Scottish procurement and commercial competency framework

Process (How): Delivery – Post Contract

Contract and Supplier Management [back to list]

Theme:

Contract and Supplier Management is about working closely with suppliers and internal customers to minimise the total cost of ownership and maximise supply chain efficiencies throughout the life of a contract. Contract Management ensures that suppliers fulfil their obligations in line with contract terms and conditions, and that key performance indicators are met and risks are effectively managed. Supplier Management focuses on the strategic approaches to managing and developing suppliers, with the right level of engagement, resource, and time, proportionate to the demands or complexities of the contract.

Why it matters:

Contract Management ensures that what has been specified is delivered on time, to the quality specified and at the agreed price. It provides the basis for performance management, measurement and, if required, a process for breach or failure to deliver on the contract. It is used to manage relationships and/or assets, to optimise life cycle costs and to enable and track sustainable outcomes and commitments. Supplier Management presents opportunities to better understand and optimise a supplier’s capability and capacity. It provides an opportunity to consider how to improve processes, or use overall resource more effectively, to deliver greater value for money. It provides an opportunity for achieving further added value, continuous improvement, innovation, and ways of working that ensure greater public value and value for the supplier.

Level 1 – Foundation:

• Understands basic contract management principles and supports the process, under guidance.
• Supports market research, to identify opportunities for benefit or continuous improvement, under guidance.

Global Standards: APM: Contract management (1 Aware)

Level 2 – Working Knowledge:

• Manages and monitors low-value and low-risk contracts, including key performance indicators, risks and demand forecasts to ensure the continued supply of goods and services.
• Gathers data on delivery and supplier performance, and stakeholder feedback to monitor contract performance and inform regular supplier performance reviews. Shares outputs with internal stakeholders and suppliers to create and implement improvement plans where appropriate.
• Conducts market research as required, undertaking regular supplier engagement to identify issues and understand opportunities for development, added value or improvement, and allocates clear responsibilities for action.

Global Standards: CIPS: 8 Delivering, 9 Delivering, 10 Delivering, Ethics: Delivering, APM: Contract management (2 Practised)

Level 3 – Practitioner:

• Effectively uses contract and supplier management, and its associated techniques, on medium to high risk and value procurements, applying and managing key performance indicators to achieve the desired objectives.
• Develops opportunities for added value, innovation, or improvement, using key strategic relationships with suppliers to understand, analyse and explore the art of what is possible in the current market.
• Guides suppliers in identifying and leveraging opportunities to enhance social, economic, and environmental value, ensuring value for money for taxpayers.

Global Standards: CIPS: 8 Managing, 9 Managing, 10 Managing, Ethics: Managing, APM: Contract management (3 Competent)

Level 4 – Expert:

• Manages high-value, high-risk contracts in complex projects and programmes and leads on strategic supplier relationships to achieve effective delivery.
• Leads on and develops contract and/or supplier management strategies, techniques and approaches for the wider function approach, including monitoring the successful deployment of these across the function.
• Provides expert contract and supplier management advice and guidance to key internal stakeholders, and upskills colleagues on contract and/or supplier management techniques.

Global Standards: CIPS: 8 Leading, 9 Leading, 10 Leading, Ethics: Leading, APM: Contract management (4 Proficient)

Level 5 – Leader:

• Provides leadership, mentorship and advice on high-visibility, high-risk contract and supplier management issues including escalations, leading supplier risk resilience and response strategies.
• Defines the organisation’s contract management and supplier management policies and governance frameworks to proactively explore and exploit opportunities for added commercial, social, economic, or environmental value.
• Drives continuous improvement programmes to enable innovation, optimise life-cycle costs and value, and delivers longer-term sustainable outcomes and commitments. Enabling global and local supplier partnerships and supply chain strategies to attract and retain world-class suppliers to build a competitive supply chain advantage.

Global Standards: CIPS: 8 Influencing, 9 Influencing, 10 Influencing, 13 Influencing, Ethics: Influencing, APM: Contract management (5 Expert)

Supply Chain Management [back to list]

Theme:

Focuses on the strategic coordination of procurement, logistics, production and distribution processed to ensure the efficient and cost-effective flow of goods, services and information, so that an integrated supply process meets organisational strategic goals.

Why it matters:

Knowledge is critical to all elements of public procurement. From a policy perspective, the deeper the supplier chain the more opportunity there is to support investment and development in policy objectives to support fair and ethical trade, equality on workforce matters, and access for SMEs and the third sector.

Level 1 – Foundation:

• Understands basic principles relating to supply chain management.

Global Standards: None

Level 2 – Working Knowledge:

• Able to distinguish how different types of markets supply an organisation and uses market analysis to support their development and the associated supply chains.
• Advises stakeholders on the appropriate guidance when dealing with supply chains and key aspects of sustainability, to ensure a coherent and compliant approach to supply chain management.
• Supports supply chain mapping for the organisation to ensure the appropriate level of leverage, support, and engagement, while managing cost and value for money.

Global Standards: CIPS: 12 Delivering, Ethics: Delivering

Level 3 – Practitioner:

• Manages supply chains for own commodity responsibilities, advises stakeholders, can identify and provides opportunities for innovation and supply effectiveness to provide the best value procurement of goods and services.
• Achieves best value for money, through an understanding of the multi-tiered nature of supply chains, where costs and risks can arise, managing and mitigating risks and resolving conflicts between the organisation and its supply chain.
• Deploys appropriate policies and processes across the supply chain to ensure that standards, practices and codes apply, including labour and ethical codes of practice.

Global Standards: CIPS: 10 Managing, 14 Managing, Ethics: Managing

Level 4 – Expert:

• Leads on the strategic use of suppliers in the supply chain for complex projects and programmes.
• Proactively engages in supply chain development, ensuring cost optimisation, performance efficiency, and alignment with national requirements, while maintaining clear service level accountability.
• Assures strong interrelationships, using risk registers and other mechanisms for the management of multi-tier risks, along with strong controls and accountability.
• Uses supply chain management to ensure policy delivery and leverage supply chain opportunities.

Global Standards: CIPS: 10 Leading, 12 Leading, 14 Leading, Ethics: Leading

Level 5 – Leader:

• Shapes the organisation’s supply chain, in alignment with the organisation’s strategy and the procurement categorisation model.
• Develops and nurtures joint continuous improvement by connecting the internal and external supply chain.
• Wins hearts and minds, influencing their active involvement by articulating the business benefits, building and managing capability.

Global Standards: CIPS: 9 Influencing, 10 Influencing, 12 Influencing, Ethics: Influencing

Inventory Management [back to list]

Theme:

Inventory Management focuses on the management of inventory across the organisation, covering the delivery of products, quality, and timely distribution of goods throughout the organisation. A thorough understanding of direct and indirect costs associated with receiving and holding stock is critical.

Why it matters:

Inventory Management focuses on establishing effective inventory systems with efficient and effective management of incoming and outgoing goods and creating a source of value for money for public organisations. Involves the use of efficiency models, such as Just in Time (JIT), leveraging cash flow, storage, and distribution to achieve value for money and quality combined.

Level 1 – Foundation:

• Awareness of stockholding at a local level and supports the work of inventory management, under guidance.
• Understands goods turnover, ordering, receipting, safe handling, and stock record keeping and knows how to escalate issues e.g. damage, loss or theft etc., as appropriate.

Global Standards: None

Level 2 – Working Knowledge:

• Familiar with the basic applications of stock control, able to operate appropriate systems to pre-determined criteria and clearly defined demand requirements seeking advice as appropriate.
• Contributes ideas for the improvement of inventory management and suggests quality and efficiency improvements.

Global Standards: CIPS: 7 Delivering, 14 Delivering

Level 3 – Practitioner:

• Evaluates demand for supplies and stock holding requirements for commodities and the achievement of procurement policies.
• Proposes recommendations for improvement through the end-to-end supply chain; managing and exploiting opportunities while assessing and monitoring risks.

Global Standards: CIPS: 7 Managing, 14 Managing

Level 4 – Expert:

• Leads on the strategic use of suppliers in the supply chain for complex projects and programmes and is actively involved and engaged in supply chain development, to meet requirements of national procurement.
• Ensures supply chains align with JIT and other strategy requirements to optimise cost, quality, and timeliness, minimising unnecessary expense in meeting supply and demand requirements.

Global Standards: CIPS: 12 leading, 14 Leading, Ethics: Leading

Level 5 – Leader:

• Provides direction to the relevant functions on requirements for highly efficient and effective inventory management, establishing and embedding the economics of inventory management, while ensuring proper control and accounting for stores and stocks within their control where applicable.

Global Standards: CIPS: 12 Influencing, 14 Influencing

Distribution, Fleet, and Logistics [back to list]

Theme:

Distribution, Fleet, and Logistics focuses on the outward distribution of products and services on behalf of the organisation. Inventory management is responsible for ensuring the availability of stock based on demand, and getting it to the right place at the right time to fulfil all regulatory and legislative requirements.

Why it matters:

Distribution, Fleet, and Logistics is a critical part of the overall procurement process. Ensuring effective management of the logistics is imperative, particularly for emergency-based supplies. Logistical demands are central to the product specification and are key to the successful delivery and distribution of products nationally. Adherence to health and safety requirements, both legislative and regulatory is critical.

Level 1 – Foundation:

• Understands the importance of, and operates, point-of-use stock holding systems.
• Understands the importance of fleet and logistics planning in relation to the total delivery of goods/services.

Global Standards: None

Level 2 – Working Knowledge:

• Selects distribution methods, following evaluation of information on distribution of supplies.
• Schedules distribution of supplies, collates, and analyses data from point-of-use systems and makes recommendations on potential improvements to senior managers.
• Influences and develops a commodity service-based approach to supply chain delivery.

Global Standards: CIPS: 14 Delivering

Level 3 – Practitioner:

• Plans and manages the demand for products and services for complex projects and programmes in a synchronised and well-planned way, including measuring CO2 and cost-effective delivery of goods and services.
• Manages the scope for delivery, stockholding and costs, and cash flow demands for the programmes, identifying risk and mitigation considerations related to the distribution methods.
• Combines 2/3 commodities within logistics, i.e. integration of consumables/pharma products/mail.

Global Standards: CIPS: 14 Managing

Level 4 – Expert:

• Develops distribution strategies and associated policies, including consideration of the legal and sustainability arrangements.
• Takes a hub approach to logistics and central coordination, undertaking route analysis periodically to ensure it meets changing service needs.
• Reduces year-on-year core fleet with minimal use of expensive short-term hire and the requirement for third party send in terms of courier and agency drivers.

Global Standards: CIPS: 14 Leading

Level 5 – Leader:

• Leads on distribution strategies and associated policies, ensuring alignment with existing procurement and national policy requirements, embedding a hub approach with scheduling undertaken on a daily/weekly basis.
• Conducts comprehensive risk assessments and implements robust policies and procedures to ensure the safe and compliant delivery of goods, including the management of hazardous waste and high-risk materials in line with regulations.
• Ensures appropriate systems and infrastructure are built and implemented to manage the complexity of multiple delivery projects and programmes, including the real-time track and trace of goods.
• Partners on a regional, national, and public sector basis.

Global Standards: CIPS: 14 Influencing