Emergency Procurement and Exception Controls Playbook

Emergency procurement is necessary sometimes. But without definitions and review, “emergency” becomes the loophole that drives most leakage:

• rush fees
• premium pricing
• duplicate buys
• uncontrolled vendor usage
• inconsistent documentation

This playbook installs a beginner-safe exception control system that keeps uptime high while reducing leakage.

What you will install

1. Clear emergency definition (what qualifies)
2. Approval rules and not-to-exceed thresholds
3. Documentation requirements for exceptions
4. Weekly exception review and root cause tracking
5. Prevention actions to reduce repeat emergencies

Step-by-step controls

Step 1: Define emergency in plain English

Emergency should be specific:

• safety risk
• downtime risk above a threshold
• regulatory compliance risk

Everything else is urgent, not emergency.

Step 2: Install not-to-exceed thresholds

Beginner-safe:

• a default cap for emergency buys per site
• approvals required above that cap
• after-the-fact review required for all emergency spend

Step 3: Require minimum documentation

Every exception should capture:

• what failed
• what was purchased
• why catalog or preferred supplier was not used
• what prevention action will reduce repeat

Step 4: Run weekly exception review

15 minutes weekly:

• review emergency buys
• review rush fees and expedited shipping
• identify repeat causes (same asset, same vendor, same site)
• assign prevention actions

Templates

A) Emergency definition and rules (copy/paste)

Copyable template (TEXT)
Copy
Emergency Procurement Definition and Rules

Emergency definition:
- qualifies when:

Not-to-exceed:
- default cap:
- escalation threshold:
- approver:

Required documentation:
- failure description:
- item purchased:
- vendor and price:
- why catalog not used:
- prevention action:

B) Weekly exception review agenda (copy/paste)

Copyable template (TEXT)
Copy
Weekly Emergency Procurement Review (15 minutes)

1) Emergency buys this week
2) Rush fees and expedited shipping totals
3) Repeat causes and repeat sites
4) Prevention actions and owners
5) Policy adjustments needed