Elements and Performance Criteria

The Range of Variables statement provides details of the scope of the Elements and Performance Criteria to allow for differences within enterprises and workplaces, including practices, knowledge and requirements. The Range of Variables also provides a focus for assessment and relates to the unit as a whole. The variables listed should be considered indicative rather than exhaustive and should be used as applicable to the job role or function.

General Contexts may include but are not limited to
Type of products and services provided
Business policy and procedures with regard to the acquisition and sale of products and services
Size, type and location of business
Business merchandise range
Strategic measurement and evaluation systems and processes
Characteristics of the specific product(s) or service(s)
Management structure and communication relationships
Business service range
Customers including other businesses or end consumers serviced through business customers or directly
Varying levels of staff training
Worksite specific context, variations and environments

Workplace Contexts may include but are not limited to
Workplace-specific guidelines, policies and practices
Conditions of service, legislation and industrial agreements
Consultative processes may involve
Staff members
Teams
Management
Union representatives
Industrial relations, Occupational Health & Safety specialists
Other professional or technical staff
Relevant personnel may vary with context, level of employment, ascribed duties, nature of enquiry or response required.

Applicable State/ Territory/ Commonwealth regulations and legislation may include but are not limited to
Occupational Health and Safety
Workplace relations
Workers compensation
Industry codes of practice
License, patent or copyright arrangements
Environmental protection legislation
Equal Employment Opportunity and anti-discrimination law
Emergency procedures
Transport, storage and handling of goods
Goods and Services Tax
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission provisions
Trade Practices Act

Sources of information may include but are not limited to
Legislation and regulations
Work procedures and internal manuals
Company operating procedures and instructions
Manufacturer's specifications
Supplier and/ or customer instructions
Manifests
Codes of practice
Quality assurance systems, procedures and policies
Awards, workplace agreements, and other industrial arrangements
Oral/ verbal communication including face to face, telephone, Internet, radio, and such like
Written instructions and communication such as data exchange, letters, e-mails
Non-verbal communication
Feedback
Safety instructions and workplace signage
Direct or indirect
Electronic or hard copy
Policy and protocols

Work site environment factors may include but are not limited to
Key elements of a commercial strategy may include
Consultation with key stakeholder
Expenditure budget meets organisational requirements for probity
Procurement process agreed by users, documented, and meets legal and probity requirements
Approvals obtained
Contractual arrangements that capture and address identified risks, protection of all parties, and include performance indicators which provide the basis for due performance

Methods for requesting and receiving offers may include
Open or restricted tendering and contracting
Expressions of interest
Request for proposal
Request for quotation
Request for tender; request for offer
Direct purchases using existing supply agreements such as standing offers
Common use arrangements
Oral quotations
Written quotations
Direct purchase from retail or wholesale outlets
Electronic commerce

Contractual arrangements may include
Letters of appointment or intent
External contracts
Trade partners
People contracts
Verbal and written orders
Purchase order
Petty cash
Memoranda of understanding/ memoranda of agreement
In-house service level agreements
Contracts
Common use arrangements/ standing offers
Contracts as detailed under the Trade Practices Act

Evaluation of options may include
Stakeholder consultation
Confirmation that a procurement process is necessary
Development of a business case
Comparison of internal versus outsourced provision
Whether to buy or lease

Performance indicators for suppliers may include
Price
Quality
Performance
Supply reliability
Merchandise

Special expertise and advice sources may include
Internal or external experts on:
Legal
Financial
Trade
Insurance
Economics
Technical and scientific
Probity
Other as required

Forms of procurements or purchasing activities may include
Requisitions
Tenders
Competitive bids
Production schedules
Electronic Data Interchange
Just In Time
Ordering
Bill of materials
Stock and supply agreements

Types of standards, performance benchmarks or specifications may include
Australian Standards
International Standards
Professional standard
Industry standards
Performance indicators
Quality measures and criteria
Planning milestones and timeframes
Design brief
Manufacturers and suppliers standards

The following components of the Evidence Guide relate directly to the Performance Criteria and the Range of Variables for the unit of competency and will inform and provide guidance for assessment of the unit in the workplace and/or training program. This Evidence Guide must be read in conjunction with the Assessment Guidelines for the National Wholesale Training Package.

Critical aspects of evidence
Assessment requires evidence of the following be collected:
Capacity of purchasing strategies to deliver business outcomes
Effective evaluation and on-going development of a purchasing strategy
Formal policies and work instructions to implement and support purchasing strategies within a business
Legally compliant purchasing procedures
Suppliers involvement in the design and their understanding of the purchasing strategy

Interdependent assessment of units
This unit may be assessed in conjunction with other units that form part of a job role or function.

Underpinning knowledge and skills
Display knowledge in terms of job role or function:
Relationships with stakeholders and market
Procedures to deal with inconsistencies or non-conformance of purchase and supply relationships
Procedures to deal with inconsistencies or non-conformance of products and services
Policy and develop procedures for management of purchases
Procedures for processing purchases
Benchmarks for efficiency of supplier relationships
Communication and data exchange interfaces with suppliers
Legal relationship arrangements with suppliers to facilitate identification and resolution of problems and enquiries
Legal, administrative and business supply requirements
Effectiveness of assets and resource management
Occupational health and safety aspects of job

Display skills in terms of job role or function including the ability to:
Develop strategies to maximise efficiency of input
Use written forms of communication effectively
Complete consultation to generate effective purchasing strategies
Plan workload with a strong focus on attainment of planned outcomes

Resource Implications
Access to required assessment evidence, additional time spent with assessee in assessment because of nature of assessment tasks, appropriate assessment facilities

Consistency in performance
The assessment method should be conducted over time to cover all elements and performance criteria, across a range of variables.
Work practices should be completed in accordance with safe operating procedures to minimise the risk of injury to self or others or damage to goods, equipment or products

Context for assessment
Assessment may occur on the job or off off-the-job.