Procurement Policy
In accordance with the policies authorized by the Board of EDUWEB College, all purchases, irrespective of sources of funds, will be governed by the following procurement policy:
• obtain all supplies, equipment and services at the lowest cost to the college that meet or exceed the customer’s specifications at the time of purchase
• To thoroughly assess the requirements of quantity, quality, time of delivery and price range before calling for quotations or tenders. The capability, capacity and historical performance of the supplier will be considered in the decision process. Competitive bids will be solicited whenever possible and practical.
• To not be totally reliant on one supplier for particular goods or services.
Procurement Objectives
The Administrative Division is responsible for overseeing the commercial relationships between EDUWEB College and its suppliers and insuring that all aspects of our relationships are held to the highest ethical and professional standards.
The objective is to cooperatively develop and execute sourcing strategies for products and services that meet or exceed our requirements, and to perform these services to the highest ethical and professional standards. The Administrative Division:
• Provides leadership through contract negotiation, supplier management and conversion to modern eCommerce purchasing technologies
• Supports the college’s commitment to environmental responsibility
• Supports the college’s commitment to the local business community
There are many other factors to consider beside price when awarding the business e.g. the quality, specifications, timing of deliveries, availability at short notice, consistency of product from one production batch to another, etc. The procurement objectives can be achieved by implementing the following controls:
• Where RFQs are sent, the criteria for award should be approved prior to preparing any Quotation Evaluation Document. Ideally, these criteria should be part of the original RFQ.
• A consistent method of analysis should be chosen and used to evaluate all responses.
• Sufficient time should be allocated in the purchasing cycle to allow for a thorough and consistent evaluation of all responses prior to the award.
• Subsequent information, supplemental bids and corrections can only be allowed into the decision process if all vendors have had an equal opportunity to do the same.
• The award decision must be documented. Deviation from policy should be documented so that a third party could understand the rational and criteria for the deviation.
• All documents associated with procurement decisions should be consolidated and kept in secure files.
• A system for scoring or comparing suppliers' performance should be instituted to assist in good decision making.
Purchasing
The Administrative Division is responsible for the purchase of all general supplies, furniture, equipment, vehicles and services for the college. Purchasing can be:
1. Simple or
2. Formalised
Simple Purchasing
This is used where there is:
• One-off purchasing from the supplier
• The value of the item is small (under TT$500)
• The items are generic in nature and can be easily substituted e.g. masking tape
Documentation required for Simple Purchasing
Records should be maintained of every purchase agreement entered into and should be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that their terms and conditions are complied with.
• The vendor’s quotation or invoice could be used to update the list of approved vendors and their details in the financial application.
• Vendors can also submit a brief profile of their company as well as a current price list.
• No Purchase orders, RFQs or Quotation Evaluation Reports need to be done.
• An invoice and receipt may define all the necessary terms for simple arrangements.
• Adequate provision should be made for health and safety performance specifications for vendors working with EDUWEB College
Formalised Purchasing should be used with suppliers where there is:
• Repetitive purchasing from the supplier for like items e.g. toners
• Specific items are required or items with stringent specifications e.g. Laptops
• Item has a particularly high price e.g. Furniture
Documentation required for Formalised Purchasing
Records should be maintained of every purchase agreement entered into and should be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that their terms and conditions are complied with.
It is important that a written trail is set up. The following documents should be maintained:
• Vendor pre-qualification questionnaire. For new vendors, a vendor pre-qualification questionnaire should be completed and submitted by them.
• The completed questionnaires are used to update a list of vendors.
• The vendors can also submit a brief profile of their company as well as a current price list.
• Request for Quotation (RFQ). When EDUWEB College must purchase items, the RFQ will be submitted to three (3) or more vendors and will contain the specifications of the item(s). These specifications may be used as the criteria for evaluation of the quotations. Format: Request for quotation from company name - yyyy-mm-dd.docx e.g. Request for Quotation for Stationary Items from Print Lab - 2018-11-03.docx
• Quotation Evaluation Report. After the quotations have been received of when the deadline date for the submission of quotations has elapsed, the Quotation Evaluation Report should be completed. This document gives a recommendation for the acquisition of the items and shows the process that was used to arrive at the recommendation. Format: Quotation Evaluation Report – item being sought – yyyy-mm-dd.docx e.g. Quotation Evaluation Report - Stationary items - 2018-11-12.docx.
• Once the Quotation Evaluation Report has been completed and approved, the financial application should be used to generate the Purchase Orders that will be issued to the successful vendor.
• The Quotation Evaluation Report must be supported by copies of the vendors’ quotations
• A copy of the purchase order(s) issued should be attached to the Quotation Evaluation Report.
Emergency Requisitions: The Administrative Division will authorize an emergency purchase order when a bonafide emergency exists. While it is difficult to define an emergency, any condition that presents a corresponding, or greater loss to the college due to the delay for a requisition to be processed would be considered a bonafide emergency. Once an emergency requisition is received, the Administrative Division will immediately place the emergency order by telephone or email, depending upon the urgency and complexity of the requested purchase. The requesting department must submit a completed requisition to the Administrative Division prior to the issuance of a purchase order.
Maintenance Agreements: Maintenance agreements / contracts are kept by the Administrative Division. The period of the maintenance agreement should coincide with the college’s fiscal year, if possible. The requesting department is responsible to ensure that the contracted service is performed in accordance with the service/maintenance agreement. Any unsatisfactory service should be reported to the Administrative Division immediately. The above process includes initial service agreements as well as renewals.
Software Purchases: All software acquired by the College must be purchased through the Administrative Division to ensure that the college has a complete inventory of all purchased software and can register, support and upgrade such software accordingly.
