Procurement Requirements

Procurement requirements refer to the goods and services that must be acquired from organizations outside the performing organization. For a variety of reasons, sometimes performing organizations rely on vendors to provide what’s needed to complete a project.

For example, consider the widget manufacturer that undertakes a project to automate their inventory tracking system. Some of the project work activities involve the relocation of storage bins in their main warehouse. Some of the work activities involve custom software development. As to the software development activities, widget manufacturer doesn’t have a human resource who knows how to develop the software application. Regarding the software development activities, widget manufacturer must procure those services.

“Procure” isn’t just another word for “purchase.” You can be certain there’s a difference. Purchasing refers to the act of ordering and receiving goods and services. Procuring refers to a whole host of activities. When we procure a good or service, we first establish the requirements. We perform market research, evaluate vendors, solicit bids, negotiate contracts, purchase what we need and integrate the delivery of those services or goods into the project.

The project manager creates the procurement requirements list. Input is obtained from others on the project team, of course.

Inputs to developing the procurement requirements list include the WBS and its associated dictionary, the human resource requirements list, organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors.

The procurement requirements list is used to capture and track the procurement requirements that become identified during project planning. The free template below captures the WBS ID, the activity name, requirements, dates needed and the procurement authority. Once complete, the list becomes an input to developing the procurement management plan.