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James Hunter has received a price increase request from a supplier with its justification. The supplier has requested the price increase because there has been an increase in staff sickness absence. James has reviewed the original contract and found a buyer provision for 'risk for additional resource.' This is the first year the supplier has experienced a resource issue. What should James do?
Detailed
Given that the provision for 'risk for additional resource' exists and this is the first occurrence, James should reject the price increase as the supplier should account for these risks in their pricing. Reference: CIPS Level 4, Contract Management and Cost Control.
Which of the following are likely to be disadvantages of using outcome-based specifications? Select THREE that apply
Explanation
An Outcome Based Specification (OBS) focuses on the desired outcome of a service in business terms, rather than a detailed technical specification of how the service is to be provided; this allows providers scope to propose innovative solutions that might not have occurred to the procurement team. Outcome should be distinguished from output, which is the measurable results of a set of inputs. The example of difference between outcome and output is written at the bottom of page 123 in the study guide.
Outcomes should be the starting point in making new specification. However, using outcome-based specification has some setbacks:
- First, it is not easy to measure the outcomes. Usually, outcome of a project is a statement like 'increase customer satisfaction', 'maintain ambient temperature' or 'provide a convenient way to do something'. They are not easy to measure as output.
- Second, sometimes the desired outcomes require time to be materialised
- Third, outcomes can be ambiguous
LO3, AC 3.1
Andrew is responsible for procurement of capital assets at Lumber Ltd. He is devising new business case for the purchase of a new band saw. The purchase price of the saw is $50,000. Andrew estimates that the machine will generate $10,000 per year of net cash flow. What is the payback period of this band saw?
Explanation
Payback period is the time in which the initial outlay of an investment is expected to be recovered through the cash inflows generated by the investment. It is one of the simplest investment apprais-al techniques.
Since cash flow estimates are quite accurate for periods in the near future and relatively inaccurate for periods in distant future due to economic and operational uncertainties, payback period is an indicator of risk inherent in a project because it takes initial inflows into account and ignores the cash flows after the point at which the initial investment is recovered.
The formula to calculate the payback period of an investment depends on whether the periodic cash inflows from the project are even or uneven.
If the cash inflows are even (such as for investments in annuities), the formula to calculate payback period is:
Payback Period = Initial Investment / Net Cash Flow per Period
When cash inflows are uneven, we need to calculate the cumulative net cash flow for each period and then use the following formula:
Payback Period =A + (B/C)
Where,
A is the last period number with a negative cumulative cash flow;
B is the absolute value (i.e. value without negative sign) of cumulative net cash flow at the end of the period A; and
C is the total cash inflow during the period following period A
Cumulative net cash flow is the sum of inflows to date, minus the initial outflow.
- Payback Period | Formulas, Calculation & Examples (xplaind.com)
- CIPS study guide page 44-47
LO 1, AC 1.3
A hospital extensively spends on medical and implantable devices, medical, surgical and pharma-ceutical supplies, costs of supplies related to buildings and maintenance operations. Hospital's procurement manager suggests that the hospital has an opportunity to reduce operational costs by reducing variation of medical devices and pharmaceutical supplies. Which of the following best describe the procurement manager's suggestion?
Explanation
The hospital is buying too many product variants. This may cause bottleneck in its operation and increase operational expense. So procurement manager suggests to standardise products.
This is an example of the benefits of product standardisation:
Saint Thomas Health, a system of 5 hospitals, needed to find a way to reduce costs. They were purchasing different SKUs for products that were very similar, in this case, labels. They bought label rolls for $3 and a very similar product for $1. This oversight in product purchases impacted the overall costs of the system. After partnering with a sole source vendor it was able to save $200,000 over a four year span. They accomplished this simply by standardizing label products. These savings, however, only account for the immediate savings from standardizing products. The saving that are not factored into that number are the savings from soft or hidden costs.
On a national scale, hospitals lose millions of dollars per year in hidden expenses due to missed opportunities for cost containment and incorporation. Some of the hidden elements that increase overall costs for a healthcare provider include the following:
- Redundant purchasing
- Freight
- Excessive purchase orders
- Multiple vendor relations
- Low efficiency
- Joint commission fines
- HAI
By implementing product standardization, hospitals and health systems reduce vendors, are able to reduce SKUs, purchase orders, inefficiency, freight costs, fines, and off-contract spending. All of this adds up to large savings for the organization as a whole.
96% of the respondents in the survey agree that consolidating suppliers and standardizing product purchases across organization would reduce hidden costs.
- CIPS study guide page 157-159
- 3 Ways Product Standardization Can Help You Get a Bonus -- ConnectID (pdchealthcare.com)
LO 3, AC 3.4
The first step in developing a business case, according to the procurement cycle is ...
