Sometimes, you need to engage talent that sits outside your full-time or traditional contingent workforce. From IT and engineering to marketing, consulting, and any other service, nearly all organizations use service suppliers to access expertise quickly. But many organizations struggle to create the right processes and tools to engage this talent well – solutions are often complex, inconsistent, and fail to deliver on visibility.
Organizations are looking for providers who can optimize how they buy services by complementing their internal procurement function.
A great services procurement solution – sometimes linked to an existing MSP – can help an organization to:
Simplify the process and streamline the experience of buying services.
Improve visibility across the external workforce.
Leverage data and analytics to drive continuous improvement.
Drive costs savings.
Enhance access to tech beyond typical procure-to-pay tools.
Increase compliance and risk control.
"Providers who sell a standard one-size-fits-all approach and then tell you to mandate their solutions are leading you down the wrong path. I believe that it has to be an appropriate and fit-for-purpose solution that's customized to your specific needs and goals. There is absolutely no sense in buying an off-the-shelf services procurement solution – it’s destined to fail."
Alejandro Builes, Vice President, Services Procurement, KellyOCG
Want to find out how we can level up your services procurement approach? Let’s talk.
Ready to start searching for a services procurement solution? Here are the questions you need to answer inside your business before you power up your search.
Where is your current way of working falling down? Many organizations use the same tools to buy both widgets and services. Where widgets have defined specifications, buying services is more complex, and it’s important to use the right tools to engage them well. Standard sourcing tools might be good enough for basic management of services spend, but if you want to drive further value, you need to focus on amplifying visibility and improving processes. Understanding your current pain points and speaking to the people who are regularly engaging service providers is an important place to start your buying journey.
Are you happy with your current level of visibility over your services spend? Most companies have the same basic visibility across their services categories – total spend by category, cost center, supplier, etc. Few can accurately dig into what the work is, how well it was performed, and how data from past projects can be used to shape future purchases. If you’re looking for next-level visibility and control – the tools and insights that can give you a much deeper understanding – you need an expert partner who can help you to see further.
Are you sure that you’re engaging services compliantly and safely? Many organizations have policies and strategies around buying services. But standard procurement processes and technologies often don’t provide the right level of control to deliver on compliance. If you’re concerned about engaging services compliantly, it could be time to talk to an expert.
Are you prepared to get your hands dirty? If you're looking to create an easier buying experience that delivers enhanced visibility, cost management, and risk mitigation, you need to be prepared to put in the work. This isn’t the type of solution that you can turn on and walk away from; it requires constant adjustment and input to work well. However, with the right support, transforming the way you access services is very doable – with changes introduced in digestible pieces. An expert partner can help you to take purposeful baby steps, driving value without overwhelming your organization.
You’ve done your research and you’re ready to turn on services procurement 2.0; where do you start? Here, some of our team provide their expert insights.
“A provider’s technology will impact the success of your program. VMS tools and their services procurement modules may do the heavy lifting, but they're not enough to cover all program needs related to competitive bidding, SOW data gathering, and analytics. Ask a provider to talk about their proprietary technology and how it supplements the VMS.”
Arnaud Effantin dit Toussaint,
EMEA & APAC Product Development Lead, Services Procurement, KellyOCG
"An important part of a conversation with any potential provider should be, ‘What’s your depth of experience in buying services?’ Buying services is not the same as engaging contingent talent, and I’ve seen many service procurement solutions fail when an organization has automatically turned to their current MSP partner rather than looking for the people with the most expertise in procuring services. Your MSP partner might be the right person for this job, but don’t just assume that’s the case; work to understand their strengths."
Alejandro Builes Vice President Of Product Development, Services Procurement, KellyOCG
You understand the most important things on your services procurement wish list and you’re ready to start having conversations
If it looks like an MSP and walks like an MSP… it’s an MSP. If the service feels like a copy-and-paste job of an existing MSP or a straightforward extension of it without specialization, it’s probably not going to deliver on services. Look for partners that have a real focus – across people, process, and technology – on services procurement.
They aren’t flexible.
If a provider is trying to sell you a static services procurement solution, it isn’t going to work. Your organization’s needs are unique and you need a solution that can respond to the challenges you face (and might face in the future) in a flexible way.
Technology is an afterthought. Tech is the engine behind your services procurement solution. It’s what unlocks visibility, makes things easier for your team, and essentially does all the heavy lifting in the background. Tech should be something that a great provider is excited about, and they should be able to articulate how it will deliver real value to you as a business. Rarely are standard procurement tools or VMS technologies enough to build a holistic solution. Ask your potential provider what their complementary tech stack looks like and how they can deliver a custom solution for you.