Strategic Procurement

We have extensive experience of developing both overarching strategies and formal strategic agreements which deliver demonstrable commercial, operational and technical benefits via in depth market intelligence and leveraging of spend.

We have been engaged to undertake strategic reviews for specific projects, market sectors, services and products.

In principle terms, there are four approaches to strategic procurement:

  • Planned – A highly systemised and deterministic process based on long term planning

  • Competitive Positioning – Is concerned with an organisation’s ability to develop a generic strategy that will achieve competitive advantage

  • Emergent – Within a dynamic business environment gaps will be found between planned and realised strategies

  • Logical & Incremental – Organisations proceed by means of short steps, building on strategies already in place and making limited changes

Against a backdrop which ensures an understanding and delivery of market leading rates, the characteristics we believe are important to any strategic relationship are:

  • Value adding

  • Competence

  • Quality

  • Commitment

  • Loyalty

  • Control

The individual approach which is taken, can vary significantly depending on the nature of the project, trade, business or overhead involved but it would usually involve one or more of the following activities:

  • Rationalisation, leverage spend, create competitive tension

  • Eliminate waste, standardise specification

  • Optimise logistics

  • Relationship management

  • Supply market analysis

  • Low risk call-off

  • Make v buy analysis

  • Analyse TCO Model ‘should costs’

  • Process engineering

  • Formal agreements

  • Category management

  • Spend analysis

  • Risk management

  • Performance management

  • E-Procurement

  • Dashboard reporting

  • Procure to pay processes

Fundamental to all the above is the ability to reduce prime cost, drive efficiencies and address the risks in the supply chain, which are typically:

  • Changing market forces

  • Over reliance on 3rd parties

  • Insolvency

  • Health and safety

  • Agreeing contract conditions

  • Performance

  • Cheap entry prices

  • Interfaces

  • Assumed buying gains

  • MCD