Key clients turn to us for consulting on strategic issues. We provide unique insight into strategies, techniques, & technologies used by today's "best practice" supply-management organizations. Clients appreciate the practical solutions that come from our experience in consulting roles, coupled with proven "real world" experience managing best-in-class corporate procurement operations.

Our strategic services include:

• Technology Tool Selection & Use: We assist clients in comparing, selecting, and using supply management technology tools, like eProcurement Systems, pCard Providers, eSourcing Tools (eRFx & Auction), Expenditure Analysis Software, Contract Management Software, and Group Procurement Organizations (consortium tools), etc. What our clients appreciate is that we are able to separate the "Smoke and Mirrors" from the "Industry Hype" and recommend solutions that provide them with a true ROI. Often we do not recommend new systems, but work with clients to achieve the unfulfilled promise from existing technologies. We also review their processes to ensure they will work well in an automated environment.
  
  
• Organizational Design: Today's procurement organization must be structured to impact the entire enterprise spend base. We have experience implementing organizational structures that efficiently address the three major stakeholders with whom procurement interacts: (1) Executive Leadership, (2) Customer Groups, and (3) Suppliers.
  
  
• Professional Development: Along with our advanced training programs, a popular service is our performance of skill assessments of a company's key procurement employees, managers, and directors. This analysis can be customized for each client, using a combination of personal interviews and testing. A "gap" analysis is then applied to each employee's results, and a development plan written that recommends career "pathing", training, and experience planning.
  
  
• Personnel Recruitment: Due to our contacts in the profession, client companies have turned to us to identify quality candidates for various procurement positions. We have been successful in locating and screening candidates for large corporations at a fraction of the cost normally paid to "contingency" and "retained" search firms. Position titles we've recently recruited for clients include Sourcing Specialists, Contract Negotiators, Commodity Specialists, Senior Buyers, Director of Procurement, and Vice President of Corporate Procurement.
  
  
• Strategy Assessment: Many of our large competitors focus their supply-chain efforts towards large-scale enterprise commodity sourcing initiatives. We recognize, however, that much of the value in procurement is conducted during limited "windows of opportunity". For example, many capital acquisitions are negotiated every five or ten years…not usually while a large consulting firm is onsite performing an engagement. Service contracts don't usually expire "neatly" at the time a consulting firm is onsite sourcing simple commodities. Our size allows us to be available to our clients to consult when they see a "window of opportunity" opening. A "retainer" basis can make these services very cost effective, and allows the client to easily access us for strategy discussions, concept feedback, and key project support.