Needs Assessment

Getting Started

The EC Sourcing Group offers powerful tools to efficiently and effectively manage everyday supply management activities We invite you to attend our Webinar, request an online demo or conduct a pilot program so you can experience our process, people, and easy-to-use technology tools.

To achieve your supply management goals we recommend you review these basic steps in your evaluation process

• Understand the Problem
• Plan for a Real Solution
• Get Educated on Current Supply Management Best Practices
• Initiate Provider Discussions
• Create a Short List of Providers
• Implement A Pilot Program

Understand the Problem

The true culprit in preventing your firm from initiating successful strategic sourcing is most likely the processes you’re using to manage data, vendors and reporting. Some potential problems we have witnessed include:

• Lack of good spend data
• Lack of formal / structured sourcing / vendor management process
• Not enough time to execute a thorough sourcing process
• Thorough vendor management is too cumbersome
• Current vendor management solution is too cumbersome

Plan for a Real Solution

• Identify the specific problems you are trying to solve by implementing a new supply management solution
  • What are your key priorities, must haves, and nice-to-haves?
• Be aware that it is the processes you must change to achieve your goals
  • Recognize the leading limiting factors in procurement operations are:
    • the lack a technology infrastructure
    • an underused technology infrastructure
• Define materials and suppliers that will establish the baseline and serve as the clean master data for procurement
• Determine if you require software alone, or software and consulting support to educate your team

Get Educated on Current Supply Management Best Practices

• Review provider websites
• Sign-Up for free online Webinars
• Visit educational websites
• Subscribe to supply management industry trade publications
• Read educational blogs regularly
• Attend trade shows
• Speak to your peers that are presently using these solutions

Initiate Provider Discussions

• Share your needs definition
• Refine and clarify needs through provider discussions
• Insist that providers talk to your specific needs, not their general offering
• Update your need definition after speaking to several providers

Create a Short List of Providers

• Issue an RFP to your potential list of providers – if needed
• Request a product demonstration

What to look for:

• Simplicity of data conversion
  • Can your existing content be easily migrated to the solution?
• Ease of Use
  • How long does it take a novice user to learn the system — hours, days or weeks?
  • Will the solution be easier than your current process?
• Training
  • What are the time requirements on training your personnel?
  • Are there extra costs for training?
  • How is training provided?
• Test drive the system whenever possible
  • Can you upload a previous RFP into their system to evaluate?
  • How easy and useable is it to work with?
  • How might it have helped you make a better decision?
  • How much time would it have helped you save?
  • Are the features/functions/workflow and user interface appropriate for your personnel?
  • Does the system receive inputs, manipulate and report your data in a manner that works for you?
• Ongoing Support:
  • What type of support is available in the short and long term?
  • Email support, web chat support
  • Live person support desk
  • Ask about typical support response times
  • Who provides support, USA-based-personnel or other?
  • What is the level of support personnel?
  • subject matter experts only
  • technical experts only
  • functional and technical

Implement A Pilot Program

With a pilot or ‘proof of concept’ project, it is easy and less risky to determine the value of our services. It allows you to experience a real world application of our software tools – a big benefit in evaluating both ease of use and effectiveness.

• As you evaluate strategic sourcing technology solutions take one new project and let it be a test to evaluate and determine the appropriate technology tools. Look for these important features, attributes and benefits.
  • Ease of Use
  • Ease of organizing and managing data to your daily operational reality
  • Flexibility to implement fast
  • Employee acceptance
  • Ability to retain knowledge for future re-use and training
  • Reporting and archiving capabilities for audit & SOX compliance
  • Vendor acceptance
  • Communications capabilities
• Helpful tips to a successful pilot program are:
  

  From a data standpoint, to perform the pilot project, you need to gather the basic project background information. This usually includes:

  • suppliers you have bought the product or service from before
  • a list of items that will be sent out to bid as well as any specification documents
  • a quality/service performance level that will need to be met by any new supplier / any qualitative questions

  The last point is crucial to a successful project – since you must know the service levels that are required so you can determine which of the participating suppliers can meet or exceed this level.

Key tips to making your pilot project successful and creating enthusiasm and momentum within your firm.

• Choose a pilot project that has a chance to generate savings
• Choose a spend category that is straightforward to execute
• Do not select a project that is going to annoy anyone

Please feel free to contact us at any time with any questions, problems or concerns regarding obtaining your supply management goals. We welcome the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with you.