Value Added Sourcing
A component of Technology Value Creation is Value Added Sourcing "VAS"
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Consultation Agreement
The basis of a VAS engagement is a consultation agreement between consultancy and client. This agreement creates the framework for the VAS consultancy to formally work with and on behalf of the client to create as much value as possible.
Crucial components of this agreement include vendor neutrality, exclusivity, and no out-of-pocket cost structure.
Visibility | Baseline
You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been… or where you are. A full, comprehensive data collection and audit/analysis of your current spend, contracts, and terms sets the stage for a successful sourcing project. However, the data by itself is only as good the ability of the beholder to interpret and contextualize it. A true VAS consultancy has the subject matter expertise and data analytics skills to contextualize the data and identify opportunities and turn into actionable data.
Alignment
As with any 3rd party, coming in as an external consultancy requires that proper time and energy is focused on aligning with the organizations overarching strategic objectives as well as those of various key stakeholders and impacted lines of business. Creating alignment not only between Resourcive and Client but also between internal cross-functional teams oftentimes is key to unlocking value as inefficient processes are identified and eliminated.
Project Management
One of the biggest value-adds to our clients has less to do with the eventual top and bottom-line impact of our engagements, but more to do with the heavy lift that we take off our client’s plates. Driving a methodical and proven project management process on behalf of our clients allows internal teams to have a level of involvement that prioritizes their time and attention.
Solution Design
With complete understanding of current environment, the strategic goals of the business and desired business outcomes of the sourcing project, designing the go-forward solution is a collaborative effort between VAS consultants and the client.
A true VAS model leverages their consultants strategic and tactical knowledge with the technical support of bench engineering resources to deliver comprehensive solutions to the unique needs and requirements of each organization.
Market Assessment
Having formal relationships with over 350 providers globally and working knowledge of the market day in and day out, the VAS model creates a shortcut of sorts from solution design to vendor selection. Even if an internal team was able to pull together all their needs and requirements and map out a solution design to meet those requirements, they are then encountered with a crowded and confusing vendor landscape. Instead of having to start from scratch and learning about the 10s of potential providers to deliver your desired solution, a competent VAS consultancy will be able to quickly and efficiently identify a handful of providers that can best meet your needs.
What could take months, now takes a matter of days.
Vendor Selection | Negotiation
The truth of the matter is that you will not get treated the same way soliciting a provider direct as you will through Resourcive. Providers know they are in a competitive environment and that the prospective client is equipped with market knowledge of an experienced VAS consultancy. Additionally, supporting the client in their vendor selection by normalizing financial and technical information related to various proposals creates a framework in which key stakeholders can feel confident in their decision. Given VAS’s core tenant of vendor neutrality, it is always the decision of the client to proceed with the vendor they choose.
Service Delivery | Implementation
With a buying decision made, and the procurement of your technology solutions executed, the sourcing process does not end. The successful service delivery and implementation of the contracted solutions and services is as important, if not more so, than the purchase itself. VAS, and sourcing in general, requires effective management of vendor obligations, commitments, and execution. The VAS model ensures this by bringing additional assets to the account to manage the implementation process as well as any peripheral tasks associated with disconnects, turndowns, changes, etc.
Lifecycle Management | Support
VAS begins to go beyond the traditional “sourcing” definition as the sourcing project itself comes to a close. Where you traditionally get an account support from your selected vendor partner, Resourcive brings an additional asset to your team to help manage the technology solution which it helped source and help escalate and resolve issues as they arise. Again, the internal productivity gains associated with a VAS engagement achieved simply as a function of man-hours allocated to your account is a force multiplier that can be harnessed in perpetuity.
Strategic Business Reviews
To ensure continued alignment and value creation, a VAS consultancy will conduct quarterly business reviews to proactively iterate on technology solutions in place to optimize their utility and impact to the business goals and objectives. As priorities shift, new markets are expanded into, and things like M&A activity create new technology requirements for the business, the VAS model ensures that the technology in place will adequately support the business and enable further value creation.
Professional Services
When clients need operational and/or tactical support, a VAS consultancy can be deployed to solve problems and execute on non-procurement related projects to enhance the larger business IT ecosystem and function. It is essential to the VAS model that the consultancy has a ProServe function to be able to tackle problems that are not directly tied to procurement.
