan
This is another PDF resource that covers what you should have in your procurement plan. Make sure nothing is left out of this crucial guiding document.
The Why and How of Risk Assessment in Procurement Planning
This educational blog article covers why risk assessments are important and how to conduct them.
How to Prevent Scope Creep Through Better Procurement Planning
An informative article that covers what scope creep is, and the tools and techniques you can use to prevent it.
Tender Evaluation Tool
A handy tool for calculating the complexity of a tender evaluation process before you begin. Six quick questions, and tailored feedback on what you should consider when it comes to your evaluation.
Probity & Ethics
Acting ethically and being above reproach are both vital when it comes to procurement. Here are some assets to cover these concepts.
A Complete Guide to Probity in Procurement
We highly recommend all procurement professionals read this guide at least once. It covers the concept of probity in procurement and provides lots of examples on how to apply these in practice.
Ethical Procurement Explained: A Master Class in Best Practice
This in-depth guide is great if you’re a beginner or a seasoned hand. It covers common control methods, how to promote ethical procurement in your organisation, and more.
How Software Can Help with Probity in Procurement
This article details five ways in which software can be used to help procurement meet their probity requirements.
Compliance Management
Getting buyers to comply with procurement policy can be difficult. These resources offer advice on how procurement managers can make this easier.
How to Ensure Procurement Policy Compliance
An article that covers the basics of why compliance is important, as well as some high-level tips on how to guide buyers in the right direction.
What is Compliance by Default? How it Helps Procurement
Software that is built to drive compliance by default can help make sure staff stay within guidelines and reduce the burden on procurement teams.
Going To Market
When you’re going to market, there’s a lot of things to consider. Here are some resources that can help you make sure you get the goods and services you are after.
Writing Procurement Specifications: A How-To Guide
This how-to guide covers everything you’d want to know when writing procurement specifications, from the different methods to what to avoid. Definitely worth a read, even if you’re a procurement veteran.
How to Create the Ultimate RFx
Some procurement best practice guidelines on how to write a great RFx. This simple PDF is good for printing and putting on the office wall - a great procurement best practice checklist.
Contract Creation
Preparing a supplier contract? We recommend reading the “8 Point Checklist for Contract Creation and Review.” You should ask yourself these questions whenever a contract is made.
Contract Management
Businesses run on contracts. Here are some resources for how you can make sure you tick all the boxes when it comes to best practice contract management and keep key suppliers happy (and delivering).
The Ultimate Guide to Contract Management
A high-level guide on everything you would want to know about contract management, all on a single page.
How to Hold an Effective Supplier Review Meeting
It would be great if suppliers perfectly delivered every time, and supplier meetings were simple. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Here’s a great guide on how to handle those tricky meetings and get the outcome you want.
Contract Management: How to Use “Carrot and Stick” to Motivate Others
A great article that covers how to deal with suppliers at a higher level, discussing incentives and other methods you can use.
Vendor Relationship Management: Best Practice Software, Tools, and Methods
An article that discusses thinking differently about your suppliers in order to get the best outcomes for both parties, as well as other useful tools and tips.
The Ultimate Guide to Contract Management Software
Looking to learn more about contract management software, and how it can help your organisation? Here’s a definitive guide on everything you need to know on the subject.
Procurement Fundamentals
Need to start with the basics? Here are some things you should start with.
The Beginner's A to Z of Procurement Terms
Do you know your ABC’s when it comes to procurement? Make sure you’re up to date with all the latest procurement terms by reading this article.
Procurement Operating Models
Do you know the differences between decentralised, centralised and centre led procurement models? If not, you should check out this article.
Social & Sustainable Procurement
Part of modern procurement is considering different definitions of value, not just cost reductions. More organisations are considering their social responsibility, not just profit margins, and acting as true procurement leaders.
Seven Biggest Barriers to Social Procurement in 2022
More than half of organisations engaging in social procurement hit roadblocks of some kind. This comprehensive report highlights some obstacles you may face, and how to overcome them.
Sustainable Procurement: Everything You Need to Know
It’s all in the title – everything you’d want to know about sustainable procurement in a single article.
Innovation & Strategy in Procurement
If you’re involved in procurement strategy, here are some assets that may help you out.
Seven Contract Management Innovations to Consider
This whitepaper covers how you can make an impact and drive real change in your organisation through contract management innovation, according to industry experts.
Building a Business Case to Upgrade your Procurement Toolset
Digital transformation is a major priority for most CPOs this year, but getting buy-in is crucial. This report covers how you can provide a compelling argument for key executive stakeholders.
Using a Contract Management Spreadsheet? Here's Why It's a Bad Idea
Do you manage your contract data in a spreadsheet? If you do, it's time to reconsider how you've been monitoring contracts, since there are more secure and user-friendly ways to go about it.
Further reading
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