Policies & Procedures Development

Procurement Policies and Procedures are essential documents. They set out the core  policies, rules and laws that govern the procurement activities and define the procedures and processes that should be consistently applied and followed to acquire goods and services in compliance with procurement best practices.

The purpose is to establish and implement standards and mechanisms that enable the acquisition of goods and services with the highest quality, at the best value for money, within required timelines, with maximum reduced risks, in an ethical and legal manner.

Documenting Procurement Policies & Procurement Procedures UAE

In most cases, we confuse between “policies” term and “procedures” term and we use them interchangeably. However, they are different in their meaning and purpose. To provide more clarity and enhance the understanding, the definition of each is provided in the following:

Procurement Policies

The procurement policy presents the standard and rule that guide the users in their decision making process, for instance: the exceptions where tender bonds are not required or the spend thresholds where competitive bidding, one quote ore RFP should apply

Procurement Procedures

The procurement procedure or process defines the steps to be followed to achieve and accomplish a specific procurement task. These steps are generally repetitive and consistent and the policy is applied at certain steps where decision should be made to go forward to the following step, it sets out also roles and responsibilities for each step, for instance, the “Purchase Requisition Process” composed of several steps to name few:

Step1:Prepare Purchase Requisition form including scope of work and all details (by End User)

Step2: Submit PR for review (by End User)

Step3: Approve PR (by End User)   

Step3-1: If PR is approved, proceed to step 4

Step3-2: If change request is required, go back to step1

Step3-3: If PR is not approved, process ends

Step4: If PR includes items/goods, check availability with warehouse (End User).

Step5:……

Procurement Department should develop forms, templates and checklists to ensure the application of the procedures using the appropriate tools such as: the PR form, The PR document Checklist, the RFP document, the single source justification form, RFQ evaluation form, template for expression of interest…

In digitized procurement environments, Procurement procedures are automated and forms embedded in e-procurement systems.

Importance of Documenting Procurement Policies and Procedures

Developing a procurement policies and procedures manual covering all aspects related to procurement daily activities is essential. Having procurement policies and procedures written and documented in an official document is an important pillar a procurement function should achieve. This allows employees to have a unique reference and guideline to perform their job clearly and consistently without any confusion or doubt. Certainly, it requires extensive time and effort to write a policies and procedures manual, but the usefulness and the value achieved out of it is invaluable.

Therefore, At Strategyah, we can help you in the following:

  • Develop usable manual using comprehensive, clear and concise English language that is simple and easy to understand
  • Write policies explicitly in alignment with rules and regulations, and the company compliance standards
  • Write straightforward and concise procedures addressing the effective accomplishment of procurement tasks 
  • Collect information and insights from procurement team to ensure bespoke policies and procedures aligning with the company specific activities
  • Define roles and responsibilities for each process step to ensure clarity and remove ambiguity
  • Prepare checklists, forms and templates to be used by procurement team while progressing in the procurement process