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Chapter 3 - VITA's Supply Chain Management (SCM)

3.6 What business functions does SCM provide?

An overall objective within SCM's business function is to provide the integration of data and information throughout SCM's processes to ensure information is available and accurate to support analysis, planning, and reporting. The skilled and specialized procurement staff within SCM offers many IT-related business and service-oriented functions that include:

  • Category management - Developing the strategic plan for sourcing and contracting in alignment with business needs and the IT marketplace to optimize value and reduce risk.
  • Strategic sourcing - Integrating IT technical, business, financial, and contractual requirements to select suppliers and negotiate agreements that fulfill IT business functions.
  • Procurement - Managing the processes by which goods and services are identified, ordered, and received; and, monitoring compliance guidelines and policies.
  • Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) - Developing and managing VITA's interactions with its suppliers. Coordinating efforts across VITA to realize the value of the supplier relationship.
  • Policy and integration - Developing policies, standards and guidelines; researching emerging best practices; defining new approaches to enhance the value of supply chain services throughout the Commonwealth; leading analysis and integration of new legislation and emerging procurement methods and models.
  • Procurement governance - Ensuring executive branch agency compliance with strategic planning and related projects and VITA policies and standards; and reviewing/recommending approval of major and delegated procurements and projects.
  • ECOS review and approval services - Supporting agencies with cloud procurement compliance and guidance by offering required Cloud Services Terms and Conditions to include with their solicitations and contracts; reviewing supplier redlines to those terms and coordinating with the Director of VITA ECOS on behalf of the agency to assist with successful negotiations of those terms with the agency and supplier. Under the Tools section of this SCM webpage location you will find other helpful guidance including an ECOS checklist with recommended RFP language and links to access other ECOS procedures and forms, the associated fees for SCM ECOS Services and how to obtain the required Cloud Services Terms and Conditions.  At this link here is also a Process workflow diagram, solely related to cloud procurements: https://www.vita.virginia.gov/procurement/policies--procedures/procurement-tools/
  • Procurement review - Determining the effectiveness and compliance with VITA SCM policies, standards and guidelines and internal processes and procedures.
  • Customer IT training and guidance - Providing valuable IT-geared online tools, group training classes and sessions, as well as individual guidance to our customer agencies.