Page 14 - The Edge - Spring 2017

How to respond to soliCitations Now keep in mind, I’m an old dog who has accepted the reality
that not everything I do is perfect. Alarming, isn’t it? Just ask my
Continued from page 12 director, she’ll tell you. What I do believe is that everyone has
may not be viewed the same from our readers. Several questions potential for improvement, so if we’re not honest with ourselves, it
come to mind when I see simplistic points of a solicitation being may be hard to improve from this point forward.
missed and it all comes down to the procurement officer issuing However, if we value the prospect of improvement, we should be
the solicitation. collaborating with suppliers for additional information relating to
Remember the point in Lari’s article on Providing Great their view of the solicitation. Don’t be afraid to ask their viewpoint
Customer Service when she said: “Don’t assume they know the on questions like:
rules.” As procurement people, we shouldn’t assume that our
readers will interpret our solicitations the same way that we had • “Were the objectives clear?”
intended them to. • “Did you have trouble understanding the requirements?”
So some of the questions that I have to ask myself are: • “Are there any points that should have been added?”
• “Did I clearly define the scope of work?” And so on. All of our efforts to collaborate with the supplier
• “Was I clear in conveying the information that I was seeking should help us to create better solicitations. Don’t feel that you have
answers for?” to know everything about everything. Chances are, that’s not going
• “Did it make sense by asking complete and concise to happen.
questions?” So in summary, just know that there’s a great deal of information
that can still be obtained by simply collaborating with our suppliers
I still remember the infinite words of wisdom passed down to and other professionals in the industry. In order for this to happen
me from my director, Michelle Hamilton. She has indicated that though, we have to put ourselves in the position to go after it.
when we’re writing solicitations, we need to write them as though Never be afraid to ask questions that can help both sides to become
the reader knows nothing about the topic or that we’re explaining it successful.
to an individual for the first time. We shouldn’t expect our suppliers
to have the knowledge base that we have when it comes to the Gary Barkman, Procurement Specialist Supervisor, Mesa Unified
procurement process. School District #4, can be reached at: gabarkman@mpsaz.org

14 THE EDGE | SPRING 2017