Procuring Services: Contributing Factors for Selecting a Supplier

Many projects need to procure services to execute successfully no matter what industry you are in. There is a personal relationship with the service provider, which makes collaboration much more important than when selecting goods products. Describe a project you have been involved with, or have knowledge of, where services were a major part of the deliverables. How were references checked for service suppliers and what lessons were learned from the process? What contributing factors ultimately led to the service supplier being selected?