RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, BPAs, IDIQs, GWACs, MACs, sole source, schedules. . . so many options, so many complexities and requirements, and so little time.

Procurement is a difficult but necessary part of our operations and day-to-day activities. On that end, try to focus less on the details and more on the vision, mission, and things that are needed to accomplish through a procurement strategies and mechanisms.

What to Look for or Avoid

Procurement exercises should be driven by competition, honesty, simplicity, flexibility, and agility; the goal here is to be future proof. Try before you buy.

Procurement submission evaluations should be based on real-life demonstration of actual capabilities, process flow, back-end and front-end efficiencies, and excellence; you don’t walk into a car dealership and buy a vehicle without first doing your own research and test driving it.

One-size-fits-all models may not be a fit, especially when it involves technology solutions. Procurement is like your wardrobe; you need to have an outfit ready for all times of the year. Procurement vehicles should be treated like Lego blocks – interchangeable – based on unique needs and parameters.

Leverage your professional network when searching for a solution or vendor and rely on their experiences to determine how they went about it, what worked, what didn’t and if they could, how would they change the original process.

Visit crowd-sourced review portals like Capterra, G2Crowd, and others to gain perspective from folks across multiple industries and walks of life.

Procurement can not only be incredibly complex but also intimidating and overwhelming. It requires each stakeholder to effectively communicate their business needs and requirements (variables and non-negotiables). It includes a collection of folks from all corners of the enterprise: finance, accounting, IT, procurement, operations, HR, memberships, customers (internal and external), legal, and customer service.

It works best when businesses have their own research and development arm to scout, evaluate, and recommend solutions based on our unique needs without being unhealthily influenced by marketing glossies and sales teams.

Here are four steps to better handle procurement:

1. Establish a research and development group within your organization by connecting folks from procurement, operations, technology, data, and customer pools.
2. Allocate time in their schedules to scout products, participate in demos, and gradually become subject matter experts.
3. Offer the opportunity to establish a knowledge base so they can share their expertise and perspective on each potential solution.
4. Allocate and distribute training dollars to ensure that each team member understands market trends, emerging methodologies, technical complexities, and ethical considerations.