CIPS L4M8 : Procurement and Supply in Practice

Correct Answer:

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Explanation:
A new buy is the purchase of goods and services by an organization or an individual for its first time. For example a transport organization for the very first time contracting the purchase of a Lorry out to an external supplier. In situations like this, it is advisable to start the procurement cycle from the very first stage. Which is understanding the need and developing high level specification.
Modified re-buy is the purchase of goods or services that an organization has bought before there was a need but with changes to the specification or supplier or quantity or quality. In carrying out modified re-buy, procurement professional should start from the very first stage of the procurement cycle to justify the added need and follow through. Not in all cases that buyer would have to start from understanding the need. In a situation where the changes required is a change of supplier, the organization will start from its preferred suppliers list and contract the next ranking supplier as the case may be.
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Explanation:
Responsible and ethical sourcing promotes working with suppliers who want to have a positive effect on the environment or at least minimize the damage they cause. Suppliers can make effort to reduce their impact on the planet through reducing the pollution, taking steps to recycle or reuse products can improve on supplier's impact on the environment, also supplier can consider sustainability as another environmental factor.
Suppliers with strong values on ethics will have a programme to return anything taken from nature in the form of replanting or replacing

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Explanation:
Condition performance monitoring is a surveillance system that is designed to get the maximum production uptime and availability out of an asset. And this can be achieved by timely monitoring and measuring of temperature, vibration, output, speed, noise, emissions and quality. With this, decision has to be made as to what, if any, action needs to be taken. The five approaches to condition performance monitoring are as follows:
1. Do nothing: Use like a commodity. This will bring worries later.
2. Reactive: Fix it when it breaks. This will run to failure.
3. Preventive: Scheduled maintenance.
4. Predictive: Fix it before it breaks. Predict faults.
5. Proactive: Continuous improvement defect elimination.
The most cost-effective approach is 'Proactive', because is the only approach that has continuous improvement in the process, people and policies to minimize downtime. Being proactive takes defect out of the system and continuously harness opportunity that will optimize the system

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Explanation:
Ones the need is understood, the procurement professional develops the specifications while working together with stakeholders and colleagues to ensure that the final design is fit for purposes that it meets the generated need.
Specification can be focus on performance or conformance.
Performance specification states what the product or service must do or how it should perform but leave the supplier the freedom to achieve this, however they wish.
Performance specification brings the following advantages; it allows supplier innovation, promote competition in the market place, shorter document, quick to prepare. The disadvantage of perfor-mance specification is that buyers may not know exactly what they will be getting.
Conformance specification gives clear instructions to the supplier about what is required and how it should be achieved. Examples of conformance specifications are chemical formulae, recipes and technical drawings.
Conformance specification specifies which standards a requirement must meet or exceed. The advantage of using it is; buyers know exactly what they will get. It has the following disadvantages; the buyer bears the risk, it does not encourage supplier to innovate, take longer and complex documentation.

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Explanation:
3.3 Analyse FIVE whole-life costs that SigmaCo should consider when sourcing globally. (25 marks) Whole-life costing means looking at the total cost of an item over its full life , rather than only the initial purchase price. CIPS defines total cost of ownership as an estimate of the end-to-end cost of providing a service or manufacturing a product, including purchase price, acquisition cost, usage cost and end-of-life cost . This is important for SigmaCo because global suppliers may offer lower unit prices, but the total cost may be much higher once all other costs are included.
1. Acquisition and logistics costs
The first whole-life cost SigmaCo should consider is the cost of getting the materials and equipment from overseas suppliers to its factory. This includes freight, shipping, insurance, port handling, customs clearance, import duties and inland transport. These costs can be significant in global sourcing and may reduce or even remove the apparent savings from lower supplier prices. In analysis, a cheap overseas unit price may not represent better value if transport and import costs are high or volatile. Since direct materials account for 65% of SigmaCo's overall spend, these additional landed costs are very important. Whole-life costing specifically includes acquisition costs, not just the purchase price.
2. Inventory and lead-time costs
A second cost is the effect of longer international lead times on inventory. If SigmaCo sources globally, it may need to hold more safety stock to protect production against shipping delays, customs problems or supply disruption. This creates costs such as warehousing, stock handling, insurance, working capital tied up in inventory and possible obsolescence. This is especially relevant in a price-sensitive toy market, where demand patterns may change quickly. Therefore, global sourcing may lower the price per unit but increase the total cost of holding stock. Whole-life cost analysis should capture these ongoing usage-related costs.
3. Quality failure and non-conformance costs
The third cost is the potential cost of poor quality. SigmaCo's brand is built partly on quality, so if globally sourced materials or equipment fail to meet specification, the business could face inspection costs, rework, scrap, production downtime, customer complaints or product returns. This is an important whole-life cost because a lower-priced supplier may create higher downstream costs if quality standards are inconsistent. In analysis, SigmaCo should not compare suppliers only on purchase price, but also on the total cost of defects and the impact on brand reputation. CIPS notes that total cost of ownership includes non-value-adding processes such as scrap and rework.
4. Supplier management, compliance and risk costs
A fourth whole-life cost is the cost of managing overseas suppliers. Global sourcing often requires more supplier evaluation, relationship management, audits, communication, travel, contract administration and risk monitoring. There may also be compliance costs linked to product safety, ethical sourcing, trade rules or due diligence requirements, depending on the source country and material. These costs are often hidden, but they are real and can be substantial when moving from local to international supply markets. In analysis, global sourcing may therefore increase procurement overhead and risk-management costs even when prices appear attractive. CIPS and wider public procurement guidance both stress that whole-life cost should include implementation and delivery risks, not simply the quoted price.
5. End-of-life and disposal costs
The fifth whole-life cost is the cost associated with the end of the item's life. For direct materials, this may include waste, disposal, recycling or handling of unusable stock. For equipment, it may include decommissioning, replacement, disposal, recycling and environmental compliance costs. These costs matter because equipment bought cheaply from overseas could be more expensive to maintain, replace or dispose of later. CIPS states that end-of-life cost is one of the core categories of total cost of ownership, and procurement guidance also says buyers should consider removal and disposal when evaluating bids.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SigmaCo should not base its decision only on the lower unit prices offered by global suppliers.
It should analyse at least five major whole-life costs: acquisition and logistics costs, inventory and lead- time costs, quality failure costs, supplier management and risk costs, and end-of-life costs . By doing this, SigmaCo will be able to judge whether global sourcing genuinely reduces total cost while still protecting quality and brand value.