Part 73: Source Selection Analysis
(Project Procurement Management: Plan Procurement Management)

  • We must procure materials and labor (subcontractors) for our project
  • We must rank each supplier.  Ranking and evaluating suppliers takes a lot of time.  There are several methods.  Which one is the best for our project?
  • Least Cost
    • Who is the cheapest supplier?
    • This selection process is quick
    • This is good for buying something simple, where it’s difficult for something to go wrong.
    • For example, we need gasoline.  All gasoline is the same.  We will buy the gasoline from the cheapest gas station.
  • Qualifications Only
    • Who is the best?
    • This is also a quick selection process
    • This is good for buying something simple, where a complicated selection process isn’t cost effective
    • We make a list of sellers, and choose the seller who has the most experience, the best qualifications, and the best references
  • Quality-Based/Highest Technical Proposal Score
    • Each seller submits a proposal, which includes their technical capabilities, qualifications, references, and cost
    • We evaluate and rank each proposal based on technical criteria.  We don’t consider price
    • The best proposal wins
    • We sign a contract with the best seller (if the price is reasonable)
  • Quality and Cost-Based
    • The same as Quality-Based/Highest Technical Proposal Score, except that we do consider price when evaluating the proposals
    • In some evaluations, the buyer shortlists the proposals that achieve a minimum score in the technical evaluation
      • The cheapest proposal from the shortlisted proposals wins
  • Sole Source
    • We ask only one seller to provide us with a price and technical proposal
    • We use this when we determine that only one seller is capable of providing the product or service we require
    • This can happen when the supplier has a trade secret, patent, copyright, or monopoly
  • Fixed Budget
    • We tell the sellers what our budget is
    • Each seller submits a proposal, which includes their technical capabilities, qualifications, and references
    • Each seller has tailored the quality and features of their proposal to meet our budget
    • We evaluate the proposals based on technical criteria.
    • The best proposal wins