Competition in procurement (original) (raw)

2017_890-2064-1-Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies.pdf

Public institutions are subject to huge range of legislative restrictions, controlled by the legislative, executive and judicial authorities and subject to criticism by the public at large as compared to private sector procurement processes which are led by profit motives ). In both public and private sector procurement, the goods, services and or works have to be acquired, which is the most similarity between these two sectors. In the final analysis, Oughton alluded to the fact that, it is how well these concepts work that truly determine their worth; it is clear that public and private sector supply chains truly are "two sides of the same coin" and that many private sector best practices can be used in the public sector with great success and with little or no modification; thereby fostering the much needed partnership between these two sectors. A general concern among public sector procurement processes is a low level of trust to the suppliers in that the best price offer ultimately is selected or given high weight like in the South African 80/20 and 90/10 preferential point system, however there is a contrast, in that the private sector often considers performance equally or even more important than price so the 80/20 and 90/10 principle wouldn"t work in private sector procurement. Private sector procurement managers are said to be more interested in the quality of performance than costs; therefore the public sector procurement officials can learn more of these good practices from the private sector.

Price-Based Acquisition. Issues and Challenges for Defense Department Procurement of Weapon Systems

This report presents findings from a research study conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE, a division of the RAND Corporation, to examine the effects of using price-based acquisition (PBA) approaches for the development and production of major Air Force weapon systems, subsystems, and other military-unique articles. Typically in these cases, the cost-based acquisition (CBA) approach is used-i.e., the price to develop and produce such an article is based on cost data that the government requires the contractor to provide. Critics of this traditional, CBA method see it as imposing heavy regulatory burdens on the government and the contractor and tending to discourage potential non-defense contractors from competing for government contracts, thus reducing competition and quality and increasing cost.

The economics of partnership sourcing versus adversarial competition: a critique

European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 1997

In the strategic procurement management literature two general forms of purchasing arrangement feature--'partnership sourcing' and 'competition'. Usually partnership sourcing is said to be superior because it leads to long-term collaboration based on trust between buyer and supplier. One product is a reduction of the supplier base with firms perhaps relying on a single source of supply or a small number of preferred suppliers. The paper reconsiders procurement methods in terms of a continuum using the economics of transaction costs. The paper then illustrates the economic issues discussed by considering procurement in the defence sector. Defence is taken as an example of public procurement with experience and opportunities for competition, partnership sourcing and long-term buyer-supplier relationships. The paper concludes that the case for partnership sourcing over competition is not clear cut.

Optimal procurement and contracting with research and development

2014

Government procurement of a new good or service is a process that usually includes basic research, development, and production. Empirical evidences indicate that investments in research and development (R and D) before production are significant in many defense procurements. Thus, optimal procurement policy should not be only to select the most efficient producer, but also to induce the contractors to design the best product and to develop the best technology. It is difficult to apply the current economic theory of optimal procurement and contracting, which has emphasized production, but ignored R and D, to many cases of procurement. In this thesis, I provide basic models of both R and D and production in the procurement process where a number of firms invest in private R and D and compete for a government contract. R and D is modeled as a stochastic cost-reduction process. The government is considered both as a profit-maximizer and a procurement cost minimizer. In comparison to the...

Incentives and award procedures: competitive tendering vs. negotiations in procurement

Handbook of Procurement, 2006

Should the buyer of a customized good use competitive bidding or negotiation to select a contractor? To shed light on this question, we offer a framework that first describes the buyer's choice of contracts, and then links this choice to the selection of competitive tendering or negotiations. The analysis suggests a number of possible limitations to the use of competitive tendering. These may perform poorly when projects are complex, contractual design is incomplete and there are few available bidders. Furthermore, competitive tendering may stifle communication between buyers and sellers, preventing the buyer from utilizing the contractor's expertise when designing the project. Implications of these results for procurement in the private and public sector are discussed. * This is a preliminary version of a future chapter to appear in Dimitri, Piga, and Spagnolo (Eds.) "Handbook of Procurement", forthcoming in Manufactured goods, such as computers, TVs and automobiles are mass produced, have standardized characteristics and are typically purchased at list price. Other goods, such as new buildings, fighter jets, custom software or consulting services are tailored to fit a procurer's specific and often unique needs. To procure these customized goods, the procurer hires a contractor who supplies the good according to a set of desired specifications. We call this the procurement problem.

The return of the non-strategic material

Traditional procurement of MRO-products (Maintenance, Repair and Operating materials) consumes significant resources of the purchasers and others through negotiations, ordering, calloffs and administration of the procurement. In the mid 1990's electronic procurement was introduced, but it is not until recently that large Swedish companies have noticed the opportunities that the e-procurement development brings with it.