Procurement Frameworks and Routes

Question 1

What is procurement in construction?

Answer 1

Procurement is the strategy to obtain goods, services, and works to deliver a building that gives the best value for money over its life cycle (CIB W92).

Question 2

What are the five main procurement systems?

Answer 2

1. Traditional (Price in advance) (lowest cost)
2. Design and Build (Shortest Overall)
3. Management
4. Cost Reimbursement
5. Partnering / Alliancing / Frameworks

Question 3

What are the key features of traditional procurement?

Answer 3

• Full design completed before tender
• Separate roles for design and build
• Price certainty
• Slower delivery
• JCT Standard Building Contract commonly used

Question 4

What is a framework agreement?

Answer 4

A framework is a long-term agreement with one or more suppliers, setting out terms (price/quality) for call-offs during the term without obligation to purchase (EU Procurement Regulations).

Question 5

What are the benefits of framework agreements?

Answer 5

• Faster procurement
• Reduces admin
• Promotes collaboration
• Enables early contractor involvement (ECI)
• Supports value-based outcomes (Construction Playbook)

Question 6

What does the Construction Playbook say about frameworks?

Answer 6

It promotes a ‘gold standard’ for frameworks that improve value for money, efficiency, social value, and sustainability, requiring public bodies to ‘comply or explain’.

Question 7

What is strategic procurement?

Answer 7

It aligns procurement with long-term goals like innovation, sustainability, and whole-life value. It includes supply chain management, open-book accounting, and KPIs.

Question 8

What reports pushed for better procurement practices?
A8:

Answer 8

• Latham Report (1994)
• Egan Report (1998)
• Farmer Review (2016)
  All called for collaboration, trust, and moving away from adversarial procurement.

Question 9

What is the difference between procurement route and framework?

Answer 9

• Route: The type of procurement system used (e.g. D&B, Traditional)
• Framework: A mechanism or contractual vehicle to repeatedly procure services over time

Question 10

Q10: What’s the biggest risk with lowest-price tendering?

Answer 10

It can lead to poor quality, adversarial claims culture, cost/time overruns, and unsafe buildings (Hackitt Review, CEx Report 2011).