Procurement is the process of selecting vendors, strategic vetting, selection, negotiation of contracts, and the actual purchasing of goods. Procurement acquires all the goods, services, and work that is vital to GitLab.
Anytime a purchase is being made on behalf of GitLab that does not qualify as a personal expense, or meet the list of exceptions, a Zip Request must be submitted and fully approved BEFORE a purchase and/or work can begin.
Exceptions to the PO policy include, but are not limited to, purchases under $5,000 USD.
Procurement is a cross-functional team that supports GitLab as a public company. We have four key objectives monitored in the following ways:
Monitor the cost avoidance achieved through the procure to pay process. Cost Avoidance is the savings achieved off of the initial vendor proposal price. Note this is not directly tied to budget.
Aligns with the following core business objectives:
Percentage of all vendor spend for any department that is purchased via PO.
Aligns with the following core business objectives:
Includes RFP Templates, scorecards and Vendor Guidelines for doing business with GitLab:
If purchasing Home Office Equipment and/or Software for your individual work use <$5K USD, see Other Services Process since a Zip Purchase Request is not required in these instances.
On the Zip homepage, click “New Requests” in the top right corner of the webpage. From there, you will have the option to request a Purchase, NDA, or Change Request, which will prompt you to fill in all the details about your purchase.
TIPS to streamline approval process
To help expedite the review and approval of your purchase request, be prepared to provide the following information in your Zip Request. If you don't know all of this information yet or are wanting support to negotiate that's ok!
You can check the status of your Zip request at any time by looking at the approval flow chart in the “Overview” section of the request.
Congratulations and thank you for following this process to support GitLab as a public company!
As a general rule, plan on 5 Business Days to approve your Purchase Request for an existing supplier with standard terms, conditions, and low risk.
If your request requires negotiation, a vendor security review, and/or legal revisions, this will take longer as noted below.
Please plan accordingly and open your Zip Purchase Request allowing the cross-functional teams enough time to complete the review
If your request meets any of the below criteria, add the additional time noted for the activity to the 5 day baseline above:
In the event two or more of the below activities are required, they will happen in parallel to one another:
Note: The amount of time for review, and to reach execution, is based on the details below. Use these SLA's as guidelines, noting that each contract review process is unique and if additional terms, requirements, and/or risks are identified the timeline for completion may be extended
Types of Vendors
Types of Agreements (generally broken into three (3) categories)
Software (SaaS & On-Prem): Requires the most rigorous review to ensure the rights and obligations placed upon GitLab are, (i) reasonable given the Software being provided, and (ii) align with GitLab contracting and industry standards.
Professional Services / Training: Requires detailed review to ensure intellectual property ownership aligns with our intentions, as well as, reasonable obligations being placed upon GitLab.
Marketing / Events: Generally, requires the least amount of time to review as the obligations are standardized given the event in question and program provided. Details regarding events may include negotiations with regards to Force Majeure, cancellation (including penalty), and ensuring the terms of the Agreement align with those of the requesting GitLab Team Members.
Additional Details
As discussed above, the turnaround time for the review of an Agreement is contingent on many factors. The goal of the legal team is to review and provide red-lines as thoroughly and promptly as possible.
The ability for GitLab to process and work efficiently through an agreement negotiation relies on the vendor, and vendor counsel, to respond promptly to GitLab red-lines and comments.
If you are unable to plan and have a legitimate reason to escalate a purchase request, follow the process below.
Exceptions to the PO Policy are: