In a recent exchange on Twitter, I was asked if I had any writing on procurement in the context of projects, as there is very little coverage about this topic for Project Managers.

Is procurement for projects different from other procurement?

There are opposing arguments, on the one hand that procurement for projects is very different from other procurement, on the other hand, that the ideal approaches to procurement are very similar whether for projects or not, and that the approaches become different only as one makes compromises. Such compromises would arise as a consequence of differences in objectives for projects and ‘business as usual’ (BAU), and from constraints in the capability of the procurement resource. Compromises may also be forced by late involvement of appropriate procurement expertise. Continue reading →