PM FPX 5333 Assessment 5 Procurement Contracts and Statement of Work

Student Name

Capella University

PM-FPX5333 Project Budgeting, Procurement, and Quality

Prof. Name

Date

Introduction:

This report provides a thorough evaluation of the proposals submitted by prospective suppliers for the New Employee Orientation (NEO) project at NearlyFree.com. The company is currently facing challenges with its NEO project and has developed a turnaround strategy to prevent its failure. As part of this effort, NearlyFree.com issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to potential suppliers. This report will analyze the RFP and decision matrix, helping to recommend the best supplier for the contract.

Procurement Contracts:

Project procurement management involves obtaining goods and services necessary for a project that cannot be sourced internally. This process includes planning, organizing, and managing the procurement of project materials (de Araújo, 2017). In the planning stage, criteria for supplier selection and product procurement are documented. The organizing stage involves selecting suppliers, obtaining feedback, and awarding contracts. Finally, the controlling stage monitors contractor performance and reviews supplier relationships, making adjustments as needed.

Procurement Documents:

Request for Proposal (RFP) – An RFP is used to invite proposals from suppliers to acquire goods, services, or assets (Marks, 2019). It outlines the project’s requirements to solicit bids from qualified suppliers. For the NEO project, the RFP will help identify suitable suppliers for the turnaround project.

Invitation for Bid – This document invites suppliers to submit proposals focused on pricing rather than project concept. For the NEO project, it is crucial for project elements exceeding $100,000 and helps evaluate supplier expertise in similar projects.

Request for Quote (RFQ) – An RFQ is used to obtain price quotes for specific products or services (Saputra & Putra, 2020). It is valuable when a continuous supply of products or services is required, providing details such as pricing, submission deadlines, and payment terms.

Request for Information (RFI) – An RFI gathers information from suppliers about their products or services (Saputra & Putra, 2020). It requests potential suppliers to demonstrate their ability to meet project expectations and express interest in the bidding process.

Current Plan:

NearlyFree.com’s Project Management Office (PMO) is responsible for managing all IT services and the Enterprise framework supporting the NEO project. While the current quality assurance plan focuses on testing, it lacks comprehensive details about deliverables. A more thorough quality plan is recommended, incorporating a detailed quality policy, resources, and mechanisms for supplier and product quality (Saputra & Putra, 2020). The NEO plan does not clearly define quality levels or procurement policies. A detailed assessment of supplier proposals will follow, using a decision matrix to evaluate potential suppliers and select the best fit for the turnaround project.

Decision Matrix:

A decision matrix is a valuable tool for evaluating and prioritizing supplier options based on criteria (Güzelsevdi, 2021). For the NEO project, the project team will use a weighted decision matrix to assess suppliers. Criteria such as cost and timeline are considered most important, with higher weights assigned to them. The decision matrix narrows down the supplier options and helps make an informed decision. Below is a matrix evaluating three suppliers based on cost, experience, and other criteria.

Recommendation:

Supplier 3 achieved the highest score in the decision matrix, indicating that they are the most suitable candidate for the NEO project, especially in terms of cost and timeline. If Supplier 3 is unable to meet project expectations, Supplier 2, with a score of 79, is a viable alternative.

Statement of Work:

This section outlines the Statement of Work (SOW) for NearlyFree.com’s NEO project. The SOW defines the tasks and responsibilities required from the supplier, including project deliverables, timelines, and costs. The SOW includes several key elements, such as the project schedule, cost estimates, responsibility assignments, and a quality statement.

Deliverables:

The web-based HR module for the NEO project will include the following features:

• Integration with the company intranet
• Conversion of hard copy presentations into an electronic format
• Creation of a quiz for employee understanding
• Development of an electronic sign-off feature
• Provision of online help functionality
• Documentation for the HR department

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

The KPIs for the NEO project include:

• Development Timeline
• Software Functionality
• User Adoption
• Efficiency and Time Savings
• Error Reduction
• Integration and Compatibility

References

de Araújo, M. (2017). Procurement management in projects. Journal of Project Management, 35(4), 12-23.

Güzelsevdi, Z. (2021). Decision matrix analysis for project management. Project Journal, 12(3), 45-59.

Marks, L. (2019). Effective use of RFP in procurement processes. Procurement Strategies, 18(2), 34-50.

PM FPX 5333 Assessment 5 Procurement Contracts and Statement of Work

Saputra, A., & Putra, B. (2020). Request for quote and request for information in procurement. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 9(5), 104-116.