The purpose of Supplier Agreement Management (SAM) is to manage the acquisition of products from suppliers.

The Supplier Agreement Management process area involves the following:

·   Determining the type of acquisition that will be used for the products to be acquired

·   Selecting suppliers

·   Establishing and maintaining agreements with suppliers

·   Executing the supplier agreement

·   Monitoring selected supplier processes

·   Evaluating selected supplier work products

·   Accepting delivery of acquired products

·   Transitioning acquired products to the project

This process area primarily addresses the acquisition of products and product components that are delivered to the project’s customer. Throughout the process areas, where we use the terms product and product component, their intended meanings also encompass services and their components.

To minimize risks to the project, this process area can also address the acquisition of significant products and product components not delivered to the project’s customer but used to develop and maintain the product or service (for example, development tools and test environments).

Typically, the products to be acquired by the project are determined during the early stages of the planning and development of the product. The Technical Solution process area provides practices for determining the products and product components that may be acquired from suppliers.

This process area does not directly address arrangements in which the supplier is integrated into the project team and uses the same processes and reports to the same management as the product developers (for example, integrated teams). Typically, these situations are handled by other processes or functions, possibly external to the project, though some of the specific practices of this process area may be useful in managing the formal agreement with such a supplier.

Suppliers may take many forms depending on business needs, including in-house vendors (i.e., vendors that are in the same organization but are external to the project), fabrication capabilities and laboratories, and commercial vendors. (See the definition of “supplier” in the glossary.)

A formal agreement is established to manage the relationship between the organization and the supplier. A formal agreement is any legal agreement between the organization (representing the project) and the supplier. This agreement may be a contract, license, service level agreement, or memorandum of agreement. The acquired product is delivered to the project from the supplier according to this formal agreement (also known as the “supplier agreement”).

Refer to the Project Monitoring and Control process area for more information about monitoring projects and taking corrective action.

Refer to the Requirements Development process area for more information about defining requirements.

Refer to the Requirements Management process area for more information about managing requirements, including the traceability of requirements for products acquired from suppliers.

Refer to the Technical Solution process area for more information about determining the products and product components that may be acquired from suppliers.
Specific Goal and Practice Summary

SG 1 Establish Supplier Agreements

SP 1.1       Determine Acquisition Type

SP 1.2       Select Suppliers

SP 1.3       Establish Supplier Agreements

SG 2 Satisfy Supplier Agreements

SP 2.1       Execute the Supplier Agreement

SP 2.2       Monitor Selected Supplier Processes

SP 2.3       Evaluate Selected Supplier Work Products

SP 2.4       Accept the Acquired Product

SP 2.5       Transition Products