DPRTE Engage: Commerce Decisions – Start at the very beginning

August 25, 2020

DPRTE Engage 2020 sponsor, Commerce Decisions, examines the value of a carefully managed procurement strategy as the globe continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

With the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains still to be seen, one thing’s for certain – there is more emphasis than ever on the need to demonstrate that what’s being spent is being spent wisely. With the ongoing challenges of managing complex defence procurements combined with a continued drive to reduce costs and drive efficiency savings, scrutiny on procurement spend continues to increase.

With this in mind, taking a fresh look at how you manage your procurements to ensure you achieve the best possible value for money has never seemed a more valuable exercise.

Having spent the past 20 years supporting global procurement teams and witnessing first-hand the challenges that come with managing strategic complex procurements across the defence, commercial, government and infrastructure sectors, our biggest tip for getting best possible outcomes, including value for money, on your projects is to begin with the end in mind. Over the years, we’ve seen the pitfalls of going straight into the evaluation stage without thinking carefully about what comes before. It’s the familiar cliché, of ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.

Our proven and successful approach to strategic procurement places firm importance on this planning stage, and it’s this that assures the delivery of the best possible outcomes for our clients. Having a clear understanding of what success looks like from the start, helps you test your assumptions and technical requirements to ensure your procurement objectives are achievable.

And for each potential project, you’ll need to consider what the high-level drivers are. These could include Procurement Approach, Solution Performance, Information Sharing, Deliverability, Commercial Approach and Value Management threads. Every aspect of this is critical as it will underpin any decisions and choices that are made, informing the procurement strategy, scenario testing (Value for Money), negotiation and eventually contract management.

Criteria Development methodology can also be deployed right at the outset of a procurement – in fact the earlier the process is started, the better the outcome is likely to be. Capturing all the available information and providing stakeholders with a unified view of your project’s objectives ensures that all your project goals and requirements are clear, avoiding any unnecessary delays further down the line.

The importance of transparency and sharing sufficient information with bidders has never been greater – ensuring they provide evidence of every decision made along the way. Publishing your scoring method and the detail will give bidders greater insight into what a successful bid looks like, helping you get better quality bids and ultimately better outcomes. And equally important is the maintenance of a full audit trail of how and why the winning tender was selected. Without this evidence how will you be able to successfully defend a challenge and justify your decisions?

In times of increased uncertainty, the probability of facing negative press, wasted budget and legal challenge becomes even greater. Wouldn’t it be good if you knew before going to market, that you’d be in a position of confidence and defensibility with your procurement evaluation design?

Sharing industry best practice is more important than ever. In our presentation at DPRTE Engage we discuss the importance of aligning bidders and buyers on complex procurements to achieve best possible outcomes together. Contact us for a copy of the recording or visit our website to find out more.

Used across UK MOD since 2001, and with a corporate licence agreement in place since 2013, our AWARD® evaluation solution has been successfully deployed as its preferred online procurement solution for strategic projects. Throughout this time, AWARD® has enabled the MOD to maximise efficiencies, reduce time to contract, and improve value for money.

Commerce Decisions are official DPRTE Engage 2020 event Gold Sponsors.

Delegate registration is now open

In addition, a final few virtual exhibition product showcase opportunities are still available. For further details, please email exhibitions@dprte.co.uk or call 0845 270 7066.

Defence Online is the official media partner of DPRTE 2020

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