Challenging the status quo of traditional procurement

We all know the old adage of “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got”, but why do so many of us end up doing exactly that? The focus of this article is to challenge the traditional method of tendering, and question the importance given to innovation.

Although this view can be witnessed in some tender scoping processes, it is often attributed to resources, or lack of them. It could be argued that by not devoting time to shopping around and considering alternative solutions, one can actually cause a strain on resources in the long run; and by resources, we are quite literally meaning money, time and efficiency. Of course, by assessing what has always been the traditional procurement process, you can also challenge the mindset of whether you are actually solving the right problem.

So many technology-led inventions are championing new ways of thinking and challenging the traditional approach to supporting customers and their business. But for these innovative companies, the truth is that it can be pretty much like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole when you sit down and review the tender documents.

The word innovation quite literally means new ideas and methods, so how does this get incorporated into tender opportunities? Quite simply it can often be seen as an afterthought, a small percentage of the overall weight of the tender being attributed to innovation. But this doesn’t go far enough to produce large scale change, it will still end up with customers seeing the basic criteria being delivered in the same way.

In short, the procurement process could benefit from its own innovation. Perhaps there is an opportunity to start with reviewing what the actual problem is that needs solving, and rewarding those partners that have found unique alternatives, less reliant on manpower, more automated in their processes, and able to provide better real-time delivery of service.

To really challenge the status quo, why not consider reviewing the whole company’s innovation strategy and develop technology reviews that encourage all departments to investigate the digital marketplace. You could end up simplifying the procurement process and becoming technology trailblazers!

Keynetics have worked with a range of businesses that wanted to challenge their use of technology. For more advice on alternative solutions to traditional keyholding and alarm responding services, contact us or book a demo today.