VENDOR LIFE CYCLE The City has a Vendor Life Cycle Management Process. The Vendor Life Cycle Management Process is defined as an end-to-end approach to managing vendors. It provides for a consistent and transparent framework to engage vendors from start to finish in order to ensure successful outcomes along the way and to mitigate potential risk to the City. In addition to reducing risk, the Vendor Life Cycle Management Process allows for the selection of the most qualified and best valued vendors while increasing accountability that allows the City to drive service excellence. The Vendor Life Cycle Management Process supports the City’s values of Integrity, Accountability, and Commitment to Excellence. The City’s Vendor Life Cycle Management Process consists of three main phases: Pre-Vendor, Active Vendor, and Post-Vendor. Each of these phases are critical to the successful management and oversight of City vendors during the procurement process, and each phase involves many stages.
Pre-Vendor Phase The Pre-Vendor Phase is the first phase and includes the most stages. The Pre-Vendor Phase is intentionally designed with the most steps in order to screen for the vendors that will be the best fit and value for the City prior to entering into a contract with the vendor. By performing extensive due diligence in the Pre-Vendor Phase, the City is able to reduce its risk exposure. The Pre-Vendor Phase flowchart (Appendix Vendor Life Cycle), starts with vendor identification and market research. It lays out the various paths by which a vendor may be selected in accordance with State laws and City policies. These include the bidding process, Local Government Code exemptions, and Cooperative Purchasing Agreements (CoOps) or Inter-Local Agreements (ILAs). As part of the process with contracts over $50,000, potential vendors are asked to complete and return a City Vendor Background Questionnaire, unless it is unreasonable or not possible to obtain. The questionnaire addresses areas of concern including company history, any prior bankruptcy, company structure and organization, and compliance with Federal and Department of Labor laws. This criteria is taken into consideration during the vendor selection process. This phase concludes with the contract award and vendor on-boarding process.
Active Vendor Phase The Active-Vendor Phase focuses on vendor performance and quality management. Through periodic inspections and deliberate oversight by departments, vendors are held accountable for satisfactory performance and quality workmanship. The Active-Vendor Phase flowchart (Appendix Vendor Life Cycle), outlines the sequential steps taken to ensure delivery of excellence. Periodic vendor reviews allow for departments to identify possible deficiencies early, and communicate them in writing to the vendor; thereby reducing the City’s risk and providing for a process to escalate any unresolved issues to the City Manager’s Office for resolution in a timely manner. The Active-Vendor Phase concludes with the vendor satisfactorily completing their contractual obligations. For those with multi-year contracts over $50,000, a City Vendor Background Questionnaire will be required annually as part of the renewal letter, unless it is unreasonable or not possible to obtain.
Post Vendor Phase Lastly, is the Post-Vendor Phase (Appendix Vendor Life Cycle) While many organizations may conclude the vendor life cycle with completion of the project or service delivery, the Post-Vendor Phase is crucial in assessing and documenting Vendor performance for future reference. At the center of the City’s Post-Vendor Phase is an electronic Vendor Performance Evaluation Business Process. The electronic workflow allows departments to submit a Vendor Performance Evaluation. This is a requirement for contract awards greater than $50,000, and is recommended, but optional, for those under $50,000. The Vendor Performance Evaluation is a great tool for information sharing as it is reviewed by the Department Director, Chief Financial Officer, City Manager’s Office, and Finance Purchasing Division before being saved into the City’s official records repository for future use.
P U R C H A S I N G P L A Y B O O K | CITY OF SOUTHLAKE
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