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Part of Tendering and contracting with Infrastructure

Vendor Performance Management Program

This program tracks and rates the performance of vendors to encourage high quality performance and establish accountability.

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Tendering and contracting with Infrastructure

Overview

Vendor Performance Management (VPM) is a contract management best practice used to track, analyze, and manage the performance of a vendor. This helps to control costs, mitigate risks, and drive continuous improvement throughout the contract life cycle.

The VPM Program will help ensure infrastructure projects are delivered on time, on budget and within scope. VPM ensures:

  • vendors receive informal feedback and formal evaluations on their performance at regular intervals
  • past vendor performance is considered in procurement decisions

Past performance of consultants and contractors will contribute to future procurement selection. Through this program, Infrastructure is formalizing best practices.

Objective

The objective of the VPM Program is to support good performance by vendors on Infrastructure contracts, while using vendor past performance information to:

  • acquire goods, services or construction
  • improve transparency
  • promote innovation
  • ensure best value

Evaluation criteria

Vendors (consultants and contractors) will be assessed on 5 criteria:

  • quality
  • management
  • schedule
  • cost
  • safety

A vendor will receive a score every 6 months for each contract subject to the VPM Program resulting in an Overall Vendor Performance Rating.

Resources

Outcomes

The expected outcomes of the VPM Program include:

  • facilitating ongoing, regular communication with vendors, ensuring clarity of expectations and quality performance
  • providing incentives to vendors to improve their performance
  • minimizing the need for corrective measures due to poor performance
  • enabling better decision making on bidder selection through a centralized repository containing vendor past performance information
  • holding vendors accountable for poor performance or unacceptable behaviour
  • enabling Infrastructure to provide objective vendor references

Benefits

By tracking the performance of vendors, Infrastructure will be able to obtain the best value and encourage better performance as the stewards of public funds. Implementation of the VPM Program will:

  • establish an effective program that limits program administration and establishes appropriate governance
  • bring Infrastructure in line with VPM programs in other jurisdictions, achieving better outcomes for Albertans
  • establish accountability mechanisms and VPM Program Key Performance Indicators to constructively evaluate the program against expected outcomes
  • support major procurements to achieve best value for money for taxpayers, and
  • ensure efficiency of government service delivery in the public interest

Background

Several factors led to, and supported the need for, a VPM Program:

  • importance of following best practices in contract management
  • desire to enhance the way performance of vendors is managed
  • discussions with industry stakeholders

In December 2018, Infrastructure began working closely with an industry sub-committee to discuss VPM Program elements, gathering feedback and input.

As of January 6, 2020, Infrastructure’s Vendor Performance Management Program was implemented. Vendors who apply on Alberta Infrastructure consulting and construction opportunities, valued at $100,000 or more, are required to participate in the VPM Program.

Continuous improvement

As part of Alberta Infrastructure’s commitment to evaluating and continuously improving the program, we invited stakeholders to provide feedback on the VPM Program in March 2021. We appreciate the input received through an online survey as well as open industry, consultant and contractor focus groups.

Through an analysis of the stakeholder’s feedback and an evaluation of the VPM Program, Alberta Infrastructure identified improvements so that the VPM Program best meets the needs of stakeholders and government.

Alberta Infrastructure is implementing immediate improvements, in addition to preparing for work on projects, requiring further exploration and collaboration with industry experts and stakeholders to develop and implement.

Information sessions

In January 2020, we hosted industry information sessions:

A fact sheet has been developed to answer questions asked during the November and December 2020 industry information sessions and has been amended to reflect program improvements made in 2021.

Contact

Connect with the Vendor Performance Management Program:

Email: [email protected]

Address:
Vendor Performance Management Program
Alberta Infrastructure Building
6950 113 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T6H 5V7

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