Following the handover of the contract from the staff member conducting procurement, the Procurement Requestor is responsible for the overall contract management, monitoring and control of performance of services and works. For goods, the staff member conducting procurement remains in charge of the contract until the final delivery and may transfer the responsibility of the installation to the Procurement Requestor.
Contract monitoring
Contract monitoring involves observing the performance of the supplier to ensure that a quality product or service is delivered on time, in the right quantity and within budget.
Various requirements are built into the standard contracts; the degrees to which suppliers fulfil these requirements are used as performance indicators to evaluate the ongoing performance of the contract (e.g. quality standards, delivery times, inspections and milestone dates).
All solicitation documents—and eventually the contract—must contain detailed descriptions of the method and indicators that will be used to assess the performance of a contractor. They also must contain information on circumstances under which a contractor can be classified as under-performing or failing to deliver results.
Control of contract performance
Control of contract performance includes:
- ensuring that the performance of the supplier is according to the contract
- justifying any variance
- amending contracts to reflect agreed upon changes in the scope of work.
Typical performance indicators used for monitoring of contracts are:
- comparison of the required delivery date versus the actual delivery date;
- comparison of quantity ordered versus quantity delivered;
- comparison of compliance between specifications ordered and those delivered; and
- responsiveness to UNAIDS requests and inquiries during the contract duration, and adherence to the agreed timeline for execution of the contract.
The control of performance must be documented in writing.
Monitoring contracts for services
When contracting for services, procurement requestors must monitor the performance of the contractor by ensuring the timely receipt and acceptance of the deliverables specified in the contract (e.g. technical reports, progress reports, reports from workshops or training sessions, video films, etc.).
Typical performance indicators used for monitoring of service contracts are:
- timely delivery of outputs as per the contract
- timely response to UNAIDS requests
- the quality of services rendered.
The procurement requestor should meet (in person or by telephone/videoconference) with the contractor on a formal basis before the signature of the contract and starting the work to clarify the terms of the contract, the expectations of UNAIDS’ requirements and the monitoring mechanism (which will be used to determine the acceptance of the final product, both in terms of timeline and deadlines, as well as quality expected).
Monitoring contracts for goods
For the procurement of goods, the staff member(s) responsible for conducting procurement must monitor the shipment and receipt of goods through the actions described below.
| Step | Action |
| 1 | Follow up with the supplier a few days/weeks before the required “ship by date” to ensure that goods will be ready for shipment by the agreed date. Note any change of plans by the supplier (e.g. shipping route, ship by date). Inform the supplier of changes requested by UNAIDS, if any. |
| 2 | Inform the suppliers, consignee and end-user of any change of plans (as observed in step 1). |
| 3 | Provide all relevant shipping documents to all parties. Has the activity been delayed? If so, request an extension of the performance security (if one was required for the contract). |
| 4 | Ensure customs clearance (normally through UNDP/WHO). |
| 5 | Obtain proof of receipt of consignment from the consignee. |
| 6 | Ensure that the consignee has performed a cursory inspection of packages against all shipping documents upon receipt, and that a report on the external condition of the goods has been made. Advise the consignee to do the following:
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| 7 | Obtain proof of receipt of goods at final destination (if different from the destination of the consignee). |
Acceptance of the final product
Acceptance of the final product is the responsibility of the procurement requestor. The staff conducting the procurement, however, must record and file this information in the registry file, using it for payment purposes and to take corrective actions (if necessary).
Goods
Upon receipt of the procured goods by the Receipt Focal Point, a Receipt and Inspection Report (RIR) must be completed.
The RIR will confirm receipt of all goods as per the packing list, and it will document in detail the condition of the goods received and their compliance with the stated specifications. See 16.4: Receipt of goods and equipment .
The standard UNAIDS RIR format must be used for this purpose.Services
In the case of services, staff conducting procurement must receive written confirmation from the Procurement Requestor that the services have been satisfactorily completed and that all deliverables were provided in accordance with the terms specified in the contract
Evaluation of supplier performance
Staff conducting procurement and the Procurement Requestor must all be involved in the evaluation of the performance of the supplier.
A thorough evaluation must be conducted using template PT.13.01 Contractor Performance, which should be included in the procurement registry file and entered into the Records Management System (RMS).
The issues addressed in the checklist below (as applicable) will help to ensure that the supplier evaluation process complies with UNAIDS requirements.
- Did the supplier fulfil the delivery schedule/timely delivery?
- Was the supplier compliant with contractual terms and conditions?
- Did the supplier adhere to warranty provisions?
- Was the quality of goods or services provided in accordance with the contract?
- Did the supplier provide timely response to UNAIDS requests?
- Were there any undue delays in the performance of the supplier under the contract?
- Did the supplier make any frivolous claims against UNAIDS?
- Did the supplier fail to disclose information relevant to performance (e.g. bankruptcy, defendant in litigation, etc.)?
The Procurement Requestor must submit the evaluation report to the staff conducting procurement with any relevant information regarding non-compliance or inadequate performance by the supplier.
Non-compliant and unsatisfactory performance reports should be reported immediately by email to the Procurement Coordinator for documentation and sharing with other offices.