As competitive pressures and the pace of economic change increase, organizations rarely have the luxury of time in which to define and implement sourcing strategies. There is increasing pressure to accelerate the traditional 9-18 months' delivery timeframe to enable value to be realized as early as possible. Speeding the process up also minimizes the distraction to the business and avoids the risk of declining staff morale and service quality during the sourcing programme.
Accelerated implementation
PA has pioneered innovative sourcing approaches to respond to this pressure. We can implement sourcing strategies typically within 6-8 months by eliminating the repetitive and serial nature of the tasks inherent in traditional approaches to sourcing.
The key is to execute the major steps of the sourcing program in parallel, even to the extent of defining the sourcing strategy at the same time as engaging with external outsourcing providers to help shape the options under consideration. By engaging with the market before deciding which (if any) services should be sourced externally, our clients are able to access alternative thinking and options and make an accurate assessment of the costs, benefits and risks involved in each option.
Of equal importance is early engagement with internal stakeholders to obtain buy-in and overcome potential resistance and perceived threats to their interests.
Making informed decisions fast
Rapid decision making is driven throughout the sourcing program by agreeing a prioritized list of business objectives for assessing competing options, and establishing a small steering committee which, crucially, is empowered to make decisions on behalf of the entire organization.
By following this approach, our clients are able to make well-informed sourcing decisions based on a clear business case and assessment of the in-house and external options.
Benefits come to those who don't want to wait...
By establishing the shape of each option up front, implementation timescales are also reduced significantly. Where outsourcing is selected as the preferred option, the key parameters of the service will also have been established with potential suppliers. The challenge involved in accelerating sourcing programs should not be underestimated but, in PA’s experience, our clients can realize benefits early through a combination of thoughtful planning, tenacity and rigorous program management.
