Procurement and RFQs
SOW (Scope of Work)
A document or section defining the work, deliverables, responsibilities, limitations and expected outcomes of a job. In maritime procurement, the concept helps buyers and providers define, price, compare and authorize operational requirements.
What a scope of work settles
A scope of work sets the boundary of what is being bought.
Exclusions carry as much weight as inclusions. What is not stated is generally not owed.
It is the reference every later question is measured against: pricing, variation, acceptance and dispute.
In port call work it often sits inside another document rather than standing alone.
Scope of Work is commonly abbreviated to SOW.
A document or section defining the work, deliverables, responsibilities, limitations and expected outcomes of a job.
In maritime procurement, the concept helps buyers and providers define, price, compare and authorize operational requirements. The exact meaning may vary with the contract, jurisdiction, port practice or workflow in which it is used.
What a scope of work has to answer
Question
What work
What the scope states
The services or deliverables being bought, in enough detail to be priced.
Question
To what extent
What the scope states
Quantities, frequency, duration, and any limits on volume or time.
Question
By whom
What the scope states
Which party is responsible for each part, including anything the buyer must provide.
Question
What is excluded
What the scope states
Work deliberately not covered, so it cannot be assumed either way.
Question
When
What the scope states
The timing the work is tied to, usually the vessel’s window in port.
Question
What counts as done
What the scope states
The condition or evidence that marks the work complete
Scope compared with specification
Says what work will be done.
Says how it must be done, and to what standard.
Sets the boundary: what is included and what is not.
Sets the quality bar within that boundary.
Changing it changes what is owed.
Changing it can change the price without changing what is owed.
Disputes turn on whether something was owed at all.
Disputes turn on whether what was delivered was good enough.
Scope of work
Says what work will be done.
Specification
Says how it must be done, and to what standard.
Scope of work
Sets the boundary: what is included and what is not.
Specification
Sets the quality bar within that boundary.
Scope of work
Changing it changes what is owed.
Specification
Changing it can change the price without changing what is owed.
Scope of work
Disputes turn on whether something was owed at all.
Specification
Disputes turn on whether what was delivered was good enough.
Scope in PortzApp
Where the scope lives
In PortzApp the scope is carried by the services on a request and the line items on the quotation that answers it. Accepting the quote carries those same lines into the job, so the agreed scope and the account describing it remain one record.
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