Page 137 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

4.4.2 Manage supplier delivery

Use effective project management and monitoring to ensure that outcomes are delivered.

Why it's important

Beginning a new project with a supplier is a crucial stage in the procurement and contract life cycle.
Public officials and stakeholders will need to be clear about:

• how they intend to work with them;

• roles and responsibilities; and

• how they will measure and reward performance.

What it means

Public officials and stakeholders should meet the supplier at the start of the project to agree:

• where the supplier will work and which tools or software they will use to collaborate;

• roles and responsibilities;
• how the project will be managed; for example, using agile or another delivery methodology;

• key milestones for the project, displayed in shared diagram or “roadmap”;

• how the work will be assessed; for example, which metrics they will use to monitor performance;
and
• how and when any incentives will be paid.

During the delivery phase public officials and stakeholders should:

• meet regularly to discuss ongoing performance, where possible with the whole supplier team
not just the project manager;

• identify any areas for improvement and agree how to make changes;
• consider how to work with suppliers with specific needs; for example, women-owned businesses
may require more flexible hours; and

• regularly review the exit plan that was drafted at the beginning of the contract.

The level of monitoring should be proportionate to the value and importance of the contract. For
high-value or complex projects this should involve a range of stakeholders, ideally including those
independent of awarding the contract.

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