Procurement in any business generally follows a standard process. Question whether the business needs the product or service, shortlist respected suppliers, invite them to tender and choose the one that best suits.
To accelerate the process you might use a procurement specialist from an appropriate field. But does speeding through a procurement give you the most effective outcome? By spending additional time at the very start of a procurement process you could save unnecessary pain and cost further along the line.
Quite simply, asking ‘Do we need X,Y or Z?’ isn’t good enough when launching your procurement. It’s vital to develop the question further by considering ‘why?’
Why do we need it?
Why do we need it now?
Why is it key to achieving our strategic goals?
Your procurement team should challenge itself to consider a wide range of ‘why?’ questions before contacting suppliers. This activity cements the project into the overall business strategy, dramatically reducing the risk of it being shelved for other priorities which come along later and inevitably wasting time and money.
Proving the importance of your project to your organisation’s overall strategy is essential if the procurement is to be successful. Of course there’s always the possibility you’ll conclude that the budget should be spent elsewhere. Whichever way, it’s best to be clear on this from the outset rather than deciding to pull the project midway through the procurement process.
Your prospective suppliers will no doubt be protective of their good ‘supplier reputation’. After all, that’s how they found their way on to your shortlist. It’s important to remember that having a good reputation as a buyer is of benefit to you too. Suppliers will always be keen to tender (and tender favourably) to work with reliable buyers who are likely to follow through with both the tender process and the resulting project.
Considering a procurement within the EdTech field? For details of how our consulting team could support you with your project drop us an email at info@advanceedtech.com.
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