By Hira Waris
The private academic sector of Pakistan has procurement needs just like any other sector. They need to ensure that they have the computers, textbooks and any other materials they need to be successful for their staff and students. Maintained educational institutes have a duty to assure that they obtain the best value for money from any contacts they enter into. Educational institutes need to follow a proper procurement process, whether an existing contract is coming to an end or a new good or service is required. Following are some common mistakes that affect the procurement methods in private academic sector of Pakistan.
Procurement in private academic sector is done by multiple bodies, leading to a fragmented approach that makes it overall less efficient, less organized and generally more chaotic. The private academic sector of Pakistan lacks highly qualified and experienced procurement professionals. They need to hire experienced procurement officials. The academic sector of Pakistan, either public or private, have complex approval processes and it takes a long time to procure goods and services and completion of orders.
Following are some guidelines on how the private academic sector of Pakistan can improve their procurement methodologies.
Pakistan’s private educational institutes should consider which procurement option is best for their individual institute. When a contract comes to an end, it is best to ‘re-procure’ to make sure the product or service is still meeting your needs and is giving you the best value for money.
In the case of either procurement or re procurement, make sure to do the market research so you know what is available. They should identify their needs and wants. Write a specification which should include; a description of what you need and how it would meet the institute’s need, the quality and quantity required and when do you need it. Estimate the whole cost of the contract, so you can decide which buying process you need to use. You should calculate the initial cost of the goods and services, value added tax, delivery charges, maintenance costs, running costs and the cost of removing an item or service when you no longer need it.
Once the institute has found their preferred supplier, it’s important to maintain good communication with them. By keeping a record of all supplier interactions in one place, they can ensure a consistent oversight of all supplier relationships. This includes the expectation of services and the agreed payment terms for products and services.
If procurement professionals in the private academic sector of Pakistan and other public sector bodies, could come together and develop better procurement practices that still remain in compliance with any applicable laws and legal regulations, they will be able to save huge amount of money. For instance, Rationalizing the entire tendering process could make the procurement lifecycle shorter and can lead to a better supply management
