Suppliers: Case 2. Analysis of Procurement History of Potential Procuring Entities

Before proceeding with the actual task implementation, we need to formulate a list of questions we want answers to:

• What are the procurement outcomes for a specific procuring entity?
• Which suppliers has this procuring entity interacted with?
• What procurement methods does it prefer?
• What are its current and planned needs for goods/services/works (G/S/W)?
• How long do its procurement processes typically take?
• What were the results of this entity’s previous solicitations in terms of the number of bids and the winning supplier’s price?
• Are there any upcoming procurements for the categories of goods or services you are interested in?

To familiarize ourselves with basic information about the procuring entity in question, we open the “Procuring Entity Profile” worksheet. We select the procuring entity through the “Entities” field by entering their name or Business Identification Number (BIN). As a result, we get detailed information about the specific entity.

In the upper left table, we can view aggregated data on their procurement activities:

• Examine the number of contracts awarded and their values, broken down by year;
• Assess the success rate of procurement procedures.

Having gained an understanding of this procuring entity’s procurement history, we can delve deeper into our questions through interaction with interactive charts and by diving into specific data samples.

To get more detailed information on suppliers for this entity, we can open the “Participants List” worksheet, where all suppliers with whom this entity has interacted will be listed, along with their contact details and the results of their collaboration.

Important information for you, as a potential supplier, might include data on the competitiveness of this entity’s procurements. By opening the “Non-competitive Procurements” worksheet under the Analytics category, you’ll obtain the necessary insights.

Sole-source procurements must have specific justifications. By changing the chart view for “Rating” to the justification for the procurement method, you can acquaint yourself with the legislative prerequisites for sole-source procurements.

A further area for analysis may be understanding the entity’s needs by reviewing plan items in the “Plan Items Table” worksheet. Here, both historical and current plan items are displayed. Choosing the current fiscal year and filtering by plan item statuses can help you identify those plans for which no contracts have been awarded yet and for which a solicitation may be forthcoming.

Another area for analysis for a supplier could be assessing the duration of the procurement processes with a specific procuring entity. If you plan on participating in a solicitation and anticipate winning, the less time a particular item spends in your warehouse, the more profitable that transaction will be for you. The storage duration could largely depend on the duration of the procuring entity’s procurement processes. This information can be explored via the “Procurement Stages” worksheet.

The metric for the average duration of procurements calculates the average number of days from the issuance of the solicitation notice to the contract award.

In the scope of the current case study, we have:

• Examined a specific procuring entity;
• Identified their preferred procurement methods and key suppliers;
• Determined potential needs and upcoming solicitations in which you could participate;
• Established the average duration of the procurement processes for this procuring entity.