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Objectives

The overall goal of Purchasing is to procure appropriate quality products and services in the most cost-effective manner and satisfy the company's requirements on a timely basis, consistent with the Company's Quality & Environment policy. We will achieve this by implementing a system which allows us to control quantity and quality of purchases, to monitor pricing and invoicing for accuracy and unnecessary inflation, and to evaluate suppliers.

As purchasing is undertaken on a departmental basis, purchasers are encouraged to seek opportunities for cost-savings, without compromise to quality including standardisation of materials and/or opportunities to reduce waste.

Process

1. Any purchase made by any department which will be paid for on account, must have a numbered Purchase Order raised through the Purchase Control system. Cash orders made by CME will be paid for through the CME system – no Purchase Orders should be raised on the system for CME cash orders.
2. The Purchase Order must include the full price of the goods/service including delivery.Please confirm with Supplier at time of order if unclear or check the PECL Price Record or Item price within the Purchase Control database. Current supplier products/services and prices are uploaded to the system however if you cannot find the product/service it can be entered or edited as required. Suppliers have been advised that any price queries must be raised on receipt of PO and before service completion.
3. All purchases must be accompanied by a Purchase Order number which must be featured on the suppliers' invoice (NB except periodical repeat purchases). Suppliers will be advised that invoices without POs will not be paid.
4. Purchase orders can only be raised to formally approved merchants. To add a new supplier please complete a New Supplier form (available from Accounts) and attach a current copy of that Suppliers' Terms & Conditions. Please allow at least one day for Accounts to set up the new supplier.
5. Before ordering, Purchasers should check that there is not existing stock which can be used first. See 13.
6. Each purchaser will have approved spend limits per order and per month beyond which approval will be required from a specified approver. The system will automatically forward an order for Approval. Below these amounts, registered purchasers are able to approve their own Purchase Orders.
7. When any goods or outworked services are received, Goods Inwards will check for quality and quantity and receipt on Purchase Control. If there are any concerns about quality, receiver must ensure that this is included in the Notes field.
8. When, "paid-for goods" are sent from a supplier direct to a customer, Purchaser must always request a file copy. This should be entered in the Notes field on the Purchase Order.
9. Where required, Customer/Client names and Batch numbers should be added to Purchase Orders in the "Internal Notes" field .Purchases to stock should have "Stock" written in the Internal Notes field. Goods due in will be checked on a daily basis and any late deliveries logged. This is to ensure that all POs are closed down in a timely fashion.
10. Only approved Purchasers can log-into the system. If you are not an approved Purchaser please ask for a PO to be raised on your behalf. Purchasers should keep their log-in details secure. Purchasers will be responsible for Purchase Orders placed under their accounts.
11. All Purchasers must be trained in the Purchasing process including raising a PO and accessing price/supplier contact information if required.
12. Supplier Evaluation: suppliers should be evaluated every six months. A report will be downloaded from Purchase Control and the largest Purchaser from that supplier will be required to complete a simple Supplier Evaluation form.
13. Stock Control: In addition to monthly stock report which is kept under Client Resource folder, please consult Ops Manager prior to ordering non-standard products to ensure that there isn't sufficient paper in stock.

Conflict Of Interest

An employee is in a conflict of interest situation when he/she has an interest or a potential interest of any kind in a contract, agreement or financial relationship in which the company has an interest or potential interest. In relationships with suppliers, a conflict can be created by non-monetary interests such as gifts and business courtesies, so the giving and receiving of gifts/courtesies are subject to the guidelines below.

POLICY – Employees are expected to be free of interests or relationships that are actually or potentially detrimental to the company. They shall not engage or participate in any commercial transaction involving the company in which they have an undisclosed interest.

PRACTICE – Any employee who has assumed, or is about to assume, a financial or other outside business relationship that might involve a conflict of interest immediately must inform his/her supervisor in writing of the circumstances involved.

The company does not seek to gain or provide any improper advantage through the receiving or giving of gifts, meals, entertainment or other business courtesies. Accordingly, it is imperative that employees act in a fair and impartial manner in all business dealings.

Relations With Suppliers

Honesty, integrity, confidence and tact should be employed by purchasing staff to establish and maintain mutually satisfactory bonds of respect and understanding with suppliers. These relationships will enable staff to enhance the reputation of the company in the course of their duties, building goodwill that will serve the company well in all of its activities.

INTERVIEWS – Sales representatives should be both allowed to, and encouraged to present legitimate and pertinent information concerning materials, equipment, methods or techniques that may help Print Evolved to achieve its business and quality objectives.

SUPPLIER VISITS – If necessary, and with the approval of the Managing Director, purchasing staff may make purposeful visits to Suppliers’ plants. Such visits should be used expressly to:

• cement good relations
• enable buyers to know their sources of supply, including the calibre of service, quality, progressiveness, and manufacturing methods
• broaden staff’s knowledge of the commodities they purchase

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – All employees shall promote the reputation of the company for integrity by respecting the confidence of the supplier regarding quotations or other confidential information. Staff can make suppliers aware of current market prices to encourage competition however they should not pursue a bidding war. Bids or prices paid for any product or service is proprietary information and may not be divulged to anyone outside the company.

DISPUTES – Purchasing staff can try and resolve disputes arising regarding failure of delivery of product and service by requesting a discount or credit on a Purchase Invoice. Particular account should be taken of where the failure has resulted in direct additional, and non- chargeable, costs for Print Evolved. Where an agreement has been reached with a supplier regarding a credit or discount, this must be notified to the Purchase Ledger Administrator.

SUPPLIER SELECTION – When selecting suppliers, purchasers should consider the following points to ensure the quality and continuity of supply, as well as fulfilling our commitments under our combined management system Exhibits documented excellence on safety, health and environmental performance, as well as evidence of an effective quality management system that stresses improvement (e.g. ISO):

• Current and historical financial position
• Reliability and reputation
• Satisfactory performance history with the company.
• Failing suppliers should always be reviewed in a timely manner.
• Competitive prices
• Management integrity and progressiveness.

Principal suppliers will be evaluated at least once every six months. Data downloaded from the Purchase Control system will be supplemented by an evaluation by that supplier’s leading Purchaser. If you do have any concerns about selection of a supplier, please don’t hesitate to discuss with senior management.

Suppliers’ Terms & Conditions

Only Directors of the company may enter into contractual agreements on behalf of the company. Please refer to a Director if asked to do so. Unless specified otherwise, most purchases are made subject to the supplier’s Terms and conditions. The Accounts Administration department will keep copies of all suppliers’ Terms of Conditions and will require that a copy is submitted for any new supplier added to the system. Purchasers are encouraged to review suppliers’ Terms & Conditions for any onerous terms however final responsibility for ensuring the Terms are acceptable will lie with the Finance department. Special attention should be paid to Credit Terms and, for ongoing contracts, termination periods.

Print Evolved Ltd. Terms & Conditions

All suppliers should also be given a copy of Print Evolved’s Terms & Conditions regarding supply.

Confidentiality

Transactions relating to the company’s purchases are confidential, especially with regard to our suppliers and competitors.

Passage of pricing, technologic or strategic information from an employee of the company to an employee of a competitor is not only unethical and could damage the Print Evolved competitive position, but is likely to be in violation of one or more of the various antitrust laws and must be scrupulously avoided.

All files within Purchasing are to be maintained in an up-to-date and confidential manner.

Purchasing staff should therefore avoid releasing information to other parties in the company until assured they understand and accept the responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of the material.
Care and good judgement should be used if confidential information is communicated verbally. Such information should be shared only on a "need to know" basis.