“There is no perfect evaluation process, because the process is influenced by the human being”.
Following a previous post, knowledge in the procurement process is something much more complicated than people think …. Because it is subjective.
Procurement processes try to create a process where you try to get the best deal by comparing apples to apples. In some cases, such as in supply chains of materials or raw materials, the degree of objectivity is higher, although even in these parameters you can see “preferences in certain directions” that are still subjective.
The problem, or the reality is that there is no perfect evaluation process, because the process is influenced by the human being… and like anything where the human being is involved, there is a greater or lesser degree of subjectivity.
For example, if you buy two products, what would you look at? Price? Yes, the price can be considered objective, but
– Is it the same quality? Manufacturing processes may create a preference for certain team members who you assess as having (more or less up-to-date) knowledge of the process.
– Are the suppliers giving the same guarantee? This can be seen as a belief in the product, although it may be desperation on the part of the supplier to gain ground on the competition.
– do they have the same after-sales service? Personal factors may come into play here, such as the treatment of certain personnel at a certain time.
– Is it manufactured locally? Sometimes, to please other stakeholders (or even own nationalism…), we choose to buy locally, rather than the product further away.
– is it new technology? This is perhaps one of my favorite subjectivity components, because on the one hand you know that you are (very) likely to have more problems with a new technology, but you also know that this new product is going to give you more performance, (or is cheaper than the old technology)…
When you put all the factors that have to be taken into account, it is very difficult to create a completely objective system of how to evaluate the purchasing process.
In my experience, the important thing is to have that evaluation process defined in a temporal way, and to adjust it as you see results (a bit iteratively). Why?
1) Because on the one hand you are buying, but that purchase is going to be part of something that is likely to be variable. For example, you need to buy a car, you start the search with a criteria that prioritizes sportiness, but in the process you find out that you are going to have a child… bye bye 2 doors, welcome SUV.
2) When you receive the offers, you will learn from what the suppliers tell you, and they will allow you to adjust the evaluation process, or to ask for reviews of offers that will allow you to better compare the different offers.
While it is true that the more you repeat a process, the more concrete you can be, and the more you can reduce subjectivity, it is impossible to completely remove the subjective component from the procurement process and it is good to be aware of it.
