Sourcing & Transition
Selecting the right partners and ensuring that pre-deal promises become service realities
Too often sourcing activities fail to provide their anticipated value. Sellers over-promise and buyers overlook the technical and organisational challenges that will face an incoming supplier. Procurement teams that are focused on getting the best price for commodity items may not have the right skills to shape and execute complex transformational deals. Pressing deadlines can lead to high-level contracts being signed with a promise to work out the detail later.
Often the problems arising from partnering with the wrong supplier or incorrectly structuring a contract can take time to appear, but when they do fixing them is hard and can strain or even break supplier relationships.
The Problem
Even selecting a great supplier underpinned by a flexible and strategically aligned agreement may not be enough to deliver success. Once the ink has dried on the paperwork the real work of transitioning to a new tool, platform, or service really begins.
Buyers regret can set in early if the pre-sales team is quickly replaced with a delivery “B” squad, and often suppliers who have been selected on their ability to run a service prove ill suited to dealing with the complexities of setting it up or transitioning from an existing capability.
The Refractis Way
Successful strategic sourcing starts with ensuring clear transformational goals. Refractis teams work alongside our clients to help them to map out their strategic objectives, understand how best to engage the market, and to build clearly articulated value cases.
We help to shape and run innovative RFP exercises, work with internal and external counsel to drive the contracting process, and prepare internal teams to exploit the new tools and services once they are delivered.
Our approach to transition is driven by years of experience. We ensure that delivery plans are clear and that dependencies are acknowledged and realistic.
Sourcing & Transition Angles
