Manufacturers in recent times have discovered and started exploiting the benefits of circular economic production. Procurement has also adopted the same course of order. Generally, the circular procurement process entails adopting circular economy principles in the purchase of products for the organization. This must be widely sustainable in the long run. The process involves the acquisition of tangible goods and services rendered to the organization, whether internally or externally.
The process of circular procurement entails different stages. The first step in the organization is to ascertain if the company needs the goods or services that are expected to be procured. After the recognition of the needs, the company requisites the documents internally to support the procurement. These documents contain specifications of the goods to be purchased.
The third step is to review the requisition above. This further confirms whether the needs are truly genuine to the organization. The review process entails several interviews aimed at inquiring into the extent of needs purported in the documents. The questions test whether the requirements can be addressed in the course of the procurement. The time frame of the delivery of the requested goods and the quality of goods and services are also subjected to review.
Beyond the review, approval is given on the suggested and selected items. Then, a solicitation process is adopted. The method of solicitation depends on the nature of goods and services. The process involves the management in the procurement department, documents, and probation questions to develop the best course to take in the procurement of the required goods or hiring service providers.
At times, the process may be complex, depending on the need of the company.
After the solicitation process, the interested goods and service providers have their bids evaluated and contract issued. Given the circular economy principles, the suppliers are expected to supply eco-friendly goods and services that are mindful of the ecosystem that requires protection in the wake of the safety of environment campaign. Therefore, only the supplier with an economical bid and meets other expected conditions are picked to keep up with the circular procurement process.
After the approval of the bids, the supplier is expected to deliver the goods in the fixed timeline as per the specifications. Then, the supplier issues an invoice to the company, which verifies the goods versus the bid details. If the invoices match the procurement details, then the bid is accepted. After the acceptance, payments are made in the duration predetermined in the agreement. All these records are kept for future reference and as a guide to other similar transactions.
Essentially, the circular procurement process is guided by the principles of the circular economy. The process entails securing goods and services that are friendly to the environment. The process is fixed in a way. The details of the process depend on the needs of the company and the goods and services in question, but of the essence, principles of circular economy are at the forefront. Adrift from the course guidelines could mean a miss like a course in maintaining a circular economy in force.