Guideline for Purchasing

Search market to determine which vendors are hungry. 

Selecting a vendor and placing the purchase order is only part of procurement, usually the easiest part. If the article is not delivered on time or does not meet specifications, the entire procurement effort will be wasted and the project may not be completed within schedule and budget. 

On projects handled through a general contractor, procurement (including expediting and inspecting) is performed by the contractor under the supervision of the Owner s Project Manager. Frequently, the Owner s specialists will also participate in the inspection of critical items. 

On projects handled under the small project approach, expediting and inspection are handled differently. Expediting is handled by whoever is doing the procurement, while the inspection is almost invariably handled by the Owner s specialists. 

Large contractors usually have expediting and inspection departments and, naturally, they would like to keep them busy all of the time, especially on reimbursable contracts. If left to themselves, being human, they could be tempted to expedite and inspect every nut and bolt in the project. 

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