Cathy Johnson - CPG Event - 10th November 2010 - The Knowledgeable Buyer
Procurement Professionals: Rubber Stampers or Mission Control
1. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
Procurement Professionals:
Rubber Stampers or Mission Control?
How Procurement can add real value to the process
of buying Business Improvement Services
SPEAKERS: PAUL VINCENT, ACTING CHAIR OF THE CONSULTANCY PURCHASING GROUP AND MANAGING DIRECTOR,
INSIGHT SOURCING SOLUTIONS. JOHN WELLWOOD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, 100% EFFECTIVE TRAINING & CONSULTANCY.
CATHY JOHNSON, VICE PRESIDENT, CELERANT CONSULTING VENUE: TRINITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL, LONDON
2. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
“When consultants engage
with Procurement Professionals
it should be a meeting of minds,
but too often it’s a meeting
of agendas.” Cathy Johnson Celerant Consulting UK
Profiles
Paul Vincent is Acting Chair of the IBC Consultancy John Wellwood is an international Master Black Belt Cathy Johnson is a Vice President at Celerant Consulting.
Purchasing Group and the owner and Managing who has consulted in over 13 countries, trained over During her previous 7 years in Telecommunications
Director of Insight Sourcing Solutions Ltd, a company 1000 people in Lean Six Sigma and run projects in and 10 years in Operational Consultancy, Cathy has
which specialises in helping organisations buy and sell almost every area of business and industry. John set up worked across the whole value chain and led a wide
Business Improvement services more effectively. Paul 100% Effective Training & Consultancy in 2000 to range of assignments throughout Europe in the
established Insight in 2009, following a successful offer open, in house and online training at all levels, as FMCG, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals,
24 year career in commercial and operational well as consultancy and advice in business improvement. Telecommunications and Financial Services sectors.
disciplines at BT Group plc. He has over 13 years Since that date the company has worked across the globe
buying and global category management experience with organisations that include BT, BAA, Caterpillar,
and has been responsible for the delivery of many Volvo, Jaguar, Nissan, Renault, Norwich Union,
high profile business change programmes. Trelleborg, Alstom and Valeo.
2 CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT
3. t is often claimed, by internal The conference was hosted and
I
stakeholders and external introduced by Caroline Lumb, Head of
suppliers alike, that when it the IBC and the guest speakers were
comes to buying Management Paul Vincent, Acting CPG Chair and
Consultancy services, Procurement Managing Director of Insight Sourcing
Professionals care too much about price Solutions, John Wellwood, Managing
and too little about the potential value Director of 100% Effective Training &
that can be added. Consultancy and Cathy Johnson, Vice
President at Celerant Consulting.
It’s also perceived that they generally
have so little knowledge, understanding It was held at Trinity House, overlooking
or interest in the business issues that lie The Tower of London, and among the
behind the Improvement Project that is to organisations represented were: American
be put out to tender, their practical Express, Aviva, Barclays Capital, British
involvement in the actual buying process Council, BT, Legal & General, Lloyds
should be restricted to the concluding of Banking Group, Manpower UK, Pfizer,
formalities at the end. Premier Foods, Prudential, RWE Npower,
Schroders, Severn Trent Water, Shell,
In this context, and in association with the Societe Generale, Tesco, The Co-operative
Institute of Business Consulting (IBC) and Financial Service, The Foreign Office, The
the Consultancy Purchasing Group (CPG), Walt Disney Co, United Utilities, Vodafone
Celerant Consulting was delighted to sponsor and Westminster City Council.
‘The Knowledgeable Buyer -
What difference would it make?’
“ The skills required to be a good
What combination of knowledge and
understanding would a Procurement Procurement Professional are the
Professional need to possess in order to
be invited into the process much earlier? same as those required to be a
And how might this subsequently
influence the way each party approaches
good Consultant - which includes
the commercial and contractual negotiations understanding that what people
to ensure that the project can and will be
successfully delivered? want isn’t always what they need.”
CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT 3
4. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
Going Against The Flow
The typical Consultancy-Internal Client-Procurement Flow
needs to change, says Paul Vincent. Procurement Professionals
must deliver business value much earlier in the buying cycle.
Executive Summary
wo key challenges need to be Anticipate Business Improvement needs: Recommend the ‘best fit’ supply options:
T
overcome for a Procurement They will rarely feature in a category Who has your organisation used before and
Professional to become ‘The strategy, so you have to be able to predict how did they perform? Are they still just as
Knowledgeable Buyer.’ The first where needs may emerge during the year capable now or has something changed?
is the simple question of inclusion. You have ahead by identifying those parts of your If an alternative choice is required, you
to move from being engaged at the end of organisation which face the biggest have to know how widely to cast the net.
the line to close things out, to being involved challenges. You need to leverage your
when a need is first identified. However, to management chain to learn about emerging Contribute to setting the key milestones:
become an integral part of the end to end problems and track the organisational The core principle here is obviously payment
buying process, Procurement Professionals movements of key executives - especially by outcomes or results, but this needs to be
need to show that they can effectively aid a at certain times of the financial year. appropriately applied. Projects need to be
stakeholder in their decision making and relate realistically achievable and to take account
most appropriately to the supply market. Monitor the political landscape: of the ‘real’ baseline.
The second is a question of approach. You Who seems to have inherited a problem?
obviously have to protect corporate terms Who needs to be rescued or wants support?
and conditions to ensure that the business “The knowledgeable buyer will
achieves best value for money, but you have Tune into the urgency of business needs: focus their involvement and
do this by implementing effective processes, When Business Improvement needs do influence in achieving successful
not unnecessary bureaucracy. emerge, they’re not suited to a long, drawn engagement outcomes.”
out selection exercise, so a high degree of
Making it happen supply filtering must be done in advance. You
‘The Knowledgeable Buyer’ has to focus their therefore need to recommend the selection Support the delivery of project outcomes:
involvement and influence on achieving process that is most likely to deliver the ‘best Once a supplier has been selected, you have
successful engagement outcomes, not fitting’ choice. You’ve also got to keep in mind to help create the environment for success
simply squeezing an extra 1% from the that Business Improvement engagements are by practically supporting ‘on-boarding.’ This
costs which may turn out to be counter- almost always phases of work, and not all includes staying on top of how things are
productive. An ‘outcome’ rather than those phases need to be bought at the progressing and spotting potential issues
‘deal’ focus will naturally help ensure same time or indeed from the same firm. before they become escalations.
you achieve best value for money.
Achieving successful engagement outcomes Help shape the scope of work: Ensure there’s a feedback loop:
means being proactive and having your radar Internal clients can sometimes be blindsided It’s important to remember that no Consultancy
switched on at all times: by the scale of the challenge and spend wants to be known for unsuccessful engage-
insufficient time on root cause analysis, ments. So a feedback loop is vital. Tie feedback
The ‘Knowledgeable’ Procurement Flow so you should be alert to the impact this to payment if you can, but be reasonable
can have on the scope of work required and remember, feedback is a 2-way street.
Consulting Internal
Firm Client and help to qualify perceived needs. Share Things can’t change overnight, but the benefits
Great Idea Need/Cost
Procurement knowledge of past projects and/or external will be enormous. You'll become a trusted
Facilitate Discussion
Selection &
Contract Terms Consulting
case studies to offer advice on engagement business advisor and your organisation’s
Internal Firm
Client
Proposition/
options. The critical thing is to help them Business Improvement programmes will
Need/Budget Cost define the specific outcomes required. achieve their optimum outcomes.
4 CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT
5. Recognising The Right Partner
What are the characteristics of an effective Business
Improvement Consultancy, asks John Wellwood, and
how can you validate them during the buying process?
Executive Summary
t’s never easy to find the right great website that informs you all about Validating the Consultants
I
Consultancy for a project. Most the different industries they’ve worked in, Not all Consultants are incredibly clever,
of the time you only ever meet their key people and the case studies so don’t always believe them when they
the Partners or the Senior they’re most proud of, but the truth is say they’re qualified Black Belts or experts
Consultants and they won’t be doing the anyone can put together a great website, in Kaizen. It’s also a good idea to ask about
actual work. Add to that the fact that every so you have to dig deeper. Will they let their last 3 assignments, their recruitment
Consultancy approaches things differently you meet their past clients? Can they policy, their utilisation figures and imperative
and the questions mount. You don’t want demonstrate the sustainability of their that you find out exactly who will be delivering
to take any risks in case you get it wrong, solutions? Have they ever operated in a the programme. You might get the ‘A Team’
but at the same time, you’re looking for similar culture to yours? And what about in the pitch, but will you get them in the
something different. their people? Are they employed from a trenches? If not, make sure you meet or
diverse range of backgrounds or are they talk to the people you will get.
Time isn’t normally on your side either. all company clones?
When Business Improvement needs arise, Validating the Consultancy
people want action and they want it fast, Influencing Skills: This is one of the One of the most interesting questions here
so you can't draw out the process. That’s biggest differentiators. A 100% effective is whether or not they use their approach to
why it’s important to get a feel for the market Consultancy must have fantastic people Business Improvement in their own business
in advance. We all agree that price alone skills and an ability to build confidence and - and if not, why not? How do they measure
isn’t a good measure of quality, but what is? rapport at all levels of your organisation. successful outcomes for a programme and
Business Improvement projects require a are they prepared to open up about past
“You might get the A Team change of behaviours and people need to programmes that didn’t hit their targets
believe that those changes are for the and explain where and why things went
in the pitch, but will you
better. So don’t be afraid to ask yourself wrong? It’s all about risk-reward, so what
get them in the trenches?” the very human question ‘Do I get on with guarantees are they prepared to offer that
them?’ because if you don’t, the chances what they say will work will work?
The characteristics of a 100% are no one else will either. There’s no magic wand in any of this, it
Effective Consultancy: takes time, effort and a gut instinct. You
Philosophy: The best Consultancies Technical Ability: The nuts and bolts - can have to look beyond the showmen and
always want to pass on their knowledge they run different methodologies and if see the real people. Effective consultants
asap and help the business elsewhere. they can, will they be sustainable? Do they are experts, coaches and trainers.
They don’t have a rigid model or a singular really understand your issues and your
way of doing business, they adapt to the culture? Have they got war stories? Effective Business Improvement
client's culture and way of working. They Consultancy Outcomes
understand the risk-reward relationship Character: All projects involve teamwork, Results of Quality of the Acceptance of
and will put their money where their so are they actively looking to learn from improvement + solutions = the organisation
projects
mouth is. They’ll also won’t be afraid tell your internal clients? Will they challenge
you if they can’t do something. Honesty their assumptions and draw the best out
comes right at the start. of them. It’s vital that they do because Through the Through
use of the effective change
being open and honest is the quickest right tools & management &
History: It’s a given that they’ll have a way to build effective teams. techniques influencing
CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT 5
6. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
Ensuring A Win -Win Scenario
Consultants and Procurement Professionals want to deliver the
best Business Improvement Programmes, says Cathy Johnson,
so how do they help each other achieve that?
Executive Summary
hen we begin talking to about what it is they’re trying to achieve a lax target with lots of support can have
W
organisations about Business and then help them define the process the same effect. Equally, if you give a
Improvement initiatives we they have to go through to find what Consultancy a target which is too easy, it’s
often find that the outcomes they’re looking for. Is it just a skills gap not challenging and you probably won’t
they want are ill-defined or not defined at they’re trying to fix? Or do they want a get the best out of them. So it’s important
all. They might be clear about how many programme that significantly changes to know exactly which behavioural changes
people they want trained, or how many things? Slicing the opportunity into four are going to drive the programme and then
processes they want changed, but that’s all manageable chunks makes these conver- work with the Consultancy to get the right
about the inputs. What’s more important is sations much easier and can be done balance of risk and reward.
the end game. What will the organisation either with the Consultancy or internally: The second thing to remember is that for
look like when the programme has finished a Consultancy to be able to commit to the
and how will people behave differently? Discovery: High level view of the improvement final outcomes in the process, they have to
opportunity and the business case. clearly understand how your organisation
Define the Precise Outcomes works, what the size and scale of change
You can’t get to where you want to be if Baseline Analysis: Quantification of is that they’re embarking on and what the
you don’t know where you are. So every improvement potential. levers are that they're going to have to use
Business Improvement programme must to actually achieve those changes. So they
start by examining the processes that Design & Deploy: Process improvements will need as much upfront raw data as you
currently exist. How are they being managed defined and quick win installations. can give them.
and how can they be improved? What about
the people? What skill sets do they have Implementation: Financial, operational Sustainability must be a Key Outcome
and what are they capable of achieving? and behavioural results delivered. There’s little point in anyone engaging a
Consultancy to drive quick upticks if the
Not every Consultancy comes in because Balance the Risk and Reward cost savings are then going to disappear
you need their skills or knowledge. There are two things to remember here as the organisation drifts back to its old
Sometimes you need quick results, from a buying perspective. The first is that way of working. Nor is there any point in
momentum or a project management delivering results cannot be done by the engaging a Consultancy that drives things
capability, but by having a collaborative Consultancy alone. It also has to be done incredibly hard for a while and then
dialogue around what’s important to you, by your internal clients, so whether they leaves without having transferred any
what we’re trying to achieve and how we like it or not they have a real stake in the of their knowledge into the organisation.
get to that result, you’re dramatically programme. As soon as you put a
increasing the chances of success. So from Consultancy in a position where they’re An effective Consultancy needs to be
a Consultancy perspective, the earlier in going to be paid by results only, you’re continually making itself redundant by
the engagement process that these honest, automatically putting your internal client embedding Continuous Improvement into
open conversations take place the better. in the same position - and they might not the organisation and leaving behind a team
thank you for that. of internal ‘Change Agents’.
Divide the decision process into more
manageable chunks Giving someone a tough target with very Achieving this requires them to guarantee:
Procurement Professionals must encourage little support means you can end up driving Engagement: Defining what needs to
their internal clients to be very precise the wrong behaviour and giving someone change, with what benefit, and then
6 CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT
7. selling the change to those who simply So you want a Consultancy that will manage Business Improvement success is a
don’t believe it can or must happen. the emotional journey, as well as managing function of what you put into a project
the other results, because there’s a huge and how it’s going to be delivered. It’s
Training: Training people in the initial difference between people saying ‘We also a matter of working collaboratively
tools required for change. know what a KPI is’ and ‘We know what it to bring in different skill sets at different
means to use this KPI.’ Asking a consultancy times, asking the right questions throughout
Guidance coaching: Spending time in whether they regularly put something like the process to both the Consultants and
the relevant work place to monitor this in place also adds an extra level of your internal clients, having clearly
processes and challenge NVA activities credibility when it comes to finding defined outcomes and a hard end game
and the root causes. Coaching the teams, out more about their successful projects, to achieve them. That’s how Procurement
delegating the monitoring task to supervisors because the journey of delivering a Professionals deliver the best value back
and managers and coaching them in how programme is just as important as the to the business.
to drive change. programme itself. The fact that a project
has been closed is one piece of information,
Coaching the coaches: Ensuring that the but information about how that project
taskforce and clients are coaching their was closed is significantly more important.
people and challenging targets.
Coaching sustainability: Testing
sustainability.
“The task of a good
Business Consultancy
Defining and tracking results to ensure ROI.
How do you know you’re going to get the
ROI you want? Consultancies will all tell
you they can get it, but how are they going
to monitor this and show that during the
is to make themselves
course of the project they’re actually
delivering what they said they would vs redundant.”
what they said they would cost over the
project duration. And it’s not just ROI on
the input costs of their daily rate, it’s ROI
on your total investment.
The underlying journey means measuring progress along
An absolutely robust tracking system is the way is critical to ensuring the results are delivered
therefore essential and it must include an
evaluation methodology that shows your Developing Experience Practice & Learning Performing
internal financial people that the improve-
ments that have been sold to you are
hitting the bottom line. Similarly from an Ownership
PRIDE
operational, bottom up perspective, the 100% Take-over
people within the project have to understand SELF-CONFIDENT
exactly what actions they’re going to have Giving
HOPEFUL Understanding
to take to deliver those improvements, so Contributing 80%
they can see the direct impact that activity on MISTRUS
Watching
the ground is having on your financial results.
CAUTIOUSLY
DISBELIEF Compliance POSITIVE
Protecting 60% Engaging
Managing the Emotional Journey of Change
Organisations often struggle with this
because it’s not very tangible, but there is Use UNCERTAINTY
40% Co-operating
a direct correlation between results and Acceptance
how you manage the emotional journey 20% ANGRY
Withdrawing
that people go through. Many change
programmes fail apart at the ‘disbelief’
stage shown on the chart opposite.
CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT 7
8. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
Extracts from the Q&A
n the Q&A session, delegates of as much intellect as they think they have. particular path, then I find that in my
I
probed the Speakers’ interlocking Let me tell you a story. It’s a true story, so experience you get traction.
themes and the impact they had I'll try and not give too much away. Senior
Q&
on the Procurement - Consultant managers who engage Consultants often The third thing is, never ask them what
- Internal Stakeholder relationship. completely lose their mind in terms of they want. I would really never go and say,
what represents good value for money. how can I help you? What you need to do
Rosalind Barbier, Senior Procurement I had a situation where a senior manager is go in and say, this is what I understand
Manager at a FTSE 100 Financial Services wanted someone to help them run the about your needs, the type of partner
Company, asked how many ‘Knowledgeable politics of their Leadership Team and you’re looking to work with and this is
Buyers’ Cathy Johnson had come across when I was approached to rubber stamp, how I can offer you value. Now obviously
as a Consultant? I thought the decimal point was in the wrong you need to pick different types of people
place in terms of the numbers that were to do it with. We talked earlier about
CJ: That’s a really tricky question to answer there. They wanted to pay a particular spotting the dynamics of different people
in a room full of Procurement Professionals. individual thousands and thousands of moving to different roles. If you say that
Before today obviously, I have specific pounds on a retainer to do something which to the people who actually need you, for
experience of just 2. One worked in an wasn’t particularly difficult or challenging. example someone who takes over a new
organisation which we've worked with Why? Because that person had a reputation. area, you’re giving them some information
for 8 years, so that’s a real partnership. They almost had some kind of underwriting that they don’t have. They’re going to be
It’s a significantly large organisation and recognition within the organisation that churning over the stones, you give them
this individual works with all sorts of made it important to engage them. the information they don’t have, they
consultancies, but he understands where won’t have been impacted by the spin of
we add value and that it's not just about When I spoke to them about what it was their leadership team that everything is
the input, it's about the output. The other they were actually getting, why they were great and all of a sudden you become a
one is someone who has a very broad paying this money, all those sorts of trusted advisor. It’s not an overnight
view of what it means to deliver this type things, they started to open up. So you’ve change though. You've got to keep at it.
of thing. At the other end of the scale, got to be prepared to have what I call a
I’ve come across a lot of people who just real business conversation. Rather than Caroline Lumb, Head of the Institute of
go through the typical tick sheet and if saying I can't work this through from a Business Consulting, wondered what John
you ask any questions that are off the tick Procurement benefit, try and approach Wellwood thought about the impact of
sheet the response is ‘Well I’m not really them on a business level and say, what e-portals on the process of Consultancy
here to answer outside questions, so I’m are they giving you that you haven’t got, selection?
not going to answer that.’ I’ll just qualify that you really need, and that means
that by saying that I work primarily in the you’re prepared to spend 2, 3, 4 times JW: There’s obviously a place for e-portals
private sector. I’ve have some experience more than you have to? You’ve got to be because it allows procurement to collate
in the public sector and when you’ve got prepared to have that conversation. information by asking very precise questions
a system whereby you have to explicitly about what a Consultancy can offer, but
justify what you’re buying and how, the The second point is that in a lot of the problem is that it plays very much into
system is likely to be more rigid. instances, they really are just focussed on the hands of the big guys - because they
the immediate requirement, so they don't have all the stuff you ask for. The smaller
Sophie Dixon, Senior Procurement think of things. Insurance, indemnity, companies may or may not. The other
Manager at American Express, wanted intellectual property, they don't think problem is you’re asked questions in these
Paul Vincent’s view on how best to about that because all they want is some- things which you try and fill it in, but if you
engage with internal stakeholders? thing that’s going to help them. So if you don’t know the organisation because you’ve
can actually highlight some of the things never worked with them before, how can
PV: I would suggest 3 things. First, don’t which they're taking a risk on, how you possibly answer a question about how
be afraid. They are not always in possession vulnerable they are by going down a we might deploy, when we don’t know
8 CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT
9. “ Senior managers who engage Consultants
often completely lose their mind in terms
of what represents good value for money.”
Paul Vincent
anything about your culture, we don’t results. So the conversation about benefits mechanism across the Project Management.
know anything about how you've worked realisation, monitoring progress and ‘having If that’s seen as a collaboration between
in the past or how you want to work now? something to work against’ comes up very the Client and the Consultancy and for
&A
I think it’s best to use the e-portal as a early. The other question that comes up early example, from a procurement perspective,
way of getting to know people to find a is ‘You might say we’ll make a significant the right metrics have actually been set
range of Consultants or Consultancies saving, but how are you going to cash the up to measure success, it’s a dynamic
that you would have as a panel to choose cheque?’ So we also build in a rigorous process and you can have a conversation
from. Then when you actually have a Programme Management structure that says that says ‘The goalposts have changed
requirement, you would get 3 or 4 of them it’s absolutely essential that we track various because of these reasons.’
in the room to explain what’s going on, KPIs weekly - and that’s non-negotiable.
what your requirement is and fill in the We won’t change the baseline of where we’ve
human side. The majority of projects will have a steering come from, but we will amend the activities
group of some kind and they will using and outcomes that we’re trying to work
All consultancies have a fantastic client those KPIs and we actually challenge and towards to make sure that we don’t just
base and they all have fantastic case studies. coach that process right the way through. rigidly go down the rail track of ‘This is
So meeting them enables you to dig deeper, So everyone understands what the objectives the project’ when the business has already
because I think we’ve all got an inbuilt are at the definition stage. If you split a turned off in a different direction. So it’s
ability to assess whether people are any project into 4 milestones, I’d say that it really important to have a regular dialogue
good or not. So when you meet them, you probably takes until milestone 2 before about ‘Is this really what we are still trying to
might end up thinking ‘You’re going to put something is really understood, milestone achieve?’ If the outcomes or the objectives
that guy in my site?’ He’s never worked in 3 before you start getting the kick back on change, the programme needs to reflect
our industry before or he’s never worked ‘well we’re not really sure if that’s come that, but not in a way that lets either the
in this kind of culture before’. through, because now we’ve understood how business or the Consultants get off lightly.
to measure it’ and by the time you get to
Another dynamic is how many projects have the end of the project it is there. It’s been Jonathan Self, Buying Manager
they actually completed? To complete a internalised and it’s now a sustainable way Construction at Tesco, asked Paul Vincent
project they have to come up with a solution of working. It’s not easy, but it’s a process if the concept of ‘The Knowledgeable
and they have to implement it. You would we insist on going through. buyer’ really was that revolutionary?
define what a completed project is right at
the start - we’ve reduced this or increased Nick de Voil, Director, De Voil Consulting, PV: Evolutionary might be a better word.
that and we’ve run it for 6 months and had wanted to know if Celerant ever had What we’ve been talking about today are
no problems and so on. The control point is Clients whose objectives change during 2 key points. The closer integration between
that the project is complete when the solution the course of an engagement? Procurement and Consultancy, and linked
is embedded in the organisation. That tells to that, the point about risk-reward in the
you whether or not they’ve had enough CJ: We have Clients who try to change the process. The way I see it, if the Business
influence to get everyone to accept it. results or the outcomes that they're looking Improvement and Procurement functions
to achieve. We have a lot of organisations are closer in terms of the objectives and
A Consulting industry delegate, asked where the circumstances change during the what we’re really trying to achieve, then the
the floor how they educated their users course of the project. Where for example, a setting of that risk -reward relationship
and clients to achieve the best level gross scenario is in place that says ‘We’re with the Consultant against the outcomes
of benefits from the Consultancy going to improve by X% and sell Y% more will be that much easier. So revolutionary
programmes they purchase? widgets’, then unfortunately those Y% is probably the wrong word, evolutionary
widgets can’t be sold because there just is the way I’d see it. Having said that ‘The
CJ: We’re in a fortunate position because all isn’t the market for them. That happens Knowledgeable Buyer’ is still revolutionary
of the programmes we work on are outcomes quite regularly and that’s where I go back for the majority of organisations.
based and we make a commitment to those to the absolute need for a benefits tracking
CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT 9
10. The Inside Track
News & Reviews of the latest Celerant Corporate Event
Reviews
After the conference, Celerant hosted a Corporate Dinner where delegates could exchange ideas on ‘The Knowledgeable Buyer.’
Rosalind Barbier of the high degree of sensitivity or confidentiality What did you find most useful about today?
Senior Procurement Manager around these projects, Procurement doesn’t necessarily The thing that I really value is that it’s good to
FTSE 100 Financial Services Company hear about them until quite a long way down the get out of your own little box and meet with
chain. So another challenge is to pull Procurement like-minded professionals. A lot of the topics
What are the challenges of buying Business closer to the centre of the business. It needs to earn touched on today reinforced what I was already
Improvement services in your organisation? respect in the business as a trusted business partner aware of. There are always some nuggets that come
First of all, it’s about having visibility of the and a true commercial partner. To me that would out of it, but what’s really good is the networking
pipeline of requirements. That way you can give be Nirvana. opportunity. It's good to pool experiences and
your internal stakeholders a measured view on knowledge and it makes you realise that you’re
the best way to define those requirements, the So ‘The Knowledgeable Buyer’ not alone with these challenges.
best way to source solutions and the best way to is the way forward?
define what success looks like. Yes. I think we’ve all got a very good vision of what What’s also been really good about this forum is
‘The Knowledgeable Buyer’ is, the question is how the bringing together of the buyers and the providers
I believe that Procurement should be involved do we achieve that? I believe it’s an evolutionary - and recognising that we have a lot in common
in the buying of Business Improvement services process, particularly when you remember that and we can help each other because we’re actually
and in most major projects they are. The challenge procuring Business Improvement services is quite unexpected allies. Assuming the Consultancy has
is about having advanced visibility of what might a new thing anyway. Procurement started off buying good intentions, we are completely aligned as to
be on the agenda, because projects sometimes seem very concrete things, but with Consultancies or what the outcome should be. What’s more, if we
to come out of nowhere. Clearly they can’t come out Legal Services there’s a much greater human factor get this right, the potential for helping business
of nowhere, but they often seem to. Then, because involved. That’s part of the evolution. and the broader economy is really excellent.
Procurement Category Manager capability within the Procurement function and function who are, I would say, already ‘Knowledgeable
Utilities Sector its a slow burn, but I think we’re getting there. Buyers.’ It’s the opportunity to actually demonstrate
I’ve been looking after Consultancy Spend since that and add real value that is the challenge.
What are the challenges of buying Business the beginning of the year and we have made real What did you find most useful about today?
Improvement services in your organisation? progress. It’s almost a case of ‘Show me, don’t tell I think the general interaction has been really good.
It’s about influencing our internal stakeholders. me,’ so we’ve worked on a number of initiatives Although it sounds rather glib, it’s almost the case
That’s the big issue for us. Historically, Procurement this year, on a number of tender activities where that what I heard today wasn’t necessarily anything
haven’t really managed Consultancy Spend. we've been able to demonstrate value, and from new, but a reinforcement that as an organisation
The company itself has grown primarily through that we’ve secured more opportunities to support we are not alone with this issue. Not necessarily the
acquisition, so people have come from very different the business in its requirements. challenges that we face in this particular category,
backgrounds and from different organisations that but hearing other people from other companies and
do things very differently - and they’ve been allowed We don’t just have to provide a framework, we also the Consultancies who have a lot of the same
to do continue with that. So to get that stakeholder have to provide the framework that’s right for issues and problems. For me it was almost a
buy in to look at something in a more aligned our company. It’s all very well having theoretical reassurance that even if we don’t have all the
and commercial way has been quite a challenge. ideas about how things would work, but it’s got to answers, we’re not unique.
work in practice. Not every model fits every company.
I would say that we’ve developed very good
relationships with the Consultancies that we use So ‘The Knowledgeable Buyer’
when we’re engaged. It’s that issue of up front is the way forward?
engagement. We’re often engaged at the end and we Absolutely. I think we’ve got a lot that we can give
can add value there, but it’s the end to end process in this area. Talking specifically about our company,
that I’m more interested in. We have a great of we’ve got a number of people in our Procurement
10 CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT
11. Principal Category Manager drawn some key areas, particularly in finance, So ‘The Knowledgeable Buyer’
Telco Procurement Company where there have been some pretty strong wins is the way forward?
for us. And therefore we’re perhaps more trusted Definitely. The other angle of course is that
What are the challenges of buying Business in those areas. In other areas, people are being many of the consultants are also our customers.
Improvement services in your organisation? employed and it’s a specialist area and they don’t If you route that into the broader relationship,
It’s about credibility. As a buyer you need to build necessarily know anything about Procurement. you’ve got a customer relationship, a supplier
internal credibility and demonstrate that you can They like to take a decision and get on with it relationship and a Business Improvement
add some value. Once you do that, you can get and not be held back by process. So it’s very much relationship going on. Those things can’t exist as
yourself engaged at the early stage of a project about selling the value of what the process adds, static concepts, so you have to take a balanced
and be involved where it counts. A great example rather than stepping in and saying ‘No we’re not view of how you're going to work with these
of this for me was where someone in the organisation going to do this, because we’re the police.’ organisations.
had recently pre-selected. It came through to my team
and they said: ‘We just need to put this contract It’s also recognising that it’s not just about cost, What did you find most useful about today?
in place.’ But we went back and challenged their because it’s not a commodity you’re buying. What was great for us was to hear a Consultancy
assumptions. Now in the end the result didn’t There’s a deal we’re closing at the moment for say ‘These are our experiences of the Procurement
change and the price didn’t change, but the guy example, where the supplier that we’re going to function, good and bad.’ That’s really useful and
fed back to us that what was brilliant was that go with is by no stretch of the imagination the something you don’t necessarily hear people being
‘You challenged us to think about things and you lowest cost supplier, but they’re the ones who know too honest about. It was nice to hear that and then
forced us to write down what the requirements the most about the subject and can deliver what have a conversation afterwards to tease out some
really were. Now we know what it is we’re going we want. In this instance, we’ve also been very more of the details.
to get - we didn't really know that before.’ It’s that ingrained with the business owner, so we’ve been
kind of thing you have to leverage. Sometimes able to step through their concept and it was
people are looking for help and sometimes they’re not. great because there’s a relationship there and
It depends on their motivation. At Vodafone we’ve we’re a trusted advisor.
“ Attitude is a
little thing that
makes a big
difference.”
Winston Churchill
CELERANT CORPORATE EVENT 11
12. For over 20 years, Celerant Consulting has delivered successful, sustainable
change for world leading companies. Our expertise covers the entire spectrum
of the Operations Management ecosystem, with a core focus on Performance
Improvement and Behavioural Change Management. Every project is a strategic
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most significant business challenges, then work with them to drive up results.
We implement customised solutions that capitalise on existing systems, processes
and people - and deliver substantial benefits. We change business for good and
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