Develop Contracts Strategy

Description: At the conclusion of the Procurement Planning Phase, Procurement staff needs to devise a contracting strategy that weights risks and adequately protects The Alliance’s interests. The scope and depth of the analysis supporting the objectives should be directly related to the overall value, importance, and complexity of the procurement, and be concluded before launching a formal solicitation. As such, the overall aim of contract strategy is both to determine an appropriate contract type, as well as develop cost/price analysis as a basis for later confirming price/cost reasonableness. A prerequisite to effective contracting strategy is to fully understand the scope of the requirement. At the end of the planning phase, the type of requirement specification to be used must be determined. The different types of specification require different formats and associated areas of detail, flexibility and concentration. When the procurement project is complex, the Organization may decide to request the support of other Alliance bodies. The Organization may also use external consultants to assist in preparing or reviewing Requirement Specifications. A consultant engaged to prepare or review the Requirement Specifications and/or to assist in the evaluation of proposals concerning a particular requirement, shall not be allowed to recommend any vendor for solicitation or award of contract or to submit a bid or proposal for the requirement.