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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“ 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
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
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
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
partnership where we get down on the ground to identify and analyse a Client’s
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
over 90% of our Clients say they would work with us again.




Americas + 1 781 674 0400 Belgium + 32 (0) 2 762 52 38 Denmark + 45 35 45 90 01
Finland + 358 10 396 8800 France + 33 (0) 1 56 69 53 00 Germany + 49 (0) 211 58 33 00 33
Netherlands + 31 (0) 20 570 5400 Norway + 47 22 43 29 23 Sweden + 46 (0) 8 670 6579
United Arab Emirates + 971 (0) 2 406 98 77 United Kingdom + 44 (0) 20 8338 5000


celerantconsulting.com
Celerant Consulting Holdings Limited. Registered Office: Avalon House,
72 Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2JY, United Kingdom.

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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 partnership where we get down on the ground to identify and analyse a Client’s 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 over 90% of our Clients say they would work with us again. Americas + 1 781 674 0400 Belgium + 32 (0) 2 762 52 38 Denmark + 45 35 45 90 01 Finland + 358 10 396 8800 France + 33 (0) 1 56 69 53 00 Germany + 49 (0) 211 58 33 00 33 Netherlands + 31 (0) 20 570 5400 Norway + 47 22 43 29 23 Sweden + 46 (0) 8 670 6579 United Arab Emirates + 971 (0) 2 406 98 77 United Kingdom + 44 (0) 20 8338 5000 celerantconsulting.com Celerant Consulting Holdings Limited. Registered Office: Avalon House, 72 Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2JY, United Kingdom.