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Discovery Audit Process - Outline document
This introduction to the discovery audit process assumes that the Client interested in improving their procurement activity and reducing cost in particular. Prior to the implementation of improvements a procurement strategy would need to be developed and agreed by the Client and the prerequisite of strategy development is the discovery audit. This is an outline document aimed at describing the discovery audit process (as illustrated in Figure 2).
Governance
Normally a Project Steering Group will be established to provide direction, management and oversight of the discovery audit and the subsequent implementation of the approved strategy. It will meet as regularly as deemed necessary by the membership.
The Steering Group would:
- agree strategic approach;
- approve project scope, timescales, and resources;
- agree project baseline and change control;
- agree the inclusion of any new requirements;
- review project status, deliverables, benefits (start, continue, or stop work);
- review progress of project (time, cost, & quality);
- review outstanding issues/actions and take corrective action where necessary;
- review and agree resource requirements.
The membership of the Steering Group would include representatives from all the parties concerned such as the Client and the Consultant.
It will also be up to the Steering Group to appoint a Project Manager who will be responsible for the conduct of the discovery audit and the delivery of the output and who will report to the Steering Group on progress and will escalate issues as necessary for resolution.
The Project Manager will chair a Working Group of the practitioners undertaking the audit and PPP staff. The Working Group will meet or conduct conference calls on a weekly basis to discuss progress and resolve issues.
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Audit start-up
The Project Manager will define the data collection requirements and the activities of the work streams prior to the commencement of the discovery audit and will need to allocate man hours to each work stream (See Figure 1).
The work streams will be as follows:
- Quantitative and financial data collection
- Qualitative and performance data collection
- Process mapping purchasing processes
Prior to the commencement of the discovery audit the Project Manager will request some basic information required for start up planning:
- Copy of the Client's organisation chart;
- Contact details for selected personnel who would be engaged in the audit;
- List of suppliers with annual spend and contract information;
- Spend by department, division or site;
- Volume of orders and invoices by supplier.
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Data collection and analysis
The data collection activity is split down into the work streams listed above in 3. The activity within each work stream will be as follows:
| 1.1 |
Quantitative and financial data collection-this is the collection of more detailed information on spend, suppliers, volumes, pricing, market conditions and will involve interviewing select client staff, access to financial data and interviewing suppliers; |
| 1.2 |
Qualitative and performance data collection- this will involve gathering information of quality standards applied to suppliers, measuring quality and the performance of suppliers, obtaining copies of specifications and supply contracts and reviewing them with both PPP staff and suppliers to understand where improvements can be made; |
| 1.3 |
1.3 Process mapping - this involves mapping purchasing processes within the organisation to understand where efficiencies can be implemented internally or where processes can be transferred over to suppliers entirely to reduce internal overheads. |
The individuals collecting the data will then analyse and interpret the data and where required seek clarification.
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Strategy development
The Project Manager will be responsible for the development and presentation of a procurement strategy for the delivery of improvements and costs savings.
The preliminary findings, strategy options and recommendations will be presented to the Project Steering Group and reviewed with such other interested parties as identified by the Project Steering Group and the Client.
The feedback and suggested changes received will be used in the production and refinement of the final report and recommended strategy which will be presented to the Client for approval in a format dictated by the Project Steering Group and Client.
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Timescales
The timescales in Figure 1 are an example for illustrative purposes only and actual number of days will vary on the basis of the size of the organisation, the size of the procurement activity, size of spend and the ease of access to the data and staff to be interviewed. It is assumed that the client will second staff as required to assist with the project and that information is available and can be provided within reasonable time scales to the Project Manager by the client.
Figure 1. Example timescales
| Ref: |
Activity |
No. man
days |
| 1 |
The establishment of the Project Steering Group and the conducting of its inaugural meeting |
1 |
| 2 |
Discovery Audit start up activity including definition of the data collection requirements and the activities of the work streams, establishment of the Working Group and allocation of resources |
2 |
| 3 |
The formulation and presentation of the final report including the preferred strategy option and recommendations for approval by the Client |
30 |
| 4 |
The formulation of the initial findings, draft strategy options and recommendations |
5 |
| 5 |
Presentation of the preliminary findings, strategy options and recommendations to the Project Steering Group and Client and the receipt of feedback |
2 |
| 6 |
The formulation and presentation of the final report including the preferred strategy option and recommendations for approval by the Client |
5 |
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Total number of man days |
45 |
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