Course Summary:

Public procurement is the acquisition of goods, services, and works by a public “authority” or “body”. Transactions of this nature are public undertakings and, therefore, they are governed by Civil, Community, or International Law. Constituting one of the main expenditures of government in developing countries, the importance of public procurement cannot be denied. Needless to say, any improvements in the public procurement system can have a direct and beneficial effect on the overall economic situation of a country. Given the significance of resources controlled through public procurement systems and the need for improvement, this training programme will help the participant explore in a short period of time key facets that govern the public procurement process. In addition, this course will focus on contracts entered into by the public authorities/governments (whether central, federal, state, regional or zonal), for the purposes of procurement of goods and works. Finally, this course will also look into contract management issues, various dispute resolution mechanisms applicable in a public procurement context

Course Objectives:

• Describe which procurements are governed by certain existing civil or international laws; 
• Be able to align procurement, finance functions for optimal efficiency 
• Become a more efficient, sophisticated buyer  
• Recognize the various methods and procedures of domestic and international tendering system, including procurement procedures for World Bank-aided projects; 
• Interpret a public procurement contract and be able to assist in its execution; 
• Summarize the steps involved in the completion of procurement; and 
• Select the applicable method for resolution of disputes in public procurement contracts. 

Course Outline

Contracts Management  

• Understanding the contractual relationship between organization and vendors 
• Relationship and communication management 
• Contracts formulation: legal aspects  
• Contracts standardization: critical issues 
• Forms of contracts  

Legal Aspects in Purchasing 

• General legal principles in purchasing contracts  
• Breach of contract  
• Sales of contract  
• Representation and power of attorney 

Public Financial Management: a Procurement and Supply perspective 

• The roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government  
• Public financial management (including budgeting, cash flow, risk management, working capital)  
• Goals of public procurement  

Legal framework of public procurement and supply   

• The Constitution  
• Public Finance Management Act  
• Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (including the policy to guide uniformity  in procurement processes in government)  
• Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act  
• South Africa's Economic Transformation: A Strategy for Broad-Based Economic Empowerment(case study) 
• Basic procurement ethics in the public sector 

Public Procurement and Supply Chain Management 

• Introduction to public procurement and the supply chain management framework  
• Introduction to public tenders (including tender regulations, preferential procurement, inviting tenders, tender ethics, tender competition and adjudication - proposals, costing and pricing)  
• Demand management  
• Risk management  
• Logistics management  
• Disposal management  
• Supply Chain Performance Review 

Purchasing and Supply Management 

• Purchasing management: an overview  
• The purchasing function in perspective  
• The task of purchasing and supply  
• Purchasing in new management approaches  
• Managing the supply base  
• Strategic sourcing  
• Selection and performance evaluation of suppliers  
• Supplier policies  
• Supplier relationship management  
• Ethical issues, corporate governance and social responsibility in purchasing and supply  
• Purchasing and supply activities  
• Quality determination and control in purchasing and supply  
• Price determination and cost analysis  
• Risk management in purchasing and supply 

Purchasing and Supply Tools 

• Instruments of purchasing and supply management  
• Negotiation  
• Research in purchasing  
• Electronic information systems  
• Application fields of purchasing and supply management  
• International and global purchasing and supply  
• Purchasing of capital equipment  
• Purchasing from small business  
• Purchasing of services  
• Physical components of materials supply management 

Storage and Inventory Management 

• Introduction to inventory and stores management  
• Inventory management and activities
• Inventory management  
• Codification and identification of stock  
• Stocktaking  
• Inventory or stock valuation  
• Stores management and activities  
• Stores management  
• Receiving and inspection  
• Storage  
• Materials handling  
• Information systems for inventories and stores