Most organizations, public or private, follow a process for purchasing necessary goods and services.Most of these processes

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Most organizations, public or private, follow a process for purchasing necessary goods and services.Most of these processes begin with aneeds assessment, whereby the organization determines what it is they want, how much of it they want, the cost vs. benefit of the good or service, and other factors. Let's look at an example:

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) is responsible for licensing all kinds of professions in the State, including cosmetologists, barbers, hotel operators, construction contractors, etc. The licensing process was paper-based, meaning new applicants or currently licensed professionals had to submit paper forms to receive or renew their license. This process was long and applicants/current license holders never knew where in the process their application was because no information was available online and the DBPR call center could only say whether or not the application had been received. DBPR leadership determined that the system would be much more efficient if it were online, where applicants as well as DBPR call center personnel could track the applications through the process and make that information available online. The Department conducted a needs assessment and determined that they needed a document management system.

Once a needs assessment is completed,organizations must confront the decision as to whether they willmake a good/service or buy it. This is commonly referred to as the Buy vs. Make decision, and there are many different points to consider. In the case of DBPR and the document management system, the Department needed to consider whether or not they had the capacity to develop the system in-house using their IT personnel or if it would be more cost effective and perhaps better quality to procure a system. The Department ultimately determined that it did not have the capacity to develop the system they required in-house and began conducingmarket researchto determine a) what was available in the marketplace and b) how many vendors had viable products.

Using the assigned readings and the brief example above as a guide, describe the process you would use to procure a watercooler service for your public organization (real or fictitious). Please describe the relevant characteristics of your organization, the steps you would take, and other considerations for a successful procurement.