INF 336 Ashford University Project Procurement Management Discussion

I need help with a Management question. All explanations and answers will be used to help me learn.

Wk 4 Discussion 1:

  Procuring Services

Many projects need to procure services to execute successfully no matter what industry you are in. There is a personal relationship with the service provider, which makes collaboration much more important than when selecting goods products. Describe a project you have been involved with, or have knowledge of, where services were a major part of the deliverables. How were references checked for service suppliers and what lessons were learned from the process? What contributing factors ultimately led to the service supplier being selected? Respond to at least two of your classmates? posts.

A Case of Service Procurement

At a previous small company, it was decided that the company was going to get on the “go paperless” wagon, and my boss decided to purchase an online candidate management software product. We spent about six months researching different companies and sampling demos of the software. Once we narrowed the choices down to three companies, we started checking references. Each company was asked to provide a list of present clients whom we could contact. We also spoke to other software providers we were worked with and who had used the products. Our biggest concerns, after cost, were the reliability of the software, training availability, and customer support. After speaking with current users and others software companies using the same product, we choose to use Clearview Software Solutions (CSS) because they received the best ratings from current users.

We have used this product for more than two years, and although it has streamlined our work processes and eliminated virtually all paper use in our small group, we continue to have problems with the support promised. The biggest lesson we have learned was the consequences of neglecting the service aspect in the contract, and since this was a reference provided to the company, therefore we did not do a diligent work with the terms of the contract. . We should have made more inquiries on our own, and could have done further research on the company.

Class,

Does your company have a process in place for selecting service suppliers? How much emphasis is placed on references? What were some of your experiences and outcomes?

Thanks,

Wk 4 Discussion 2:

Target Pricing

Target pricing is experiencing growing use in North America. Should businesses use target pricing? Do you think target pricing can only be used for manufactured goods, or can it also be applied to services? Defend your choices. Respond to at least two of your classmates? posts.

Terms and Definitions: Price, Cost and Target Pricing

Class,

Let us start this discussion by looking at the definition of the following terms:
 

1- Cost
2- Price
3- Target Pricing
 

How do you define these terms? You are welcome to share the definition provided in our textbook, your experience, or a difference source.