Process, Authority and Specification

The sequence

1. Identify the requirement — what is actually needed, and why.
2. Check it is not already available — in stock, under an existing contract, or held elsewhere in the organisation.
3. Confirm budget — that funds exist and this is the right budget line.
4. Specify — write down what is required.
5. Obtain quotations proportionate to the value.
6. Evaluate and select, recording the reasons.
7. Obtain approval within delegated authority.
8. Raise a purchase order and send it to the supplier.
9. Receive and check the goods or service against the order.
10. Approve the invoice and pass it for payment.
11. Record the asset, the contract or the renewal date as appropriate.

The most common failures are doing these out of order: ordering before approval, approving after the invoice arrives, or receiving something nobody can identify because no order exists.

Delegated authority

Know your own limit and never exceed it, including by splitting a purchase into smaller parts to stay within it — which is treated as a serious control breach and is one of the standard markers of procurement fraud. Know who approves above your limit, who deputises in their absence, and what requires a formal process rather than a simple order.

Typical value bands, though thresholds vary widely: below a small amount, one quotation and local approval; a middle band, three written quotations; above a higher threshold, a formal tender; and above a public procurement threshold in the public sector, a regulated process with specific advertising and timescale requirements.

Specifying what you need

A poor specification produces the wrong thing at the right price. Write down:

• What it must do — describe the requirement in terms of outcome and performance, not by naming a product, unless compatibility genuinely requires a specific item.
• Quantity, and whether it is a one-off or recurring.
• Quality standards — any certification, standard or regulatory requirement.
• Delivery — when, where, and any access constraints.
• Compatibility with what you already have.
• Support — warranty, maintenance, training, consumables.
• Disposal of what it replaces.

Specifying by brand name where an equivalent would serve restricts competition, usually increases price, and in regulated procurement can be unlawful. Where a specific product is genuinely required, record why.

Total cost, not purchase price

Compare what the item will cost over its life, not what it costs today:

• Purchase price, delivery and installation.
• Consumables — the classic case being a cheap printer with expensive cartridges, where the consumables exceed the purchase price within months.
• Maintenance, support and licence renewals.
• Energy consumption for anything that runs continuously.
• Training and the cost of changing from what you use now.
• Expected life and disposal cost.