ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept of procurement management, the need for a procurement plan, and the issue of outsourcing. External resources need to be carefully controlled, monitored, and measured. Outsourcing has been part of the Information Technology landscape for some time. Quite a few companies have outsourced globally to reduce project costs. Outsourcing is actually a three-phase process: analysis and evaluation, needs assessment and vendor selection, and implementation and management. Depending on the size of the outsourcing contract, the manager responsible for the program's delivery and integration may be responsible for all of the process, or only a part of it. These are the horizontal and vertical factors of outsourcing management. The process of procurement management needs to be standardized, monitored, and measured. Procurement planning, which encompasses the outsourcing decision, should be every bit as rigorous as project planning.
