Blogs

Tips to improve supplier assessment protocols

Improve Supplier Assessment Protocols to Skirt Procurement Challenges

It is often said that the best defence is a good offence.  This proactive thinking is prevalent throughout our public procurement training, emphasizing the importance of carving out adequate time to do effective procurement planning. Part of that planning should include considering strategies for selection of the ‘best value’ supplier – which will vary depending […]

Vendor Managment Tips

Innovative Vendor Performance Management at the City of Ottawa

It is easy for procurement professionals to understand that the best indicator of how a contractor will do in the future is  how they have performed in the past, but very few are working with a credible, objective and fact-based system for  collecting and utilizing this information on a regular basis. And given the specific […]

public sector procurement

5 federal election impacts on the Canadian public sector procurement process

By The Procurement School On September 21, 2021, Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Liberal party leader, was re-elected with a minority Government. As Trudeau will be leading the country for the next 18 months, we thought we would look at what re-election means for public procurement.  It seems the Liberals are investing heavily into keeping up with […]

public procurement training benefits

Public Procurement Training Can Help Boost Earning Potential

As the effects of the global pandemic unfold, governments the world over are looking to procurement leaders to restructure supply chains that are agile and resilient as well as leverage technology to gain procurement efficiencies. This has led to increased positions and career opportunities for procurement professionals — thereby furthering the need for, and increasing […]

Integrated Program Delivery

an overview of integrated project delivery (“IPD”)

Integrated Project Delivery is a construction delivery methodology successfully in use for decades in the US and parts of Europe. It is currently gaining traction in Canada. what is integrated project delivery, or IPD? There are essentially four construction delivery method options a project team can choose from. These four include: design-build, design-bid-build, construction management […]

IT procurement

IT procurement challenges

Author: Debby Shapero ProppWhether you are contracting to licence or acquire custom software, hardware, or related services, IT procurement creates unique challenges and is often associated with high costs, complexity, and a relatively high rate of failure. Improperly informed IT decisions can be costly. These challenges can be daunting even to the most seasoned practitioners. […]

contract risk allocation

the trinity of risk allocation in contracts: limitation of liability, indemnity and insurance

My husband, the cook in our household, often speaks of the holy trinity of French cuisine – the mirepoix – a base of sautéed onions, celery and carrots that form the foundation of many French recipes.  In contracts, the trinity of risk allocation is the limitation of liability, indemnity and insurance clauses. Together, this trinity […]

scc provides guidance on good faith in the exercise of contractual discretion

As procurement professionals know, contractual discretion is a double-edged sword: it leaves you in the driver’s seat, but almost certainly will lead to challenges when that discretion is exercised to the detriment of the other party to the contract. While the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Bhasin v Hrynew laid out some organizing principles […]