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Procurement Overview

What is Procurement?

Procurement is the act of purchasing, leasing, renting or otherwise acquiring products or services (refer to ORS 279A.010). Procurement includes each function and procedure that an agency will undertake to enter into, administer, and manage the performance of a contract under the public contracting code. Procurement includes contract administration functions, including amendments. Ultimately, procurement is the act of putting the people’s money to work in a way that upholds the people’s trust.

The state’s procurement life cycle, illustrated below, organizes the procurement process into a series of steps from the time an agency first identifies a needed product or service, through solicitation and award, contract execution, administration and closeout. 

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The procurement life cycle is the basis for this manual’s organization. Each section provides links to statutes, rules and policies as well as tools, templates and resources.
The following sections describe each of the procurement life cycle stages. The requirements of the procurement tailor the specific processes involved.

Click on a stage below to learn more about steps and processes:

Plan stage process overview:

The Plan stage encompasses several key processes in the procurement life cycle, ranging from identifying and defining a need to determining the most appropriate acquisition method that addresses that need. Key outcomes of the Plan stage​ are the creation of the procurement team and the development of the plan, which outlines the procurement approach and strategy.

​Process​
​Description

​1. Identify Need​
​This section describes need identification. Whether implementing a major budgeted project, supporting a program seeking specific needs to fulfill its mission, or a statewide need that requires a price agreement or statewide contract by the State Chief Procurement Officer (State CPO), all procurements begin with a need.
​2. Establish and manage the procurement file
​This section includes information for establishing and managing a procurement file to document actions throughout the procurement life cycle.
​​3. Determine authority
​This section describes statutory authorities, delegation of authority, and the roles and responsibilities of a requesting agency and a procuring agency, based on procurement authority.
​4. Build procurement team​
​This section describes the function of developing a procurement team, when to do so, and the roles and responsibilities of the team members throughout the procurement life cycle.
​5. Define need
​This section describes the process of defining the procurement need which includes defining the scope of the procurement, identifying critical business requirements at a level of detail necessary to make procurement decisions, and performing market research.
​​6. Determine procurement method
​This section describes methods of procurement reflecting source selection priority and competitive and non-competitive methods of procurement.​
​7. Develop and manage the procurement method
​This section describes the planning of work products, the incorporation of outputs and decisions, and defines the process for managing changes to the plan. It also describes expectations required for work products to proceed to the next stage of the life cycle: Procure.​
​8. Conduct market research
​This section describes the process and role of market research to identify available sources of supply for products and services, which informs the development of the procurement strategy. The Procurement Plan incorporates the market research findings.
​9. Develop cost analysis/feasibility determination
​This section describes requirements for determining if a procurement will cost less than having the agency perform the service itself. This applies to a procurement that exceeds $250,000 for services other than professional. The cost analysis informs the market research already conducted by assessing the feasibility of procurement and evaluating methods to strengthen price competition. The Procurement Plan includes the results of this process.​
​10. Determine contract type
​This section describes standard types of contracts allowable in the state and considerations for their use based on results of market research, feasibility and cost analysis, project risk assessment and other factors.​
​11. Develop specifications
​This section describes activities that translate customer requirements into detailed specifications or a scope of work that will be included in the solicitation document. The section discusses characteristics of a specification that influence quality, suitability, performance, evaluation and award criteria, and competitiveness.
​​​12. Develop evaluation strategy (RFP only)

​This section describes the process of developing an Evaluation Strategy including detailing the evaluation criteria, evaluation values, and the processes used to evaluate the proposalsreceived.This section is only applicable when performing an RFP.

Procure stage process overview:

The Procure stage encompasses all processes spanning the development of the solicitation document to the execution of the contract.

The following table lists the general process steps used to conduct a procurement. Specific activities and the roles and responsibilities of a requesting agency and a procuring agency, either DAS Procurement Services or an agency with delegated procurement authority, will vary according to the procurement method. Refer to each procurement method in this manual for a detailed description of associated activities.

Process
​​Description
​1. Develop solicitation document​
​This section describes the process to develop a solicitation document for a specific procurement method.
​​2. Post solicitation/public notice
​This section describes requirements and supplemental methods for advertising opportunities and public notice, including posting procurement notices and advertisements through OregonBuys.
​​3. Manage solicitation​
​This section describes the role of the procurement officer and the applicable activities, from the issuance of the procurement through public notice to the receipt of responses. Activities include scheduling and conducting offeror conferences, receiving and responding to inquiries, revising solicitation documents, posting information to potential respondents and managing protests.
​4. Receive responses
​This section describes the processing activities for responses to bids or proposals.
​​5. Open responses
​This section describes activities that support public viewing or acknowledgement of bid or proposal responses. Activities vary by procurement method and may include determining confidential information, handling late offers, modifications or withdrawals.
​6. Evaluate responses
​This section describes activities that determine which bids or proposals are viable based on the criteria outlined in the competitive solicitation and the contractor selection method employed by the agency. This includes obtaining clarification of bids or proposals, conducting site tours, demonstrations, discussions and other informational activities as applicable.​
​7. Perform price/cost analysis​
​This section describes the practice and techniques to break down an offeror’s price or cost data to verify and evaluate each component and compare price and cost of other offerors and any independent state price and cost estimates. The section describes the use of life cycle costing methods for competitive sealed bidding or proposals.
​​8. Plan and conduct negotiations (as applicable)
​This section describes aspects of negotiation applicable to contracts established through a Request for Proposal or other allowable procurement method including small, intermediate, special, or emergency procurements, as applicable, as well as pre-negotiation of contract terms and conditions with prospective offerors responding to a Request for Qualifications.
​​9. Develop award determination
​This section describes the process of documenting an award determination in the procurement file, based upon the evaluation, and the methods employed according to public contracting code and specified in the solicitation document.​
​10. Issue notice of intent to award and post award
​This section describes the process for issuing a notice of intent to award, the timing of availability for public access to the procurement file, protest period provisions, handling of protests, proceeding with a documentation of award, and availability of tabulated proposals.​
​​​​11. Execute contract

​This section describes the process for executing contract documents, managing preliminary communications, scheduling the initial contract kickoff meeting with the awarded contractor, authorizing contractor performance and communicating with contract users.  

Manage stage process overview:

The Manage stage encompasses all contract administration activities that assure requirements are delivered according to established standards, terms and conditions are met, supplier invoices are correct, and payments are made in a timely manner (refer to Contract Administration).

Process
​Description
​1. Develop Contract​ Administration Plan (if needed)
​This section describes the Contract Administration Plan (CAP), which defines how to administer the contract. It also describes when to consider using a CAP.​
​2. Manage contract/supplier
​​​This section describes the roles and responsibilities of the contract administrator in identifying and tracking key aspects of the contract to ensure performance is consistent with contract requirements. The section covers managing change, issues, disputes and effectively managing risk throughout the process.​
​3. Receive products/services
​This section describes the process of receiving, inspecting, and accepting or rejecting products and services procured by the agency.
​4. Pay contractor/maintain payment log

​This section covers invoice submission, review, and approval. 

Closeout stage process overview:

The Closeout stage is the final stage of the contract life cycle and encompasses the steps to determine if the contract is physically complete, all obligations have been met and all legal, administrative, and managerial tasks have been executed (refer to Contract Closeout​).

​Process
​​Description
1. Verify receipt of final deliverable/milestone​
​This section describes the process of finalizing all legal, administrative, and managerial tasks to complete the contract.
​​​2. Closeout contract​​
​This section describes the closeout process, which verifies that both parties to the contract have fulfilled their contractual obligations including final receipt, acceptance and payment, and ensuring that no responsibilities remain.​
​3. Perform lessons learned review
​This section describes a best practice to conduct a review of lessons learned to identify and memorialize the successes and the areas for improvement to apply to future procurement initiatives.