If you’ve retained or are thinking about retaining the services of a procurement consultant, then you’re probably aware that your purchasing practices need a steadier hand.
And that’s exactly what procurement consulting can do for you. Especially in the complex world of indirect spend, a procurement consultant can provide the insights, leverage and supply chain stability your company needs to get the most out of purchasing.
Let’s look at procurement consulting: tips for getting the most out of your experience and get you ready to exploit your new relationship to optimal benefit.
Exchange knowledge
You know your strength and weaknesses. That’s important information for a procurement consultant. But you need reciprocation for the relationship to work.
What you’ll discover as you’re getting to know your consultant is that expertise you need is coming through the door. But what your new team needs from you is total transparency – and your existing team needs that too. Everyone needs to be on the same page to derive everything you can from this relationship.
A procurement consultant worth its salt is going to work with the knowledge you share and provide solutions and focused expertise that get your purchasing solutions working for your company.
Share strategy
Hiring a procurement consultant doesn’t mean the process is completely out of your hands. It’s a collaborative effort which involves devoting yourself to sharing strategy and the processes in place. This gives your consultant a connection to what you do and to the people who do it for you – your employees.
Talking about your supply chain is important. This provides your consultant with important insight and clarity, creating a window into what’s going right and what’s going wrong.
Communicate openly
Is there any obscure corner of life which wouldn’t benefit from a little clear, open communication? No. Working with a procurement consultant is no different. Some people in your organization are going to be nervous about handing this function off to an outside influence. But clear communication will serve to dispel any doubts. It will also get you the best results. How is a consultant of any kind to deliver the kind of benefit they’re capable of without keeping the lines of communication open and clear?
It’s that kind of forthright communication that can build a mutually beneficial relationship.
Be open-minded
All mutually beneficial relationships are built on trust. Your procurement consultant is there to pull all the strands of your purchasing operation into a nice, tight bunch, bringing you fresh approaches and new ideas. You may even find they bring you plum clients and reliable vendors.
Your consultant can also connect you to technology that takes human error out of the equation, opening the door to automation and data analysis that lets you see the big picture.
But you need to keep an open mind to let your consultant get all that done.
CenterPoint Group
CenterPoint is a Group Purchasing Organization that brings your company the power of numbers. Contact Us to revolutionize your procurement process.