Procurement challenges in project management context.

Mark Allocation:                          100 marks

Word Length:                               1000 to 1200 words   (includi  a word count at the end of your  essay) Reference count:                                             Minimum 5

Working strategy:                      Individual

Aim:

To explore  the  term procurement from a project  management perspective.

Learning Objectives:

Think critically to source, adapt, and apply project management tools and techniques to meet complex contextual  demands in different  sectors relating  to procurement.

1.  Background

Procurement has become a key issue in project management in the recent decade, largely because of its strategic link with all aspects of upstream supply chain to maximize economic, social and environmental  outcomes of any project.

Importantly, client expectations are rising globally, along with the requirement for higher standards of performance while achieving lower productivity costs. The Australian context is no exception, with Australian projects having specific procurement challenges. To assess these challenges, requires better understanding of the purchasing process, policy and procedures as well as procurement planning,  and  strategic  sourcing.

To establish your understanding of procurement in project management, this assignment will explore  procurement and its many challenges.

For this purpose, you will need to undertake the following tasks to write an investigative essay.

2. Detailed Tasks

In  order  to develop  your  investigative  essay, please go through the following steps:

Step 1:  Choose a project from the following links:

OR Alternatively, choose a project that you are involved in personally. Projects may include infrastructure, IT, logistics, quality/process improvement, construction, new product development, social/marketing campaigns that you read in recent news (within the last five years only). If you are choosing a project that you are involved in, ensure that you choose a project that enables you to locate sufficient information regarding its procurement management.  Ensure you provide the background if it is a project you were working on.

(If the links do not work, cut and paste them into your web   browser)

1. Flinders Street Station Project in Melbourne, Victoria: Flinders Street Station Project
2. The Westgate Tunnel Project, Melbourne, Choose either West Gate Freeways, Tunnels or Port to City. Located at http://westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au
3. Queensland Election – a powerful social media campaign: Power of Social Media in

Queensland  Election

4. Government of Western Australia, Safety and Quality in the Health System, Continuous Improvement project:
   1. W A Safety and Quality Strategic Plan2013-2017.pdf https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/Corporate/general%20documents/Rev iew%20of%20Safety%20and%20Quality/Review-of -safety-and-quality.pdf

2.    Review of Safety and Quality project

5. Closing the gap project in Australia:
   1. Close the gap- progress and priorities report https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social- justice/publications/close-gap-progress-0
6. The State Library of Victoria Redevelopment: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about- us/history-and-vision/vision-2020-redevelopment

7.    Parkville Gardens – Housing project redevelopment from Athletes Village: Parkville Gardens Project

https://www.de velop ment.vic.go v.au/projec ts/park vi lle – gardens?page=overview#

8. Melbourne as a smart city Project – City of Melbourne, Australia: Smart city project Melbourne
9. Business for Development – Impact: Grains Project – India

https://dfat.gov.au/geo/india/ies/chapter-5.html

Step 2: Read through the sample articles below (links provided), to understand common procurement challenges in the Australian context: (you are not limited to these articles.)

1. Graham Crashaw, 2017, The top six challenges facing procurement,
2. Jonathan Dutton, 2017, Buying for Australian Organisations – how it differs “Down Under”, Pulse – LinkedIn,
3. Bienhaus, , Haddud, A. Procurement 4.0: factors influencing the digitisaqtion of procurement and supply chains. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325433631_Procurement_40_factors_i nfluencin g_the_digitisation_of_procurement_and_supply_chains
4. Reinhard Geissbauer, Robert Weissbarth, Jürgen Wetzstein, 2016, Procurement 0: Are you ready for the digital revolution? https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/procurement-4-digital-  revolution.html

5.     Seary, T. January 2016, 5 Social Media Challenges For Procurement Professionals, CIPS and Precarious Social Media for Procurement Knowledge Partnership.

Step 3: Identify the key procurement challenges of your chosen project and categorise them, using the elements in the sample articles given in step 1 in a meaningful manner (for example, each of the articles offer elements of procurement challenges from different industry perspectives).

Consider and discuss the following:

• Define procurement 4.0; discuss how this topic links to your chosen
• What are the Supplier management related issues, such as fewer suppliers in the Australian market, and reluctance of global suppliers
• Was reduction of costs and savings achieved? Was benefits realisation prioritised as per Australian context?
• Was there accuracy of data in correspondence (use of software related

issues)?

• Risk Mitigation (Were there sole supplier contracts? Was maverick spending reduced or could it potentially be reduced? What were/are the compliance issues? What is the vulnerability in the supply chain due to the geographic location of Australia?)
• Time (Consider lead time issues and limited time issues in sourcing)
• Process issues such as social, environmental challenges, sustainability issues, , if identified.

Step 4: Map the key procurement challenges according to significance to the project – you could use a two by two matrix. You may use secondary sources (e.g. company reports, journal articles, newspaper articles) and/or primary (e.g. interview, survey)  data from steps 2 and 3.

NB: Personal experiences can be added, provided that you are involved personally in the project. Ensure that privacy is protected with anonymising the names, projects and any information that is sensitive.

Step 5: Draw conclusions from your analysis in step 3 and mapping in step 4, as to what can be done to address the procurement  challenges identified.

Step 6: Detailed Essay Structure: Use the following structure and suggested word count when developing your investigative essay.  Put the word count at the end of your essay.   Include a header and footer.

1. Cover page (not included in word count)
2. Table of Contents (not included in word count)

c.    Introduction: Briefly summarize the case being analyzed and the structure of your assignment. (170 -200 words)

1. Body of the essay: Identify key procurement challenges (650-850 words)

Note: Please read the articles in Detailed Tasks, Section 2 before writing the essay.

Procurement challenges in project management context.

• If the project is complete, identify the challenges and how they were
• If the project is ongoing, identify potential challenges as of now, and consider and promote

1. Conclusion (150 words)

In the conclusion reframe your findings and provide how these findings influence  procurement.

1. References (not included in the word count)

(Use APA referencing style.  Any resources including  those given in the project links, used as a basis, and broader research if any. This list is not included in the word count)

1. Appendices (not included in the word count)

(Can be provided if relevant.  Optional section)

Procurement challenges in project management context.

Course-materials-OPM4003+Delivering+projects Course-materials_Day1 Course-materials-Day2 Marking-Rubric Requirement

APA

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