Section Two: Procurement Planning

2.1 Key Information

2.1.1 Planning Phase Process Flow

The Procurement Planning phase encompasses several key processes in the procurement lifecycle. From identifying and defining a need to determining the most appropriate acquisition method that addresses that need, the planning phase frames the procurement approach and strategy. Key activities include conducting research and analysis, documenting results, evaluating alternatives, and deciding on an approach.

Note:  Planning is a requirement for purchases of Health and Human Services in accordance with HAR 3-142. Planned Purchase Report.  Pursuant to HRS §103F-412, Time line, advance notice of possible future opportunities for service providers to compete for state contracts must be provided. The Planned Purchase report is an online reporting system for reporting anticipated solicitations.  Departments must post quarterly, at a minimum, health and human services projected to be procured within any two year period and revised as needed.  Posting of anticipated planned services does not obligate purchasing agencies to procure the services.  The intent of the planned purchases report is to provide interested parties with advance information so they may plan for submission of optimal proposals.  Each department has identified personnel who post anticipated procurements on the online site.  Contact your departmental Health and Human Services coordinator for the procedures for your department.

Participation of Providers. A state agency may require a provider to participate in planning.  To do so the notice of required participation shall be placed in the procurement notice and a provision must be made in the contract that such participation shall not disqualify a provider from submitting a response to a request for proposals.

The following are the major steps in the process flow for the Procurement Planning phase:

2.2 Identify Need

The procurement process begins by identifying the agency’s needs and requirements. There are many ways needs are identified, from a program executing on a major budgeted project, to a program seeking specific needs to fulfill its mission, to the SPO identifying a need for a statewide contract to meet state-wide needs. Once an agency determines its needs, it then must determine whether the requirement can be met with in-house capability or must be procured.

Once an agency determines its needs must be procured, it must work to prioritize them. An agency will need to review its priorities and select and schedule the procurements that are most aligned with those priorities and budgetary constraints. In addition, an agency should comprehensively review its purchasing needs to determine where consolidation or combining purchases may be possible. In this way, an agency can improve purchasing efficiency and potentially drive improved pricing through economies of scale.

2.3 Build Procurement Team

Once the purchasing agency has defined and prioritized the requirement, it is important for the agency’s Procurement Officer to identify a team of stakeholders that will participate in the procurement. Stakeholders are individuals who have an interest in the needed good, service, or construction. These individuals provide a significant contribution to the effort based on their subject matter expertise in elements of the project scope or deliverables. Working with the stakeholders, the agency Procurement Officer will define and document the project scope and functional requirements. During the Solicitation and Award phase, the Procurement Team will develop the solicitation and evaluate responses.