What comes to mind when you think of the term “procurement”?
Within engineering, procurement is associated with acquiring building materials or construction supplies. You know the workflow associated with the securement of capable and trustworthy vendors that help make an engineering endeavour possible. You may know procurement as an overarching organizing force, keeping work on track and deliverables accounted for accordingly throughout a project.
When it comes to the Catch Difference in procurement, though, this cornerstone discipline is all that and more, collaborating closely with a variety of disciplines and experts to ensure the business of engineering all goes off without a hitch. But, of course, there’s a whole lot to the process of procurement – and wouldn’t you know it, we’ve got not one but two industry-leading experts here today to walk us through the details. We’re joined by Jason Whitworth (Project Lead at Catch) and Jackie Mootoo (Catch’s go-to procurement pro) to dig into procurement’s ins and outs and explore what sets Catch apart in this space.
The Four Pillars of Procurement
1. Hit the Ground Running
Even before a project is awarded to the innovative minds at Catch Engineering, the procurement team is already hard at work ensuring that things get going correctly – and it all starts with the RFP.
“The first role procurement plays in the process is to make sure that the RFP submission is up-to-spec,” Mootoo explained. “That means ensuring not only that the package is complete when it goes out but that it meets the requirements and engineering specifications of the client every step of the way. Procurement also works on the other side of the RFP to ensure that any suppliers or contractors we involve understand what the job requires. This ensures that when Catch and the client are ready to move forward, we know that our collaborators understand the project and what’s necessary to see it through.”
2. Ensure Integrity
The second pillar of procurement falls directly in line with Catch’s values: ensuring integrity throughout the course of a project, from initial bid to final delivery.
“Key to the procurement process is integrity,” Mootoo confirmed. “This encompasses everything from establishing and maintaining confidentiality when we review quotations and proposals to ensuring that evaluations are managed fairly and honestly. In addition, transparency and accountability are key when it comes to making sure that our award is free from any influence – that the work meets the intent of the client requirement, it’s awarded in fairness, and that Catch can adhere to the pricing and delivery needs as outlined during the RFP process.”
With these first two pillars, procurement demonstrates how it goes the extra mile to set the Catch business up for success as it enters into new project contracts and forges new client relationships.
The work doesn’t end there, though. Let’s move on to the all-important third pillar.
3. Work the Project
“Through those first two pillars of procurement, we will reach out to clients and suppliers, get budget pricing, and build the project,” Whitworth details for us. “Now, though, the project itself is really just an idea. The third pillar is when things get exciting because we start engineering things – and that’s where things come to life, and our expert procurement practices start to shine.”
Mootoo agreed wholeheartedly with Whitworth on the value of the third pillar of procurement, speaking to everything involved at this critical juncture. This includes establishing a contract that makes everyone happy, helping to set terms and conditions for the work, setting up kick-off meetings with team members and vendors, and liaising with suppliers, clients, engineers, and document control.
There’s an additional essential element to the third pillar of the procurement process that we haven’t touched on yet, and that involves expedition.
“It’s important for our work that our clients know we can both procure and expedite for them,” Mootoo elaborated. “We want to make sure they know that our equipment – their equipment – is at the top of the fabricator’s list. In addition, it offers our clients a lot of peace of mind, knowing that we go the extra mile to control key project needs even all the way over at the supplier’s shop. That means we’ve got our eyes on a lot, though, so we’ve got to keep organized. To that end, we maintain an expediting report that helps us keep track of our milestones, ensuring we’re always busy chasing down that next deliverable no matter what part of the process we’re in.”
4. The Details of Delivery
The last pillar of procurement comes in the form of delivering and handing off the final product to the client – and ensuring that everybody’s happy and satisfied with how the whole experience plays out.
“Eventually, the building’s done, and we go through commissioning,” Whitworth outlined. “That’s when we move to the fourth pillar of procurement: inspection and shipping.”
“Inspection is a key element of our fourth pillar, given the value of the deliverables we create for our clients,” Mootoo explained. “Once we get the chance to get out there, look at the work, and confirm everything lines up with project requirements and client expectations, we move on to shipping. This is where we confirm and enact our Incoterms (i.e., the International Commercial Terms of product delivery that determine risk, insurance, and accountability) as the work we’ve done gets delivered to its final destination.”
The Catch Difference in Procurement
While other engineering firms might put their spin on procurement offerings, we’re proud to bring the Catch Difference to our work in this space through a steadfast belief in integrity, innovation, and reliable, quality-driven work. Our ongoing commitment to procurement excellence once again sets us apart, empowering our team members to provide client service that doesn’t just meet expectations but exceeds them – project after project.
“Procurement sets the rules and expectations that allow Catch to excel in its work on any given endeavour throughout all stages of work,” Whitworth concluded. “Through procurement, we can make your project ideas a reality.”
Thank you to both Jackie Mootoo and Jason Whitworth for taking the time out of their busy days to sit and chat procurement with us – we couldn’t be more grateful! Do you have a project that could benefit from some expert-led procurement processes? Contact us to learn more about how we work to bring the Catch Difference to procurement today!
