1. Slide 1
IBC Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
10th November 2010
The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer
Paul Vincent

2. Slide 2 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
"Attitude is a little thing that
makes a big difference"
Winston Churchill

3. Slide 3 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
I encounter a common image of procurement...
Windows on the World

4. Slide 4 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
• Procurement don’t have a say in the operational budget
• Procurement don’t understand the business need
• Procurement don’t know what ‘good looks like’
• Procurement might give the work to someone else
• Procurement only care about price
...and some corresponding core beliefs
Windows on the World
Best to leave engagement with procurement until it is unavoidable !

5. Slide 5 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Perceived Role of Procurement =
Windows on the World

6. Slide 6 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Traditional Procurement Flow
Internal Client
Specification
Supply Market
Negotiation/Contract
Procurement
Sourcing Exercise
Understanding the order of things
Typical Consultancy Procurement Flow
Consulting Firm
Great Idea
Internal Client
Need/Cost
Internal Client
Need/Budget
Consulting Firm
Proposition/Cost
Procurement
Formalise Deal/Contract
The Role of Procurement

7. Slide 7 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
The key challenges in managing this category
• Becoming an integral part of the end to end buying process
• Ensuring procurement are involved at the right time
• Relating most appropriately to the supply market
Inclusion
• Delivering real business value to internal stakeholders
Contribution
The Role of Procurement
• Adequately protecting corporate terms and conditions
• Ensuring the business achieves ‘best value for money’
• Implementing effective processes not unnecessary bureaucracy
Approach

8. Slide 8 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Internal Client
Need/Cost
Consulting Firm
Proposition/Cost
Consulting Firm
Great Idea
Internal Client
Need/Budget
Procurement
Facilitate Discussion/Selection
& Contract Terms
The ‘Knowledgeable’ Procurement Flow
The Role of Procurement
A ‘knowledgeable’ buyer will focus their involvement and
influence in achieving successful engagement outcomes
This approach will guarantee best value for money

9. Slide 9 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
“Quality means doing it right
when no-one is looking"
Henry Ford

10. Slide 10 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Instinctively ‘anticipates’ business needs
• Business improvement needs will rarely feature
in a category strategy
• Predict where needs may emerge during the
year ahead – identify the parts of your
organisation who face the biggest challenges
• Leverage your management chain to learn
about emerging ‘problems’ or ‘pressure points’
• Track the organisational movements of ‘key’
executives – especially at certain times of the
financial year
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

11. Slide 11 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Intuitively ‘monitors’ the political landscape
• Who seems to have inherited a
problem?
• Who seems to be causing a problem?
• Who needs/wants ‘rescuing’?
• Who wants/needs support?
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

12. Slide 12 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Tunes into the ‘urgency’ of business needs
• When Business Improvement needs
emerge they are NOT suited to a long
drawn out selection exercise – a degree
of supply ‘filtering’ must be done in
advance
• Buyers need to recommend the
selection process that is most likely to
deliver the ‘best fitting’ choice
• Business Improvement engagements are
almost always ‘phases’ of work – but not
all phases need to be bought at the
same time and from the same firm
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

13. Slide 13 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Helps shape the ‘scope’ of work
• Internal clients can sometimes be blinded
by the scale of their challenge and spend
insufficient time on root cause analysis.
Buyers should be alert to the impact this
can have on the scope of work required and
help to qualify perceived needs
• Share knowledge of past projects and/or
external case studies to offer advice on
engagement options and possible best
practice
• In particular help them to define the
specific outcomes required
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

14. Slide 14 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Recommends the ‘best fit’ supply options
• Who has your organisation used
before and how did they perform?
• Are they still as capable or has
something changed in their
organisation (e.g. key person left)
• Could/should they be re-engaged?
• If an alternative choice is required –
how widely should you cast the net?
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

15. Slide 15 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Contributes to ‘setting’ the key milestones
• Core principle - payment by
outcome/results but...
– Needs to be appropriately
applied
– Plan needs to be realistically
achievable
– Needs to take account of the
‘real’ baseline
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

16. Slide 16 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Supports the ‘delivery’ of project outcomes
• Practically support ‘on-boarding’
• Once supplier has been selected ‘help’
create the environment for success
• Stay close to progress – don’t just wait
for the client to keep you informed
• Spot potential issues before they
become escalations
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

17. Slide 17 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
Ensures there is a ‘feedback loop’ in all cases
• Firms are often only as good as their last
project in your organisation
• Consulting firms don’t want to be known
for unsuccessful engagements
• Tie feedback to payment if you can – but
be reasonable about it
• Feedback is two way – expect issues to
be created by internal clients too
A Knowledgeable Buyer – Business Improvement Services

18. Slide 18 The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer – Paul Vincent [10th November 2010] Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
“He who asks a question is a fool
for a minute; he who does not
remains a fool forever"
Chinese Proverb
A Sensible Consultant will develop a positive relationship with a Knowledgeable Buyer

19. Slide 19
IBC Consultancy Purchasing Group Event
10th November 2010
The ‘Knowledgeable’ Buyer
Thank You